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Category: London

London – Camden (Borough of) – Skinners’ Arms

Another one ticked off in my never-ending quest to visit every Good Beer Guide pub in the country…. This Skinners’ Arms is located on Judd Street, near to King’s Cross railway station, with the road name being relevant here as its commemorates Sir Andrew Judd, the donor of the estate to the Skinners’ Company.

The bar, tastefully decorated and with some suitable heritage elements. There were six real ales on which was an excellent selection, although there was nothing overly decadent there was at least Timothy Taylor’s Landlord.

There hasn’t been any excessive attempt to modernise the interior design and it’s all the better for that. They were serving food when I arrived and are meant to until 20:30, but before that time was reached a gentleman who sat down and was waiting for table service was told that they had stopped serving. He looked disappointed but left quietly, I felt quite sorry for him. Anyway, the food prices are around £12 to £15 for main courses which is reasonable for the King’s Cross area and the reviews for food are generally very positive.

I went for the Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, a reliable beer that was well kept and at the appropriate temperature.

The King’s Cross area has seen many traditional elements swept away, but the Skinners’ Arms hasn’t lost its heart. The interior was warm and comfortable, allowing customers to forget just what a busy part of London they’re located in. The service was efficient and polite, with the atmosphere feeling inviting.

Fair enough…..

Having a little look at the reviews, a customer posted:

“Very patronising and horrible bartenders who might be the 2 managers? In there 50’s lecturing on how I should relax! I was just looking arround to find a sit quietly. But I’m speedy in nature which is how I am and love being speedy it suits my adhd energy, so I walk and move fast and I am fidgetty. Slowing down stresses me out, it’s a constrain. Felt very regretful to have come here and being received by somone who suggest that I tone down my rhythm. Not coming back here”

There’s likely an interesting back story here, but it sounds as if this customer presented something of a challenge to the management. They weren’t disappointed at his announcement that he wasn’t returning, noting:

“Chooc – probably for the best”.

Actually, they’re quite forthright, another customer posted:

“Rude manager wouldn’t let me finish my coffee as I walked in before trying to order a pint so I won’t be coming back here. Weird vibes from him as well made me feel unwelcome. Plenty other good pubs around so I’d not bother with this one.”

This sounds like the customer walked in with a coffee from another venue and was annoyed that the manager wasn’t impressed. The pub certainly aren’t very apologetic and I think they sound right:

“Matthew – I think you going elsewhere is a grand idea”

Another customer posted, and I’d note that most reviews are positive, with a rather direct:

“Poor service and rude staff. Would give zero stars if possible.”

This is one of the best replies that I’ve seen on Google:

“Tom – I think Google should have minus star ratings – then you could really vent your feelings”

That’s a classy response. I already liked this venue, but I liked them a bit more after reading this.

Overall, I very much liked this pub and its traditional interior design. There was a choice of beers, the prices were moderate for central London and the staff for friendly. A worthy addition to the Good Beer Guide and certainly worth visiting for anyone who needs to get a train from Euston or King’s Cross St Pancras.

July 20, 2023
Hike Norfolk – Dine with Des and the Blackhorse Beer Mile

Fearing nothing, I thought that it would be a marvellous idea to lead a group of Hike Norfolk members to London to take part in a ‘Dine with Des’ event which consisted of a walk hosted by the wonderful Des Garrahan and then several bars in the evening. There were 11 of us on the train and we managed to dodge rail delays, cancellations and strikes so what else could possibly go wrong? I was confident of the weather, despite the naysayers of the group.

We successfully obtained four table seats on the Greater Anglia Thunderbolt to London, so our expedition started positively with no-one missing the train either. It all made me really quite proud. Here are Bev and Steve excited about the day ahead.

Safely at London Liverpool Street, I used my Pret subscription to quickly get a delightful decaff coconut latte whilst waiting for everyone to return to the meeting point. Everyone was early other than Richard and Laurence who went on a large food shop and only just made it back in time. I didn’t say anything.

Still without any issue such as someone falling on the tracks or some other disaster, we waited for the Central Line train to Epping where our walking expedition was starting from.

I noted that some of the group had started eating their lunches, but I didn’t say anything or suggest that they were like a group of kids.

Here’s a plan for another day.

The group assembles at Epping station and we waited for Des, who swept in at 11:01, fortunately only one minute later than expected. It meant that our big trek into Walthamstow could begin, set at 11 miles although that situation was to change when I had one of my good ideas.

Our first stopping point so that Des could give us some history about Epping Forest and how it evolved. One new thing that I learned is that a forest might today mean a collection of trees, but in the medieval period it more referred to a Royal Forest which the King used for hunting. The forest was in danger of destruction in the Victorian period as developers kept pinching bits of it to build houses on, but fortunately an ecological movement formed to stop the trees being entirely swept away. Epping Forest is today managed by the City of London Corporation who appear to be looking after it well, although Des noted that they’re not that keen on putting up much signage around the area. He regretted saying that as every time anyone saw a sign they mentioned it quite loudly to Des.

Richard kept pestering Des to know when lunch was, so we found a suitable spot and I had my lunch which consisted of a Pret sandwich as I didn’t want to overdo it. There was a bit of excitement here when one of the London walkers, which I specify to show it wasn’t one of my lot, managed to get a bit lost. 45 minutes later the matter was resolved, although that gave us a timing issue that I think was in our favour in terms of the bars, but more on that later. There was another issue with regards to Steve, one which makes him a hero, but more also on that in a bit. I don’t want to put too much excitement into this post too early on.

Here’s Des posing by a tree. I should at this point mention the bravery of Bev who wasn’t going to take part in the walking element as she’s got a broken back or something, but she took part and complained only rarely. So very brave.

There was a tree that had fallen across one of the paths and Des made the immediate decision to move it. I moved a significant part of the foliage myself and then worried about getting a splinter, so I then just photographed the action.

I can’t quite recollect which part of the shrubbery I help moved, but I think it’s the little twig at the front of the photo.

No it isn’t.

Can you get much cooler than this? I mentioned earlier that Steve had been particularly brave during the lunchtime period. During the lunchtime missing person debacle, a girl came into view who was distressed and who had become separated from her family. She knew where she needed to go but wasn’t sure how to get there, with Steve working out that it was a 20 minute walk there and 20 minute walk back, meaning he’d be far behind our group. I put my live tracking on, Steve did the same, and then for the next part of the day he was playing catch-up with the rest of us. But look how suave he looks when he came back into sight. What a modern day hero.

Some ferocious bulls that we sneaked by. Richard identified them as cows but we all agreed they were dangerous bulls. Well, Laurence and I agreed that.

I didn’t feel the need to have an ice cream, but the rest of the group did. I think they were more exhausted than I was, since I forget what a natural athlete I am what with my squash, football and bar billiards action. Especially bar billiards.

I went to look at the lake whilst the others were binge eating their ice creams. I didn’t say anything. I did though announce my good plan, which was to shorten the walk, a plan I’m sure I’ve had before. We had bars to visit.

This is Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge, a sixteenth century building which was once used to watch all the animals that were about to be massacred by the Monarch. Next door is a mock Tudor building which is home to a Premier Inn, perhaps one of the most attractive one of their buildings in the chain.

It was then a quick walk to Chingford bus station where we boarded a bus towards the main focal point of the day, the Blackhorse Beer Mile. We had to switch to another bus en route, but we arrived before 17:00 and I was pleased with my excellent decision to peel off from the rest of the walk to ensure the Norfolk people got their complete experience of the bars. Unfortunately, Hackney Brewery was closed for a wedding, but everything else was in full flow and we started at Wild Card Brewery.

And then Beerblefish.

And Exale. That’s an insanely good Jazz Dragon from the brewery floating under the cloud, a double IPA with a beautiful tropical flavour and one of the best beers of the evening.

Pretty Decent Beer was a new venue to me and one of my favourites of the day, not least as they had a pizza food truck parked outside. The beer menu was extensive and the service was polite and helpful.

Food at last, the It’s Not Big Dough pizza offering.

The N’Duja sausage pizza, which was suitably delicious.

Yay! Be nice people 🙂

I had to toast my Morning Steve! beer in front of Steve, as I’m thoughtful like that.

I didn’t want to miss anyone else, so here’s the rest of the group being toasted with my decadent 5.5M2 raspberry sour. This venue was certainly surprising and delighting me.

Then off to Signature Brewing and I opted for the outside bar rather than waiting inside.

Toasting Richard and Laurence with my Summer in the City watermelon sour, another standout beer.

London beers are some of my favourites 🙂

I went up to the roof garden and my two loyal readers might want to see if they can pick out the by now heavily wrapped up Norfolk group. They don’t have my resilience to the cold.

The Studio Lager which I was gifted by someone who wasn’t entirely surprised and delighted by it, so it felt right to toast the group. Again. They were a very tolerant bunch to be fair.

Our final bar was Big Penny Social, which was one of the more popular venues with a chunk of the group.

Des had been unfortunate with his food options as pizza wasn’t available by the time he ordered at the previous two bars. A banana was found for him, but he decided to order a pizza at Big Penny Social. I have to say that I think he might the right decision.

A genuinely very lovely evening. I had been looking for someone to complete the Blackhorse Beer Mile with me so I was delighted with the job lot of people that I got. Not that I had better call Hike Norfolk a job lot….

I’m very good at delegation and I appointed Steve as the responsible adult to get us back to the railway station. I was unimpressed at the raucousness of the group who kept cheering when they saw themselves on the bus CCTV. I didn’t say anything, I just pretended that I wasn’t with them.

Time for a final Pret of the day.

Ready to board our train.

As she had been so delighted by the professionalism of the day, Bev gave me half her Love Bar. We all agreed I had been an excellent walk leader, or at least the one person I asked agreed with that.

The great news about all of this is that there’s another Dine with Des rolled out already given the excitement of this evening. Further details are at https://www.meetup.com/hikenorfolk/events/294858685/. Expect a lot more London adventures as I’m on a roll and they’re one of my favourite things 🙂

July 17, 2023
London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Central Bar

This is another of my posts trying to tidy up some of the Good Beer Guide listed pubs that I’ve visited but never written up. The downside is that I have very limited photos of them so this is hardly going to win any awards, but there we go, I’ve only got to cater to about two readers so that makes things easier.

The pub is operated by JD Wetherspoon, who opened it in 2002, and they have two other venues with the same name, the others are in Cardiff and Carrickfergus, but this one relates to the Central Line:

“This pub is on the first floor of the W12 Centre, opposite the Central Line underground station. The railway came to Shepherds Bush in May 1844, to close only a few months later. The first proper local service came with the opening of the Hammersmith and City Line, in 1864. The Central London Railway opened in 1900 and was renamed the Central Line in 1937.”

This was one of the cheap meals that were offered for many years, chicken wrap and chips, but the prices have gone up sharply over recent months.

Back to the venue, and once again apologies for the lack of photos of the interior, but the pub is located in a shopping centre and so it’s quite a generic and dull open plan set-up. For a JD Wetherspoon outlet it’s relatively badly reviewed, although I can’t say that I’ve had any particular problems here during my visits.

One customer has a photo of their food with a comment noting “Steak and pork loin cremated on my mixed grill with zero sympathy from the manageress” and he isn’t exaggerating, the photo shows food which shouldn’t have been served. On this point, there are two reviews of poor food where the customer has eaten nearly all of it and then taken a photo of the now nearly empty plate, I’m always humoured by the those reviews.

A few customers have complained that a QPR ticket is required to enter the venue when the team are playing at home, which is no doubt more for licensing issues but I can imagine it’s a little annoying for visitors who don’t think to check when the local team is playing. The pub serves alcohol from a later time in the morning when QPR are playing, which sounds very sensible to be fair.

“The management was kicking me out because me and my friend ate a burger that was not ordered by us “

I can understand where the management are coming from…..

“Asked for a classic 6oz beef burger with cheese and bacon no salad and the moron behind the bar somehow managed to hear “original gourmet beef burger” instead”

This from a customer who managed to order the wrong thing, didn’t notice they were charged more for the food, didn’t notice their receipt and calls the member of bar staff “a moron”….. I make no comment.

Anyway, I’ve once again digressed. At the time of writing, this venue has seven real ales which are priced between £1.71 and £2.96, very thrifty options there, including Oakham’s Citra and Elgood’s Patron Saint. Just on that selection of real ale and pricing, it’s no surprise that it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide.

April 30, 2023
London – Lewisham (Borough of) – Brockley Barge Pub

I haven’t visited the Brockley Barge recently, this is just something of a tidying up exercise to write a few riveting words about a pub that I’ve been to which is in the Good Beer Guide. It’s a JD Wetherspoon operated venue and they’ve been listed in the Good Beer Guide for several years now. The Wetherspoon history of the pub is quite brief, namely:

“The name of this pub recalls the barges which plied their trade on the Croydon Canal. Opened in 1809, the canal was replaced (in 1836) by the railway line, which was laid largely along the same course.”

A large chicken jalfrezi and I have to note that I’ve only got a few photos here, so excuse the lack of interior shots of the pub. The venue has been operated by JD Wetherspoons since 2000, it was the Breakspear Arms before that which had first opened as a licensed premises in 1868. It closed in 1994 after some turbulent years and was left with an uncertain future for six years until JD Wetherspoons reopened it.

As I have a lack of interior photos, here’s some fish and chips I had in the pub a few years back. The pub has always been busy when I’ve visited before, it’s not that substantial in terms of its size and it is clearly a popular venue within the local community. Incidentally, if I revisit I’ll actually take photos of the interior, rather than having to rely on old photos of food which I accept have rather limited excitement to my large readership of two people.

The reviews for the pub are generally positive but I had a little look through to see what excitement was going on.

“My friend who is heavily pregnant was in urgent need of the toilet. We knocked on the door a couple on minutes after closing to which they heard of her pregnancy and walked away. The manager then came and shouted at us through the window, as I told her by the law an establishment should let a pregnant woman in to use the toilet”.

I’m fairly sure it was never in the licensing rules for the pubs that I had which said it was the law to open up a closed pub to a pregnant customer to use the toilets…… Mind you, there’s a myth that pregnant women have the legal right to urinate in a policeman’s helmet on request, another falsehood that amazingly persists.

“They didn’t answer the phone when I called to wish them happy new year”

Hmmmmm. That’s as exciting as the reviews get to be fair…..

At the time of writing the pub is offering six real ales, priced between £1.71 and £2.78 per pint, including Sambrook’s Wandle Ale and Sambrook’s Nightshift Mild. A pub with a mild can’t be a bad thing. Although it’s important to mention micropubs and other independently run pubs, it seems to me a real positive that this venue has been saved by JD Wetherspoons as there would otherwise have been a realistic possibility that it would have become another outlet of Tesco Express.

April 30, 2023
London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – Signature Brew

Fourth and final on my list of bars I visited on the Blackhorse Beer Mile, because I needed to get back for my train, was Signature Brew. I only had time for one beer here and it was also the busiest of the venues that I visited on my Thursday evening peregrination.

The outside of the large complex that they’ve got going on here. It had started to rain but the outside area looks decent for when the weather is more agreeable. I write things like this, but I’m very much an indoor person, I don’t like sitting outside with cigarette smoke and bees.

The menu board.

I went for the Black Vinyl Stout from the brewery, a reliable dry stout along with my suitably paired crisps. I put a lot of thought into selecting the most appropriate crisps, although ideally they would have had Hula Hoops or Wotsits here.

The set-up here felt more commercial than the other taprooms, but I’m not sure that’s a negative, it’s a bigger venue and a larger outfit.

My friend Nathan, who is like a peripatetic and travel obsessed Alan Whicker, has been here and recommended this lunch deal. I had already eaten and was too late anyway, but this seems very acceptable to me for anyone who is around the area at the appropriate time.

My visit here was relatively brief due to timing issues, relating to a late arriving train in London caused by the theft of cabling in London, but I’ll come back and spend longer here. The environment was inviting, the staff were friendly and the choice of beers looked intriguing. I feel the need to come for the lunch deal, perhaps next time I’ll go from south to north on the beer route, rather than the north to south option I took. It all meant that I didn’t have time to have a drink in Big Penny Social, but next time!

April 29, 2023
London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – Exale Brewing and Taproom

Exale Brewing’s taproom was the third location that I visited on my little tour of the Blackhorse Beer Mile. Open on Thursdays to Sundays, this was one of the breweries that I was looking forwards to visiting as I’ve numerous of their beers over recent years. They brew the Krankie Iron Brew Sour which I liked the sound of, but it wasn’t quite as rich and innovative as I had hoped.

Customers walk through this area to get to the taproom, I think it’s quite exciting to feel part of the whole brewery process. I very much enjoy the Bermondsey Beer Mile, but it no longer feels quite as authentic as it once did, whereas the Blackhorse Beer Mile really was surprising and delighting me.

There’s the beer menu and it looked suitably tempting to me.

The taproom area with its mezzanine level and my bag on the left enjoying its latest trip out. How that hasn’t fallen apart I don’t quite know.

I asked if they served in thirds and the helpful team member explained that they didn’t, but she then suggested that I could have a flight and this was seemed a perfect solution and was reasonably priced. When serving flights, I’m always pleased when they make clear which beer is which and they were written clearly on the little card. The Monster Munch was so delicious that I went back for another pack, I was very pleased with those.

The Bossa was my favourite of the four, a blueberry sour which was rich and smooth. It apparently also had lychees in its, but I couldn’t remember what they tasted like, and I was already content with the blueberry sour and it reminded me of the free blueberry juices handed out on Finnair flights. But nicer of course because it had an alcoholic edge to it.

The Oona was also though also delightful, a hazy and hoppy NEIPA.

Some of the brewing equipment.

It does add somewhat to the drinking experience when sitting in front of the brewery’s tanks.

There is a food option available and it’s supplied by the nearby Lacy Nook restaurant.

This was the third delightful visit in a row, an inevitably on-trend, authentic and exciting taproom where the service was friendly, the beers were suitably decadent and I had a rather lovely time if truth be told. I imagine I’ll be back to all of the bars along here and this is certainly no exception to that plan.

April 29, 2023
London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – Beerblefish Brewing Co

There’s an element of this looking like something that I’ve arranged, a paper sign and a couple of tables outside with a variety of different looking chairs. But, it feels more authentic like this, I don’t need polished, I like seeing breweries just trying to make customers feel welcome in their taproom. This was the second venue that I visited on the Blackhorse Beer Mile, after having gone to the Hackney Brewery taproom.

A pleasant taproom with numerous benched seating and not that busy on the early Thursday evening that I visited, so plenty of space.

I was going to have half of each of the keg options, but their melon lager wasn’t behaving so I switched that out for half of the 1820 Heritage Porter.

There’s the Organic Hazy Pale which was OK, some citrus taste coming through but not much more exotic than that. The crisps are from Two Farmers, I went for the Hereford Bullshot and I decided that these complemented the beer nicely. To be fair, I rarely find that crisps don’t complement the beer I’ve ordered, they’re a very reliable foodstuff.

The 1820 Porter which had a traditional feel to it, nice roasted taste to it with flavours of chocolate and coffee, very drinkable.

I haven’t heard of the Toilet Twinning project before, but it certainly seems to be a worthwhile concept.

Some venues perhaps overthink toilet accessibility, this sort of arrangement seems to be a practical one.

I liked the whole arrangement here, although it was quite rustic in its set-up. The taproom is open from Thursdays to Sundays and although they don’t do food, they do have an agreement with Yard Sale Pizza who deliver here for free. There’s a community feel to the taproom and it’s smaller scale than some of the other venues on the Blackhorse Beer Mile. I’d merrily come back here again, very decent, with the service being friendly and efficient.

April 29, 2023
London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – Hackney Brewery & High Hill Taproom

I feel that I’ve mostly completed the Bermondsey Beer Mile, so it seemed an appropriate time to start work on the Blackhorse Beer Mile in North London. I arrived at the northern end of the run just as the Hackney Brewery & High Hill Taproom was opening and I was suitably surprised and delighted to see that they have some very generous prices on Thursdays of £3.50 per pint.

There was a friendly welcome and the helpful server told me that the first seven beers on this menu were part of the core range which were £3.50. So I started on some of those as that seemed the most polite thing to do.

Here’s the full beer list and I noted the Lervig Original Sin, I had a version of that (the Quebecois Maple Barrel) in Oslo and it was quite beautiful. But today was a day for concentrating on the Hackney Brewery beers and there were no shortage of tempting options here.

The brewery set-up.

The Millions of Peaches which had a whole load of peach taste in this beer as the name suggests, but there’s a complementing aftertaste of basil which works well. This was my favourite of the several beers that I tried here.

Although this Billions of Cherries wasn’t far behind it, a very decent sour which didn’t disappoint on the cherry flavours. They were just setting out the tables in the brewery area when I arrived, but there’s a large enclosed area in which I was sitting where the main bar was located. I noticed, but didn’t acquire, plenty of crisps as well for those who fancied some food. On Fridays and Saturdays they have Oli Babas serving Middle Eastern food, it’s quite a small food menu, but wraps, fries and olives with a beer sounds pleasant to me.

This is a genuinely agreeable set-up, the service was personable, the atmosphere was laid-back and comfortable, with the surroundings being informal. The servers had a strong knowledge of the beers, which isn’t surprising but it’s always a relief, with the helpful staff member ensuring there was a power point I could charge my depleting phone battery at. I felt welcome, the prices on Thursdays are remarkably cheap for the quality and I shall be coming here again and I am unanimous in that.

April 28, 2023
London – City of London – London Liverpool Street Proposed Upgrade

There seems to have been some opposition to the proposed upgrade of London Liverpool Street railway station, but for what it’s worth (which I accept isn’t a great deal), I’m in favour of the whole thing. There’s a little exhibition area at the railway station, along with some external posters explaining the reasoning for the project, although I fear that it’ll all be in vain as there appears to be organised opposition against it, not least from the Victorian Society.

The concourse design dates primarily to the 1980s upgrade which was modern and vibrant when it was completed, but the whole railway station is now struggling with passenger numbers. The toilets aren’t large enough, there’s insufficient seating, there are no power points for passengers and the disability access is terrible (as I’ve experienced with trying to manoeuvre a wheelchair around the concourse). It’s over-crowded, cluttered and I think needs modernising and extending.

This all looks quite creative to me, the historical elements that I want preserving do remain in place. Over-shadowed perhaps, but they’re kept.

I accept that it’s not necessarily the most inspiring of building designs and it will obscure some exterior views of the railway station, but functionality seems to be more important to me. And since the floors placed on top of the building will be profitable for the developers, that means no cost to the rail passenger or taxpayer.

I’m less convinced about the need for this, but I suppose it’s a useful amenity.

We’ll just have to see what the planners and ultimately Sadiq Khan think about the whole arrangement, but as I’ve mentioned, I think it’s overall a positive addition to the railway station. The Victorians hacked about with their stations all the time, expanding and improving them. Although perhaps the developers could also fund the restoration of Brandon railway station which is currently falling down since Greater Anglia have ignored it (or tried to demolish it). Maybe they could put a swimming pool, or lido, on top of that as well.

For anyone interested, the plans are at https://www.upgradelss.com/.

April 26, 2023
London – Wandsworth (Borough of) – Battersea Brewery

The rain was pouring down in south west London and so I thought that the best thing I could do was to find a brewery to rush into in order to keep dry. It’s important not to panic during such occasions and this brewery is in the shadow of the former Battersea power station seemed a sensible option.

The beer menu, which is also available on Untappd, was self-effacing and also I thought reasonably priced for London. The service at the bar was timely and friendly, the whole arrangement felt inviting and comfortable. They seem to pride themselves on loud music judging from some of their marketing, which is something that I certainly would have avoided but fortunately it was all quiet and relatively peaceful when I visited.

I went for the Your Local MP which is one of the brewery’s own beers, a drinkable if not exceptional sour which had some mango flavours flowing through it. I liked the brewery’s description of this beer which is “sourer than Liz Truss against the wokerati”.

A table with a slope which I frankly thought was sub-optimal.

There’s a central bar area with a reasonable amount of seating around it, including some extra upstairs, which was all clean and organised.

I could note that I was watching the world go by from where I was seated, but I was mainly watching the rain pour down.

And some inspirational reading material. The venue does bar snacks such as crisps, pork scratchings as well as sausage rolls, chicken wings and toasties which are again all reasonably priced.

The on-line reviews are generally positive, although there are a few angry people out there, not least:

“I’m familiar and accepting of the cost of a beer in London. I will pay £6+ with nothing but a sad memory of what things were like before. But £10 pounds for a bottle of Augustiner helles is robbery. And I paid for 2. I was told that this was because of the cost of importing… This fine German lager can be found online at the beer merchants website for £3.60.”

I’m with Battersea Brewery on this one, they’re selling their own beers which are reasonably priced but have bulked up the menu with some additional choices. The cost of importing is currently often horrendous and a quick look at other venues in London suggests to me that this beer is retailing at something between £6 and £10, so it doesn’t seem unreasonable. Looking at their Untappd list, it seems that they don’t sell the beer now, but their other guest options aren’t unnecessarily high and it must be soul destroying to see reviews like this when it’s apparent upfront what they’re charging anyway. I applaud locations that are a verified venue on Untappd as it gives me clarity on what beers are available and usually what prices are being charged.

Anyway, before I get distracted with reading endless reviews, all seemed well to me during my visit. I’ve never had a beer from this brewery before and I think they’re relatively niche as they’re still small, but it seems a worthwhile endeavour to set up a taproom. They’re in an area which is becoming more popular with tourists and where more people are moving to, so I can imagine that this will remain a profitable little enterprise.

April 25, 2023