Douglas Blyde meets the Wimbledon man who’s aced the beer game

‘London is the world’s brewing capital,’ pronounces Mark Gordon.

Toasting Wimbledon Brewery’s second year in production, which saw him supply 100,000 pints for tennis fortnight, we drain tankards of spirit-lifting Summer Ale over lunch of Cheddar flavoured with malty Copper Leaf ale, and salmon steeped in Phoenix smoked porter.

Born in Bolton, Gordon emerged from 23 years of banking to realise the dream of founding a brewery in SW19. ‘I always wanted to make something tangible, and had lived in Wimbledon for 16 years.’

The brewery took the name of the original in Wimbledon Village which fire destroyed in 1889 — to be replaced, ironically, by a fire station. Gordon had planned to personally craft beer at the new site, a former Nissan parts factory. ‘As a reasonable cook I thought brewing would be similar, so enrolled on a course. But 10 minutes in, they started talking about microbiology and I realised I wasn’t ready for this.’

Professional help came by way of Derek Prentice. ‘A premium brand isn’t built on sand, and I was lucky to meet Derek who, with 50 years in brewing, is brewing royalty.’

Prentice’s reputation plus international associations with Wimbledon tennis helped elevate the brand in the face of ‘phenomenal’ competition. ‘With more than 80 microbreweries in London (and 1,700 breweries nationwide) a lot of people are scrambling for attention. But, while the beer market shrinks, the thirst for innovative micro and craft beer grows. People want something different to the industrial beer equivalent of Blue Nun.’

Gordon favours balance, steering clear of fads, including a request for strawberries and cream imbued beer. ‘My answer was, “No!”’

Fans of Gordon’s beers, available in hundreds of London pubs and M&S, include AFC Wimbledon players and the Stereophonics lead singer, Kelly Jones. ‘Like a London rat, you’re never more than 10ft from a Wimbledon beer...’