An independent and progressive craft brewery and taproom based in South West London, Mondo Brewing was founded by American homebrewers Todd Matteson and Thomas Palmer with four key values: experimentation, collaboration, inclusion, and, of course, fantastic tasting beer.
Mondo has teamed up with The Queer Brewing Project, founded by Lily Waite, to brew Chosen Family, a seasonal American Brown Ale (5.2%) as part of their Progress Beer Series. Lily is one of the UK beer scene’s most prominent advocates for queer and trans representation. We spoke to Todd and marketing manager, Tom Harrison, about their Chosen Family collaboration and future plans:

Tell us a bit more about Mondo Brewing?


We are an independent brewery, founded in 2014, situated a stone’s throw away from the iconic Battersea Power Station. You can (usually) enjoy an accessible range of core beers at our bespoke tap house, with each month bringing a varied range of seasonals and collaborations. We keg, can and bottle our beer, with a little cask ale here and there. We’ve got a nice web shop too.

How did you become part of Work in Progress and how are you involved?

We built up a strong relationship with the Scottish charity brewer Brewgooder following their Global Gathering project. Their initial public response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the death of George Floyd chimed with our desire to do something more with our own platform. Brewgooder reached out and we collaborated on the best way to approach things under the banner Work In Progress, with Mondo a proud founding member. Our Work In Progress commitments holds us accountable for positive change in our industry.

How did you begin your partnership with The Queer Brewing Project? 

Lily Waite is a good friend and an important voice in the beer scene. We’d already been in discussion with her about a collaboration and it felt like the perfect fit to kick off our Progress Series of beers, a key element of our Work In Progress commitments.

Tell us a bit more about your collaboration brew, Chosen Family.

Lily was keen to brew with a focus on the seasonal, so we happily settled on an autumnal brown ale, leaning towards the American style with a medium hop flavour and bitterness. At 5.2% it’s big enough to keep you warm as the temperatures drop. We’ll also be making a donation to the LGBTQ mental health charity MindOut on the back of sales, with 100% of profits from a t-shirt sale also going towards the great work they do. Huge thanks to Label Express who waived the printing costs of this design so that we could donate more.

It’s not just about the beer though – tell us more about your collaboration with Brighton illustrator Sam Prentice and how that fits in? 

We work pretty much exclusively with our fantastic illustrator Luke Drozd, but we wanted to switch things up in our Progress Series and make sure the creative process also promoted a diverse and inclusive approach. Luke kindly suggested Sam and it’s been an absolute delight to work with him. His celebration of queer culture is the perfect piece for the project.

When and where will Chosen Family be available?

Chosen Family will be available to order from 23rd November via our web shop and from independent bottle shops across the UK.

What’s next for Mondo?

We approach Lockdown 2.0 with the same creativity and passion as we did the bfirst time around. We’ll be channelling our energies into our web shop, looking after our locals, and planning the next of our Progress Series collaborations.