The owner of a microbrewery in Harold Wood is hoping to open up an on-site taproom to provide locals somewhere new to meet and grab a drink.

Rashpinder Singh Mahal, 46, opened The East Side Brewery last May after the pandemic delayed its unveiling by over a year.

Having been a keen brewer for some time, Rash told this paper that while being a lawyer is his profession, microbrewing is his "passion”.

Romford Recorder: Lawyer Rashpinder Singh Mahal has taken his love of microbrewing and turned it into a business, recently opening The East Side Brewery in Harold Wood.Lawyer Rashpinder Singh Mahal has taken his love of microbrewing and turned it into a business, recently opening The East Side Brewery in Harold Wood. (Image: Rashpinder Singh Mahal)

Rash has since submitted a change of use application to Havering Council to ask for additional use of the space as a taproom.

It is stated in the application that the taproom will “serve as an important front of house facility to the microbrewery”.

Rash said he was inspired to incorporate a taproom after customers told him “we need something permanent where we can sit down and have a chat”.

Romford Recorder: Rash was originally meant to open The East Side Brewery last year, but coronavirus thwarted those plans.Rash was originally meant to open The East Side Brewery last year, but coronavirus thwarted those plans. (Image: Rashpinder Singh Mahal)

He added many of the punters who come into the microbrewery are now friends, and over time, a “community built up”.

After a slow start, Rash said the microbrewery’s name is “spreading really well”, a trend he hopes a taproom would only accelerate.

View the application using P0356.22.