Mikkeller opens second London pub with 1980s pop star

United Kingdom | Business in London must be good for Mikkeller to move forward with a second London taproom in conjunction with 1980s pop star Rick Astley. The Exmouth Market site, previously a rotating pop-up space, will allow Mikkeller to also brew beer on site.

Mikkeller Exmouth Market, located in a semi-pedestrianised area of the Islington Borough, joins Mikkeller Shoreditch in northeast London, which opened in October 2018. Mikkeller’s new place, which threw open its doors on 26 October 2019, will have a brewery and a restaurant added by March next year.

Pundits say that Mikkeller’s partnership with Mr Astley – he of the 1987 pop sensation “Never Gonna Give You Up” – dates back to their Northern Hop lager, whose reddish hue was purportedly inspired by Mr Astley’s hair. True or not, it is a funny story.

Traditional pub or Danish chic

Mikkeller’s craft-forward approach to beer has been well-received in London, even if the transposing of its minimalist Copenhagen aesthetic on to what was a traditional English pub jarred for some in the early days.

The Danish craft brewer, founded by Mikkel Borg Bjergsø and Kristian Klarup Keller in 2006, has grown to be one of the sector’s most revered, showcasing a wide range of beer styles, which use all kinds of unusual ingredients.