Beers and fizz fit for a gay gathering: Closet Brewing, Queer Brewing and more

Why drink queer? Well, who would you rather support? Exactly. This issue, I’m celebrating two pioneering operations. First up is Closet Brewing, Scotland’s first explicitly queer-owned brewery. Edinburgh-based, it’s run by couple Lucy and Lizzie Stevens, who began home-brewing “in the cupboard of our little Leith flat,” explains Lucy, before launching commercially in 2022. Their mission? “To make quality vegan beer,  and the community that comes with it, accessible to those who may feel excluded. We aim to show women and LGBTQ+ individuals that they don’t just belong in the beer industry; they can thrive here.”   

The colourful artist-designed cans bear memorable names: an outstanding citrusy NZ IPA is wittily called They’re Turning the Friggin’ Frogs Gay, while Quit Your Day Job, a tart yet fruity mango and lime sour, is a “liquid resignation letter to the everyday,” Lucy quips. Edinburgh aside, you can find their beers online or at The Rake in Borough Market, London, the Hand in Hand, Brighton, and at Hereford Beer House in the West Midlands. Stay updated on stockists via their Instagram stories.   

Let’s give a nod to the UK’s first ever queer and trans-owned brewery, east London-based Queer Brewing, who recently announced they will be closing at the end of July due to “not being able to make ends meet,” as founder Lily Waite-Marsden sadly put it. This landmark LGBTQ+ venture started out in 2019 with a goal to take up space in an industry “dominated by cisgender, heterosexual, male voices.” The quirky, friendly taproom was always a joy to visit – with an excellent soundtrack to boot. I’m sure we haven’t heard the last from Lily yet.

Fizzy alcoholic beverages for a summer get together

Not much of a beer queer? Don’t fear, here are some unique fizz producers demanding closer inspection.

Madame F

Launched in 2022 by wine connoisseur Iain Muggoch to “fearlessly celebrate the undercelebrated,” Madame F – which boasts a trifecta of rosé, fizz and canned cocktails – supports Queer Britain, the UK’s first LGBTQ+ museum. Its English Sparkling NV Kentish fizz, a blend of Pinot and Chardonnay grapes, gets full marks with notes of black cherry and almond. It is available to buy for £27 a bottle in its King’s Cross-based shop, as well as online and at independent retailers countrywide. Madame F was also featured on the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen Pride special last year.

Renegade Urban Winery 

Based in Walthamstow, this winery prides itself on its LGBTQ+ ally status, with each bottle’s label showing the eyes of a different local, whether “white, Black, Asian, mixed race, straight, gay, transgender, queer,” says founder Warwick Smith. They use only English grapes from counties including Essex, Kent and Herefordshire, making around 12 to 14 wines a year. Two must-tries are the raspberry-forward modern English pink fizz using Essex-grown grapes, and an astonishingly good sparkling red made with Ronda grapes from Hampshire, with its tongue-tingling hit of cherries and blackcurrants.

M&S 

If you’re dazzled by the sheer blaze of rosé at M&S this summer, my tip is Bramble Hill’s entry-level English sparkling pink (or white) from the Silverhand Estate vineyard in Kent at £14 a bottle. Or splash out on the elegant pale salmon Balfour Cuvée Rosé, made from Kentish-grown Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier grapes, at £25.   

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This feature appears in Attitude’s July/August 2026 issue.