Schoppe Bräu

The public face of Schoppe Bräu is very polished. Two large copper kettles loom over the end of the bar, fitting in perfectly with the exposed brickwork and naked lighting of the stylish restaurant. We’ve heard amazing things about Schoppe Bräu’s beers though, so are keen to get into the guts of the operation.

A rattling service lift takes us down to the florescent-lit basement where, at the end of a narrow corridor, we find a hive of activity. The business end of the brewery is a tiny room, with stainless steel tanks racked floor to ceiling on both sides, and a steady parade of black kegs being filled and rolled away. At the other end of the room, crates of swing-top bottles stand ready for washing, refilling and relabeling. Standing in the middle of all this, we feel like we’re getting in the way of a well-practiced dance.

We’re ostensibly down here to meet Thorsten Schoppe, the head brewer from whom Scoppe Bräu takes its name. Ponytailed, with brow permanently furrowed in concentration, Thorsten is somewhat stoic, or at least very busy, so our time with him is limited. He jokes that he was always destined to be a brewer, as ‘Schoppe’ is an old measure of alcohol in Rhineland.

Destiny or hard work though, Thorsten’s beers speak for themselves (and him, fortunately). We’re treated to a few samples straight from the tank – which, if you’ve never tried it, is the ultimate way to drink fresh beer – and they really are impressive. 

The best-selling Helles is perfectly crisp, with a balance of herbal, floral hops and biscuity malt. Next up is a more hop-forward IPA with orange peel, toasted coriander seeds and dark roasted malt, which combine to give a distinctive liquorice character. Finally we enjoy a glass of the double IPA – coyly dubbed ‘Holy Shit’ – a thick, hazy 10% abv beast, bursting with tropical US and New World hops. Each of the beers we sample is strikingly different; Thorsten seems to be painting with a much broader palette than many breweries, where there is an identifiable ‘house style’. 

“We use different yeasts for different beers, for a start,” explains Schoppe’s Christian Shulze. “For example, we have a ‘brut ale’ using champagne yeast, which gives a completely different character to anything else. But we also use a lot of German hops. Everybody can take Amarillo or Mosaic and make really fruity beers, but German hops are a lot more subtle – they give herbal and pine notes. Thorsen has a friend, a hop-grower, so we’re getting an exclusive hop – a German Cascade.”

“It was relatively easy for us to get investment for this place,” says Christian. “In Germany, the quality of the beer really matters when you’re trying to get funding, and Thorsten’s beers were obviously a safe investment.”

It’s astonishing how much beer is coming out of this tiny space, and there is talk of opening up a second facility to increase capacity and provide space for an automated bottling line. For now though, Schoppe Bräu clearly has a winning formula and – judging by the packed restaurant upstairs – a very loyal following.