40FT Brewery & Taproom

Very good brewery taproom about five minutes walk from Dalston Junction Station. One cask beer on handpump when I visited but plenty of keg choices including a stout. Lots of outdoor covered seating. Food is available on the site via a restaurant called Acme Fire Cult.

Really nicely hidden brewery. Beer is 100%. Lot of choices. Plenty of seatings, well situated with food places around it, so you can drink and will not be hungry either. Little too loud for my liking.

Awesome taproom, everything tasting on point and good to see their beers pouring alongside other independent brands like Crafty Blends and Gosnell's and In the same yard as Acme Fire Cult and the Dusty Knuckle, what more could you want.

We made the unfortunate decision to visit 40FT Brewery and Taproom with the intention of supporting what we assumed was a reputable local business. Before heading out, we double-checked Google for the opening hours and clearly listed as open until 10pm. After a 40-minute walk across the city, we arrived at 8pm to find… absolutely no one. No staff. No signage. No explanation. Just two people loitering outside who casually told us the place was closed. This lack of basic communication is already unacceptable for any establishment claiming to be in the service industry. But what truly crosses the line… and I don’t say this lightly… is the owner personally reaching out to my friend Regan and pressuring her to take down her honest review. That is not just unprofessional, it's unethical. Attempting to silence valid criticism instead of taking accountability shows exactly what kind of business this is. If your response to constructive feedback is to bury it rather than fix the problem, then you don’t deserve the communities support. Consumers deserve transparency, reliability, and respect… not ghost towns and guilt trips.

Really nice independent brewery/taproom with friendly bar staff eager to offer recommendations. Like all indies worth their salt, has a surprisingly diverse rotating roster of lager, IPA, cider, mead and sours. The times I’ve been, I’ve had a fruited mead from Gosnells, a cider from Kentish Pip and of course lots from 40Ft’s own selection (which is IPA dominant). The venue is cosy and is surrounded with a tarp in the colder months. Loos are alright. Venue appears to be dog friendly. Also, the venue hosts indie pop ups such as the excellent Mystic Burek (Balkan-Macedonian sweet and savoury pastries) to name an example.

40ft is a cool venue with good vibes. However, they had the audacity to try and charge £7.50 for a non-alcoholic beer. This is more expensive than any one of their pints, more expensive than a single shot of mixer alcohol, or a glass of wine. It was also the only non-alcoholic beer option. In this day and age, to be “penalised” for being alcohol free leaves an awful taste in my mouth. I am loathed to go back after this experience. They did give me the refund I asked for which was good. They also did explain that they buy these in from another supplier and they have no control over the price. Please, whoever is the bar manager here or who does the ordering, consider your alcohol free patrons as we still want to enjoy places like this with our mates who do drink.

Thanks to all at 40ft Brewery and Acme Fire Cult for an amazing night. We arrived at 7pm on a busy Friday night to sample the beers and then had a dinner reservation at 8pm in Acme Fire Cult. We recommend arriving early as the brewery/bar/tap rooms is as authentic as it comes. If you can sneak a tour then it’s even more special. It’s located down a small alley and you walk around 30m from the main road not knowing what to expect and then you arrive at this little secret village at the bottom. Amazing atmosphere and vibes. Really cool set up. Has to be experienced to appreciate it. The beers are top notch and brewed around 20m from where you get served. Super fresh and a huge range of choice. The staff were helpful in explaining what each beer which helped us choose. We were allowed bring our beer across to the restaurant. We then walked across to Acme Fire Cult for dinner which is practically in the same space as the tap room. One of us is vegetarian and we chose 7 small plates from the menu tapas style. Can’t say enough good things about the food. So much choice and flavour. The grilled hispi cabbage and smoky potatoes were so tasty. The butter style cauliflower was my personal favourite. We were absolutely stuffed leaving. Just want to give a shout out to all the staff in brewery and restaurant who were very busy but gave us a fantastic service. We were made feel like a couple of celebs despite having only skipped in off the street. Highly recommend.

Best beer in East London. Exciting place!