![John Leiper shows Pearly Queen Beer Company’s newly launched Honey Pale Ale @ Dalston London 20 Aug 2016 © david.altheer[ at ] gmail.com](https://i2.wp.com/lovingdalston.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Pearly16John.jpg?resize=702%2C390&ssl=1)
![Meetal Patel shows Pearly Queen Beer Company’s newly launched Honey Pale Ale @ Dalston London 20 Aug 2016 © david.altheer[ at ] gmail.com](https://i2.wp.com/lovingdalston.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Pearly16Meetal-e1471724701718.jpg?resize=350%2C666)
IF THERE’S one thing that gets John Leiper and Meetal Patel buzzing it’s bees.
The other is English ale, so one day over a pint, the two decided that Pearly Queen, their co-operative of London beekeepers, should go into the beer business.
So on Saturday 20 August 2016 the embryonic Pearly Queen Beer Company launched Honey Pale Ale at the BIB Taproom.
The tiny Stamford Works, Gillett Square popup, one of the bars that has gone in early with some orders for the Pearly Queen beer, which at present comes only in bottles.
The firm says: “We wanted to bring our fantastic London honey to a refreshing and tasty beer, while raising awareness for our beloved bees.”
The eco aspect fits well with BIB, named for bag-in-box, which says it is London’s first bar dedicated to serving natural wine from sustainable packaging. Bag-in-box reduces wine’s carbon footprint.
Pearly Queen uses a Ramsgate, Kent brewer and has already produced about 2,500 litres. The popularity of craft beer means the bee(r)istas, who are both aged 32, are in a competitive field. But the honey ale, your reporter can attest, is delightful and distinctive. Bars and clubs are starting to stock it.
Leiper tells Loving Dalston that he and his partner are thinking of moving into gin. Very much a traditional London drink, he points out, it fits with the Pearly Queen Cockney image.
David Altheer 200816
* You can order Pearly Queen Honey Pale Ale by emailing info@pearlyqueenbeer.com
* Backstory: Drugs past of London Fields Brewery boss; Brewer makes his name in Hackney; In the pub and sober
* London Fields Lido is at the northwest end of London Fields E8 3EU (020 7254 9038)
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