The entrance to the famous Guinness Brwery in Dublin (Image: Getty)
Following in the footsteps of Dublin and Edinburgh, London is the next capital city to get its own huge city-centre brewery/distillery as is finally well underway, and it looks set to open this year.
The company announced they were spending £73 million building a Guinness micro-brewery at Old Brewer’s Yard in Covent Garden back in 2022, but work on the highly-anticipated project is now fully underway after numerous delays. This won’t be the first time beer has been produced on this site, which will come as no surprise when you hear its address: Old Brewer’s Yard. Beer was made here some 300 years ago, and it’s considered an important part of London’s heritage.
The 50,000-square-foot building will feature plenty of event spaces, an open-fire kitchen and a restaurant featuring a rooftop bar with 360-degree panormaic views.
It will also boast a merchandise shop selling special limited-edition items and, most importantly, a micro-brewery pumping out limited-edition brews alongside gallons of the freshest Guinness in the city.
The micro-brewery will produce limited edition beers alongside their classic stout.
Two pints of Guinness beer in front of a beer tap. (Image: Getty)
The venue will also offer tours with Guinness experts, much like those at the famed Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and this will also be the flagship site for Guinness’s London training programme.
The exact opening date is yet to be announced, but the city’s Guinness lovers should be able to split the G in its hallowed halls in a matter of months as Guinness have just revealed a major update on the works on their website.
The Guinness website revealed: “In February the installation of the Brewery Equipment in Mercer Basement has progressed significantly, marking great progress in the purpose of what the building is to become in the future. There has been advances made to drylining, the first fix has now been completed, with first fix in mechanical and electrical (M&E) now underway on all levels. In order to accommodate the arrival of the last brewery tanks, due to be delivered soon, there has been screeding done in February on the Ground Floor. Progress has been made in steel installation where February has seen 90% of Secondary Steel complete.”
It also explained that the roof slab had been poured at Shelton Street and primar ysteel works completed. The Northern Parapet Brick Wall has also been completed, alongside the continuation of brick repairs, that now stand close to completion.
It goes on: “Langley Street saw the closure of sumps, as the concrete slabs were poured. This marks a part of the building that long stood open, and marks a good step forward.”
“At the Old Brewer’s Yard and the Tap Room Bar the exploratory opening up works have allowed for new detailed designs for the progression towards the large, glazed canopy in the yard.”
A spokesperson for Diago, owner of Guinness said: “We remain very excited to open the doors of the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in London in 2025 reaching an even broader audience for Guinness than before.
“Guinness sales in Great Britain have grown by over 30% and one in every 10 pints sold in London is now a Guinness.”
Diago Great Britain Managing director Dayalan Nayager added: “‘Guinness at Old Brewer’s Yard’ will strengthen London’s hospitality community and be a must-visit destination for thousands of visitors to enjoy.”
The exciting development will also create 150 new jobs for the area.
More than 1.5 million visitors from 165 different countries visited the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin in 2023, an increase of 32% compared to 2022. The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin served over 1,235,237 pints of Guinness – along with 42,609 pints of Guinness 0.0 – in 2023.