Brixton Brewery has partnered with Harlem Brewing Company to announce a first-of-its-kind beer ‘exchange’, encouraging beer lovers in New York and London to buy each other a pint from across the pond. The Beer Exchange enables patrons of Brixton Brewery Taproom and Harlem Brewing Company to buy each other a beer with the tap of a card.

With many of the best friendships starting over a pint, participants are also encouraged to share a toast or a message (and their Instagram handle if they fancy!) with the future recipient of their beer on a postcard available at the bar. These messages will be shared with those who receive a beer that’s been bought in each location, starting a new conversation (and hopefully a new friendship too!).

This transatlantic brewery collab came about because in June 2021, the Harlem and Brixton Business Improvement Districts started an exciting twinning partnership to celebrate the shared heritage, culture and values of two historic local areas in two of the world’s great cities. Brixton and Harlem are hugely important cultural centres with great histories of being open and welcoming to newcomers, and being central places of importance for Black communities, nurturing activists, artists and visionaries.

Brixton is hosting the very first Brixton x Harlem festival this summer to highlight all that the two local areas share, and to mark the twinning. At the heart of the festival, which runs between the 3rd and 7th of August, will be the ‘Beer Exchange’ in the Brixton Brewery Taproom. To keep things the spirit of community, Brixton Brewery will be donating all the proceeds from the exchange to Norwood & Brixton Foodbank.

For the launch of the Beer Exchange and the festival, Brixton Brewery has worked with the renowned Harlem Brewing Company, the first Black, female-owned brewery in America, to brew a new limited-edition beer: Common Threads, a summer ale featuring pineapple and hibiscus, two tropical ingredients ubiquitous on the streets of both Brixton and Harlem. Refreshing and vibrant (it’s pink!), the brew brings Brixton and Harlem straight to your tastebuds.

For those unable to get to the taproom to enjoy a pint of Brixton Brewery’s latest collaboration brew, cans of Common Threads are available to purchase online. Featuring hand-drawn illustrations by Brixton-based architects Squire & Partners, each can brings together the two famous locations, showcasing some of their most iconic features. There are four different can designs, each championing various ties that weave together the two communities: music, culture and heritage, activism, and art and design.

Celeste Beatty, Founder of Harlem Brewing Company will be at Brixton Brewery Taproom on 4th August for the beer launch event, which will feature a live DJ spinning a Harlem x Brixton playlist.

Co-Founder of Brixton Brewery Xochitl Benjamin, said: “This is the collaboration of our dreams! Brixton and Harlem are such legendary and distinctive places and working with Celeste and the Harlem team has been an incredible experience.

The Exchange is our way of bringing people together through beer which we hope will generate a few unexpected real-life exchanges between Brixtonites and Harlemites that will last beyond the festival. Celebrating what brings us together and all we have in common has never been more important. We’re also proud to be supporting the Brixton and Norwood Foodbank with every exchange.”

Founder of Harlem Brewing Company Celeste Beatty, said: “We’re really excited to be partnering with Brixton Brewery on this unique idea. What greater way to celebrate two iconic communities coming together than with a beer that represents what we have in common. The Common Threads beer collaboration and The Beer Exchange both tap into our shared love for community and culture!”
The Beer Exchange will be live from 3rd – 7th August 2022. Those in the UK can head to Brixton Brewery Taproom to take part.