London Fields Brewery's 'hand crafted in Hackney' beer to be made outside the capital

Brewery at London Fields site shut down amid job cuts
Moving out: the brewing part of the business is being outsourced from Hackney

A brewery run by a convicted drug dealer has shut down its beer-making operation at its east London site amid sweeping staff cuts.

Every drop of 'handcrafted in Hackney' craft beer previously made at the London Fields Brewery will now be brewed at sites outside London, including Lincolnshire and Sussex, the Standard has learned.

It comes amid a round of redundancies at the site in Warburton Street with the axe understood to be falling among brewery workers and warehouse staff.

A source said workers in these areas were made redundant earlier this week.

More sales staff have been hired and the events side of the business is still operating from the east London site, the source added.

A worker who wished to remain anonymous but had been employed by the company for around a year, told the Standard brewing arrangements had changed since owner Jules de Vere Whiteway-Wilkinson was arrested in a tax probe in December.

When asked if all the brewery staff in Hackney are being made redundant, the worker said: "Yep, that's correct. We were told this week.

"He's let a lot of people down. We worked extremely hard, we were the engine of the company and we were producing huge amounts of beer.”

Another staff member who had worked at the site at London Fields for over a year added: "It's completely true, it's all being outsourced."

On Thursday, the site appeared to be fully operational as punters were seen in the bar and building work was ongoing at an events space.

The brewery, set up in 2011, offers a selection of around seven beers and says on its website: “We are proud to help spread the word of craft beer around the country and put Hackney on the map as a destination for great beer.”

Tom Wood Beers in Lincolnshire has a contract to provide beer to the London firm.

The business is said to be expanding its events and sales teams

Owner Tom Wood said: "I am currently brewing some beer for them. We do provide a contract service.

"I have done some work for them in the past as well," he added.

A spokeswoman for the brewery said: "London Fields Brewery remains an operational and growing business delivering fantastic beer. We look forward to a busy 2015 not just in terms of beer sales but also at our events space and Taproom."

Last year, a judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court agreed to give Whiteway-Wilkinson more time to pay a debt owed to taxpayers due to a confiscation order imposed after his conviction.

He faces a possible eight-year “default” sentence if he fails to repay the money and was ordered to hand over a “significant” amount of money by May. The court accepted as credible his claim that the brewery profits can clear the debt.

He was arrested during raids on his home and business in December on suspicion of “cheating the revenue” in respect of VAT, HM Revenue and Customs said.

A source added: "I imagine that's a lot of pressure on him to get rid of parts of the business."

Whiteway-Wilkinson was convicted in 2004 at Southwark Crown Court for conspiracy to supply cocaine as the leader of a four-man smuggling gang.

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