Signing in again at Signature Brew
My first visit to the brewery of Signature Brew was accidental. I had cycled up to see the owner of a butcher’s business called Muddy Boots on an industrial estate near Walthamstow and on arrival spotted Signature in the unit pretty much next door.
I briefly chatted to the founders Sam McGregor and Tom Bott before moving on to my arranged meaty meeting. The way things have panned out Signature has proven to be a much meatier proposition because Muddy Boots hit the dirt some years ago while the brewery has gone on to move to its current much larger premises at Blackhorse Road where it now operates a chunky business.
The scale of the operation hit me as I approached the brewery on a quiet Sunday evening – with an array of vessels sitting proudly alongside the tap room – for another meaty assignment. I was on a mission to try the beers alongside some barbecued meats from Signature’s new food partner, Sireli which I’m told translates to ‘my love’ in Armenian.
Founders Oli and Mick started Sireli in Leytonstone, within the bar Filly Brook, having a two-year residency and have since gone on to trade within the National Theatre and Corner Corner in Canada Water.
It’s a concise menu – that suits my taste for edited choices. They include ‘Taste of Armenia’ sharing platters that comprise a selection of hot and cold mezze that can be complimented with meaty or veggie options. There’s also a variety of flatbreads that house chicken kabob, lamb Kofte, fried chicken or falafel that all come with an impressive array of spices, sauces and pickles. For those that just have to have one with their beers there is the Sireli cheeseburger with sumac, shallots, confit mayo and zhug.
On my visit with my son we enjoyed the very manageable burger with its distinctive cheesy flavour that reminded me of the renowned Dexter cheeseburger at The Plimsoll pub in North London. The flatbread with Lamb kofte was enlivened by the zhug that gave it a minty freshness and the crispy chicken was enhanced by a sweet mango sauce topping. Notable mention must go to the very well-seasoned fries that I was told to stop eating by my son who saw his half quickly diminishing.
My pick of the beers on the night was the Backstage IPA (5.2%) that had the requisite bitterness to give it that moreish character that too many IPAs nowadays fail to deliver. It was closely followed by Haze Machine (4.8%) that was more sessionable but still packed something of a punch.
The whole experience was enhanced by the very comfortable tap room that reminded me of a US dive bar (minus the TV screens) and so much better than sitting in a windy industrial shed on uncomfortable trestle table seating as is the case at most ‘craft’ breweries.
Glynn Davis, editor, Beer Insider