News has reached us from London's East End of a brewery with a powerful message: "We're here, we're queer, and we're brewing, baby." The Queer Brewing Project, the UK's first queer- and trans-owned brewery, has now opened the doors to its very own production site and taproom in Leyton.

Founded in 2019 by beer writer and ceramicist Lily Waite-Marsden, the project began as a direct response to a lack of LGBTQ+ visibility in the beer industry. Recognising a landscape dominated by cisgender, heterosexual, male voices, Waite-Marsden set out to carve out a space for queer community and representation through craft beer.

Starting life as a collaborative initiative, Queer Brewing worked with breweries across the UK and internationally to create beers with evocative, meaningful branding. The project has also been a significant fundraiser, generating tens of thousands of pounds for LGBTQ+ charities. Initially, this was through collaboration beers, and from 4, the brand committed to donating 10p from every pint and can sold.

For years, the beer was produced via a contract model, with Waite-Marsden developing recipes that were then brewed at friends' facilities. By early 2024, this approach was no longer sustainable, presenting a critical juncture: end the project or build a dedicated brewery. The team chose the latter.

In September 2024, they secured a unit in Leyton Industrial Village and began construction. The move marks a major evolution, allowing founders Lily Waite-Marsden and Andy to finally brew Queer Brewing beers in their own home, a milestone described as "making everything a little more us."

The brewery's taproom is now open to the public on Fridays from 4pm to 10pm and Saturdays from 2pm to 10pm at Unit D2, Leyton Industrial Village, London E10 7QP. While the beers are not currently available for international delivery, the team encourages overseas visitors to add the taproom to their must-visit list for a future trip to London.