The beer, called Parliament Light Bitter Ale, is a modern take on an ale that would have been made in The Plough Brewery on Wandsworth Road, South London, more than a century ago. It’s named after Parliament Ale – one of the beers brewed on the site by T. Woodward & Son between 1868 and 1924, and made according to a recipe researched by beer historian Ron Pattinson.
Brewed just half a mile from the old brewery building at Mondo, the beer will be available in select London bars, pubs and bottle shops and on cask, keg and in bottles. It also marks a return to cask brewing for Mondo, being the first cask beer the brewer has produced in more than three years.
Parliament is brewed with Chevalier Heritage malt, flaked maize and Invert No.2 Sugar and then fermented with Whitbread yeast. In line with surprising historic records discovered by Pattinson that trace the use of American hops in British beer back to the 1820s, Parliament is bittered with Cluster hops from the US, and makes use of East Kent Goldings and Fuggles hops from the UK for some additional aroma and flavour. Its distinctive label, which takes inspiration from key features of the Plough building, was designed by Foodism designer Annie Brooks.
Last night, Mondo and Foodism launched Parliament with a party at the Mondo Taphouse in Battersea, where the beer was served on cask, keg and in bottles.
Today (Friday 8 March), Foodism’s beer editor Tom Powell and the brewing team at Mondo will be hosting a talk and tasting of the beer at We Brought Beer Clapham.
“It’s always nice when you discover history right under your feet,” says Foodism’s beer editor Tom Powell, who oversees the brand’s Hop Culture mini-section and newsletter and its Foodism Beer Club events. “The Foodism Beer Club is all about connecting London’s beer lovers with the city’s vibrant brewing scene and the stories and people who make it one of the world’s best. This collaboration was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the heritage of the neighbourhood we call home, as well as forming a stronger bond with one of our closest neighbours and friends in London food and drink.”
