Beer is something of a British tradition. This hardy drink has come a long way since medieval days when it was brewed in people’s kitchens and was the tipple of choice for the Romans and Greeks before wine was widely available. It’s also provided the foundation for the pub scene that has been a constant theme in London through the ages. London has also been a focal point for the British brewing industry, particularly with respect to the religious establishments of the city, which were where all the beer was being brewed in the 13th century. Thanks to the hops that were brought over to the UK by the Dutch, at one point St Paul’s Cathedral brewery was producing almost 70,000 gallons of the good stuff. In 1342, the brewing of beer was essentially commercialised and moved away from religious establishments. That was the year that the Brewer’s Guild was founded. Four decades later and the brewing industry in London had expanded, fast with more than 300 commercial breweries set up in the city.By the 16th century London was officially a beer loving city. As the history books (and portraits that show his size) record, monarch of the time Henry VIII was a lover of booze, including beer and he had two brewers that supplied the royal household. One of the brewers provided ales and the other beer – the king’s main royal residence at Hampton Court Palace consumed about 13,000 pints a day! In fact, beer was considered medicinal and everyone drank it – even the lowest servants in the household received four pints a day. The Great Fire in 1666 devastated a number of London breweries but in their place new ones opened, such as Truman Hanbury and Buxton, which was to become one of the biggest breweries in the city.The London brewing trade was responsible for bringing an enormous amount of money into the city, as well as new technology too – it was thanks to the Red Lion brewhouse in Wapping that London got its first steam engine. As has tended to be the case in commerce, as the decades passed, the biggest profits were being shared amongst a few large companies. By the 19th century there were 12 breweries supplying 75% of London, while around 100 smaller companies shared the remaining 25% of trade. Lager came to London in 1882 when the Austro-Bavarian Lager Beer and Crystal Ice Company opened a brewery on Tottenham Court Road. However, as the 20th century progressed more and more breweries closed their doors and at last count there were only around 10 in the city.