Looking for something?

Tap outside or press close

InspirationPhotography

Fascinating photographs go behind the scenes of east London's trendy craft beer production

For something that’s essentially inherently geeky, and until very recently the preserve of hirsute, slightly sweaty middle-aged men, craft beer is almost unfathomably cool. Perhaps that’s because it can be almost unfathomably tasty.

Written By:
All images courtesy of James Cannon

All images courtesy of James Cannon

But behind the edgy illustrated cans and men in too-small beanie hats that make it all look so Instagrammable are vast breweries powered by hops, sweat, and people in wellington boots. It’s another world that’s more suited to Year 9 science videos than hip east London pop-ups, as this wonderful series by photographer James Cannon proves.

Cannon, newly represented by agency Hancock and Handsome, has shot for publications including Cyclist Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, FT Weekend Magazine, and The Ride Journal, and his client list boasts the likes of Channel 4, Oxfam, and Guinness World Records. For this beery series, he ventured behind the scenes of London breweries Beavertown, Crate, Redemption and East London Brewery.

"It came about through my interest in looking at how items are crafted (starting with the Bamboo bike project and a new Kennedy bike series)," says Cannon. "The series looks at the people behind the processes and love of the popular craft brewing scene in London to tell a story on the day to day life in this industry. It was shot on digital and deliberately cropped to a more square, medium format look and feel."

Colourful printed beer cans with branded labels lined up in a metal holder mounted on a white window frame
Black-gloved hand reaching towards the interior of a large blue industrial brewing tank with metal pipes and equipment visible in the background
Metal brewing tanks viewed through a metal catwalk with yellow and red buckets in the foreground at an east London craft brewery
Industrial brewing equipment with red piping and machinery in a Beavertown brewery facility
A brewery worker in gloves holds a bottle while bottling craft beer, with large fermentation tanks visible in the background and rows of filled bottles in the foreground
Gloved hand holding a metal tool over a large circular vat during craft beer production
Inside view of a brewery vessel with metal pipes and white chevron-shaped cooling elements submerged in brown liquid
Metal fermentation tanks with red decorative bands and taps viewed through blue piping at an east London craft brewery
Brewer standing on equipment in an industrial brewery space, working on machinery with blue tubing and pipes surrounding him
Hand in blue glove placing a Beavertown Brewery cardboard box onto a yellow and metallic conveyor belt in a brewery facility
Share

Further Reading