Founded 200 years ago, UCL emerged when London was the global hub of brewing - an industrial era dominated by fierce competition among the city's largest porter breweries. Porter, the dark precursor to stout, was a staple for workers and city dwellers alike, no doubt also enjoyed by some of UCL's early staff and students!
184 years on, as London's brewing heritage waned, UCL Psychology Lecturer Dr Keith Langley advised student John (Jack) Hobday to home-brew “to save some money on beer!”. Inspired, Jack teamed up with then flatmate Paul Anspach (a King's College London Philosophy alumnus), and in 2014 they founded Anspach & Hobday.
Twelve years later, we proudly present UCaLe, a light, fresh, English-hopped Bermondsey Pale inspired by the London workers who travelled to Kent each summer to pick hops. It features the hop variety Ernest, rediscovered and named after pioneering mycologist, Ernest Stanley Salmon (1871-1959), who worked at Wye College, University of London.
This year, as UCL marks its 200th anniversary and our brewery turns 12, we're thrilled to say we are now London's biggest porter brewery, thanks to our renowned London Black. A historic milestone we hope our academic forebears would applaud.
To find out more about UCL's bicentennial plans visit the UCL200 website and please visit UCL's Institute bar to enjoy UCaLe on campus.
Please enjoy responsibly!
John (Jack) Hobday, BSc (Hons) Psychology 2010, UCL