It’s not often we get a new and loveable brewery in a part of town where novelty has become a creeping force for commercial chains. A minute walk away from the band of Vietnamese restaurants in Hoxton, the <a fr-original-style="" href="https://instagram.com/greatbeyondbeer?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Great Beyond Brewing Co</a>. resides.Great Beyond is parched under arched ceilings and warmly lit by string lights across the spacious interiors. There is a well-dressed gentleman (a bouncer with a kinder and milder attitude) opening the door to visitors, contrasting with the hyper-casual setting and the industrial beer tanks. The mix of small tables and long communal ones makes it perfect for crowded friend groups or casual dates. So does the menu: a mix of house brews and a few essential cocktails.<img lazy="loading" src="https://images.aposto.com/1200xauto/2022/10/1/1667825107332.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.78" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"><h4 fr-original-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Inside the Great Beyond Brewing Co.</h4><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Being someone who prefers a crisp hazy IPA and having been mocked for it by snobby bartenders (at Red Hand for instance), I mainly felt welcome here. Not only because one of the five house brews is a hazy IPA, but also because the bartenders were eager to give a taste of their different brews and were very understanding when guests' preferences didn’t match their products. They weren’t afraid to tell their inclination and dislikes and how sometimes the raspberries sourced can taste better than the raspberry sour itself. It’s what this kind of place should be about: enjoying the beer without the pomp.What to order: The hazy IPA, obviously. But for the adventurous beer drinker, the raspberry sour is excitingly raspberry-coloured and has a lovely red berry nose. Similarly, the coffee and orange zest porter had a warming, chocolatey coffee aroma with the orange shining through when washed down. I believe their small-scale menu is subject to change often, so asking the bartenders about what’s on tap is always a better choice.Where: 417 Union Walk, E28HP

The city is full of noise. The announcement at the bus lets the passengers know about the next stop, and another one at the station makes sure you mind the gap between the train and the platform. The swish of raincoats taken off while sitting down, squeaky toys, creaking chairs, wobbly tables, fingers dancing nervously on keyboards; zippers, velcro, cracking knuckles, smacking of the mouth. A competition of sounds, winner unknown; that’s the melody of London.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/10/1/1667823606097.jpeg" width="550" style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.71" fr-original-style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"><h4 fr-original-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">A moment of poise</h4><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">But when you listen carefully, you can hear a book page turning, a prose read; the tube conducting a symphony, the song chanted by skyscrapers at Moorgate. When you apprehend, London has the perfect pitch, even for a brief moment in time.The tune this week is&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6qX4gWRXTRPIrEfNuNaYye" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Jungle - Beat 54 (All Good Now)</a>Hazal

A weekly, practical zine to London for those who want to make this city their neighborhood. Every Tuesday.

Aposto London

Vigorous, dynamic, energetic but tumultuous, chaotic and disorderly at the same time. How to find a moment of calm in a city, this week we are in the search of serenity.