Apparently, the Bottleshop (SE1, Canterbury, Margate) has gone into liquidation and closed up shop, which is a bit sad, though I'm not sure a surprise. They were primarily a specialist wholesaler in a crowded market that has less need for specialist wholesalers. Plus you can't go anywhere without stumbling over a craft beer shop, as my wallet is well aware. Even in SE1 there's a rash of new taps rooms and bars (Moor, Cloudwater, etc.) with longer opening hours to compete with direct sales, and they were never cheap. Spending loads of cash to get beers 'super-fresh' was also a bit of a gimmick that ate up their CrowdCube funding. But still a bit sad (obviously more so for their employees), they were one of the originals on the Bermondsey Beer Mile and always a good place to try some awesome beers and the staff were always great.
Reminds me, I went to Brewdog in Shepherd's Bush and it was a bit crap, the usually sorry bar service that could have graced any generic London pub (wrong beer twice, zero apologies), immodest pricing, and food (and I wasn't expecting much) that was industrial catering fare. I suppose that's mainstream for you.
