Pillars Brewery
Pillars has brewed nothing but lager since 2016, on a Bavarian-style brewhouse in a Walthamstow industrial estate, and its Pilsner took gold at the SIBA National Awards 2025.
Why go
Lager is the hardest beer to hide behind, since there is no hop wall or roast character to cover a flaw, and this brewery bet the business on it. CAMRA records the start plainly: "Brewing began in 2016 as an exclusively keg lager brewery." The taproom sits inside the brewery, so the beer travels a few meters from tank to glass, and you can carry it out. The specialist release is Icebock, made by freezing the beer and pulling the ice out to concentrate what is left, released by vintage year; the 2024 version took Beer of the Year at the London Beer Competition 2025. The family also runs the Malt Haus next door and the Untraditional Pub by St James Street station.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Pilsner first, then a Helles, then a small pour of whatever Icebock is current.3
- Avoid: a midweek trip. The taproom trades Friday evening through Sunday afternoon and closes at 7.30pm on Sunday.
What locals & experts say
- SIBA National Awards (2025): gold for Pillars Pilsner, with a regional gold the same year.3
- London Beer Competition (2025): Beer of the Year for Icebock 24.4
- World Beer Awards: UK's Best Lager for the Pilsner in 2021, UK's Best Strong Lager for the barrel-aged release in 2023, gold for Haus in 2025.3
- CAMRA: the range
still sticks to its lager roots, regularly winning awards,
with no cask production and SIBA membership.2 - Local rec: Ryan, per Jeff's list.
Good to know
- Timing: Friday 6pm to 10.30pm, Saturday 1pm to 10.30pm, Sunday 1pm to 7.30pm. Closed Monday through Thursday.
- Booking: walk-in, with table reservations and private hire available.
- Food: street food traders in the warmer months, otherwise bring your own plan.
- Getting there: Ravenswood Industrial Estate off Shernhall Street, about ten minutes from Walthamstow Central.
Craft signals (beer: a lager specialist's fixed range)
Two signals and both describe a deliberately narrow offer. The brewery sells itself as east London's home of independent lager, pouring its own beer fresh from the tank rather than running guest or rotating lines1, and CAMRA records the taproom the same way. Lager is a discipline that rewards repetition, so static here is a description of a specialist range and not a criticism of it; the events and street-food calendar is where the room actually changes, and that sits under Experience. What it does mean is that nothing on these taps is a reason to cross London.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Rec via: Ryan.
- Note: Ryan rec
Verdict
could-visit — A family-run Walthamstow brewery that has made only lager since 2016 on a Bavarian-style brewhouse, and has the competition record to justify the narrowness: gold for the Pilsner at the SIBA National Awards 2025 and Beer of the Year at the London Beer Competition 2025 for Icebock. Drinking it in the room where the tanks are is the reason to make the trip, and the Friday-to-Sunday window is the constraint.