A lot of people still think most pubs are owned by brewers. That hasn’t been true since the big break-up of the industry during the 1990s, when a handful of giant non-brewing pubcos, and a plethora of small ones, came to dominate the trade.

But in recent years, some newer breweries have been building their own pub estates, to help guarantee a level of beer sales and provide another income stream.

One of them is west London’s Portobello Brewing, which at the end of last year took over Forest Gate’s Forest Tavern – formerly the Railway.

Founded in 2012 after a modest start, its ambitions became clear in October 2020 when it appointed as chairman Mark Crowther, one of the industry’s big names.

Within weeks Portobello acquired a parcel of 13 pubs from pubco Antic, including the Forest Tavern, launching its bid to be “London’s regional brewer”.

Such lofty corporate goals shouldn’t bother the Forest’s customers, though. For them, manager Olly Pentelow is the new face of the pub, supported by a mix of old and new staff.

Olly joined in January, during lockdown, and until reopening was kept busy freshening the place up, sanding the floors and painting the front.

With head chef Joao Pires, he also served takeaway fish and chips on Fridays and Saturdays, and roasts on Sundays. “It was a good way of getting to know our customers,” he says.

Those customers were quick to take advantage of the pub’s two gardens when outdoor service resumed, and since fully reopening “feedback has been good,” says Olly. “Forest Gate is new to me, but I like the area and the people, it’s got its own identity.”

Unlike traditional breweries, Portobello pubs sell beers from other brewers alongside its own. The Forest currently has Portobello’s Westway Pale and Sambrook’s Wandle Ale on cask, while on the keg taps its Pilsner and Helles lagers plus Stiff Lip IPA sit alongside beers from local craft brewers, including Forest Gate’s own Pretty Decent.

Another difference regulars will notice is the food. It’s a familiar menu of unfussy pub classics but, unusually, everything but the bread and the ice-cream is made on the premises.

What Olly hopes will make the Forest “the best pub in Forest Gate”, though, will be his team. “We just want to look after people here, like welcoming them into our home.”

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