Phil Mellows meets a local independent brewer who decided to set up a business when his hobby got out of control.

Pubs make a lot of fuss about Meet the Brewer events, giving their customers a rare chance to meet the men and women behind the beer they serve. At Husk Brewing’s taproom in Silvertown, you can meet the brewer every time they open the shutters.

Thursday to Saturday, at the back of a modest industrial unit on the mez- zanine floor above the brewhouse, you’ll find Chris van der Vyver behind the rustic bar, pouring the beers he’s made himself. And alongside him, flipping some very special burgers, will be his wife, Marta. That’s what you call a family business.

Originally from Pretoria in South Africa, they set up Husk in 2015 when Chris’s home brewing was “getting out of control” and threatened to take over their flat in Stoke Newington.

“I’ve always loved beer and I’d worked in hospitality for 20 years before we decided to give it a go here in Docklands,” he says.

The taproom has been a huge success since it opened after the first pandemic lockdown.

“A lot of pubs around here have closed, but people still need somewhere to go, and they like the idea of supporting a local brewery and drinking the beers on site.”

Husk’s 2.5 barrel set-up can brew only 700 pints at a time, but it gives Chris the flexibility he needs to experiment with a wide range of styles and flavours.

When I called, the taps on the beer wall at the back of the bar were pouring Dock Life, a pale ale made with Citra and Azacca hops, a blackberry ‘kettle sour’ wheat beer called Lockdown, and Summer Vibes, a refreshing saison, or Belgian farmhouse beer, laced with ginger and juniper.

There were also three guests – a lager from Signature Brew in Walthamstow, a session IPA from Three Sods Brewery in Hackney, and Lilley’s cider.

No cask ale here, but you can find Husk on handpump in east London pubs, including the Angel of Bow. You might also spot cans – filled and seamed by Chris one at a time by hand.

But a surprising 40 per cent of the firm’s beers are sold through the taproom at weekends. No doubt the burgers give another reason for people to visit. They’re made from rarebreed dry-aged beef mixed with bone marrow. South Africans care about their meat.

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