Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

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
Cambridge – Thirsty (Repeat Visit)

I’ve visited this bar before, but I felt the need to just repeat how excellent this on-trend and exciting the venue is. Those beer options are exceptional and very helpfully, they’re listed on Untappd. As I’ve written about the bar before, I’ll limit myself to just commenting on the beers I had when I visited with my friend Ross at the weekend.

The surroundings remain clean, comfortable and well presented. There’s a food menu where a neighbouring Italian restaurant brings the dishes in, it all looks most agreeable.

The Muffin Man (Blueberry & Mango) from Vault City, who are one of my favourite brewers. Sweet, fruity, smooth and very drinkable.

This is the star of any show though, the Cocotella which is also from Vault City. Liquid chocolate and coconut, this was smooth and entirely hid its 10% ABV. The combination of a stout with coconut, nuts and chocolate is always a decadent treat and this was no exception.

As a bar, this is a marvellous destination and I can’t really imagine a trip to Cambridge without popping in for at least one drink. Some considerable thought and effort clearly goes into this beer menu and it leaves me constantly surprised and delighted.

April 27, 2023
Cambridge – Champion of the Thames

Working through my never ending task of visiting as many pubs in the Good Beer Guide as possible, this is a Cambridge pub that I haven’t been to before. As I’m an idiot I couldn’t work out how to get in, but a customer did make it obvious and commented that this happened frequently. The external chalk boards were mostly rubbed out and it wasn’t entirely clear that the pub was open at first.

There were four real ales on, without nothing particularly interesting or unique, and I went for the Mad Wolf from Wolf Brewery. It didn’t seem entirely well kept, but it was just on the right side of not being vinegary to persist with it without taking it back to the bar and there wasn’t anything else particularly interesting on anyway. However, this is a Greene King pub, so I wasn’t expecting to be surprised or delighted with the beer. I note on their web-site that they claim “we pride ourselves on having the best ales in Cambridge” and then list Abbot and Greene King IPA below that. Perhaps my expectations were too high having just come from Thirsty, a formidable bar in the city which offers beers of an exceptional quality.

The pub was quiet, but it is an inviting atmosphere, there were friendly customers and plenty of heritage evident in its design. It was also clean and well presented, so the environment was sufficiently comfortable. The staff member was also engaging and polite, but it did feel like a pub for locals rather than aimed at tourists. They seem to have deliberately kept it old fashioned in terms of the decor and that seems very sensible, it’s got an authentic feel to it and that positively to the whole arrangement.

I initially thought that it was positive they had events taking place, until I realised that they’re in a different pub. It felt an odd marketing strategy, but I assume it’s clear to the regulars. They do have other events, such as showing University Challenge which I can imagine leads to a quite fun atmosphere in the venue. They also do free cheese and crackers on a Sunday, that’s something that feels really community led.

I’m sure that this offers a reliable option for the community and it’s obviously of a decent enough standard to be listed in the Good Beer Guide, so I might have just got unlucky with the beer. The beer wasn’t for me though interesting enough in range or quality, both combining to be a disappointing visit. Given the heritage of the building and the potential here, it just feels a shame that it’s part of the Greene King pub empire.

April 27, 2023
Cambridge – King Street Run

Our decision (more my decision than Ross’s to be fair) to come to this pub was a little random and primarily as it was nearby to a Good Beer Guide listed pub, I hadn’t realised at the time that this is one of the venues that Nathan has got one of his funny stories about. Probably best that I don’t put it on this blog, just ask about it when playing bar billiards is probably the optimal strategy…..

There was a friendly welcome and the interior felt like it was a suitably cosy venue. Evidently the pub doesn’t want to take itself too seriously with the “free air guitars for customers” and I like that style. The pub name itself is part of that theme, as the King Street Run was a mainly student led tradition where they had a pint in eight pubs without using the facilities. Such frivolity has long since gone, but students still form their own versions of the tradition to suit their needs.

I didn’t comment for long on the choice of drink Ross made. Well, for no more than a couple of minutes anyway.

They only had one real ale, which was Doom Bar and that didn’t excite or delight me, so I went for a Blue Moon.

Despite the brewer’s best efforts to remind publicans to ensure the drink was served with an orange, including printing that on the glass, the orange was missing. I accept this isn’t actually a problem to me, but it’s part of the drink’s theatre and I’m not sure why a pub would choose to sell this beer and then mis-serve it.

It’s very much a sports pub, with football showing and pool, darts and other similar equipment dotted around the venue, not least a bar billiards table.

Although it seemed quite student led, I quite liked the whole arrangement and it was better than I had anticipated when we entered, although also much quieter than I had expected. I can imagine it’s quite a vibrant atmosphere when live sports are being shown, but it was certainly peaceful enough during our visit. I wouldn’t recommend coming here for real ale or craft beer, but it’s interesting enough and maybe one day there will be a plaque on the wall noting Nathan’s acrobatics here.

April 27, 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
London – Westminster (Borough of) – Oxford Street – Hard Rock Cafe (4th Visit – with Robot)

And another visit to this central London hotel, restaurant and bar, with this meal being funded by TheFork.

I tend to notice different music memorabilia every time I visit here, this time the star of the show looked to me like this piano once played on by Freddie Mercury.

It looked quiet from this angle, but they must have had over 100 customers in for lunch. It’s the busiest that I’ve seen it recently for lunch, another sign of the tourists returning to London.

The menu mentioned at the top to ask the server for details of what craft beers they were offering. I asked and she said Heineken, which didn’t entirely surprise and delight me if I’m being honest. I ordered the Brixton Coldharbour Lager instead.

The beer tasted as expected, with the chicken wings being to the usual high Hard Rock cafe style.

This seemed quite exciting, as they were using robots to deliver around half of the meals. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the excitement (I’m easily pleased) on this occasion, so I took a photo of the neighbouring table receiving their child’s meal. Apparently there are two of these robots meandering their way around the restaurant, named Bellabot and Holabot, with customers clearly being impressed by the whole arrangement. Some diners weren’t quite sure whether to take their own food or wait for a staff member, as the policy seemed mixed, but the robot patiently waited before returning back to the kitchen.

I had gone for the chicken fajitas which came with a staff member telling me to be careful of the hot dish, which likely explains the lack of robot interaction.

And there’s the rest of the dish. It’s one of my favourite items on their menu, although the four wraps are never enough for the quantity of food which is provided.

The server returned to tell me that I had under-spent the allowance offered by TheFork and I could have a free dessert, but I had already gone through enough food, so they brought over half a pint of Guinness instead. That seemed a fair compromise, Guinness is like a meal, so that’s all well and good.

This is a well run restaurant and there are plenty of attentive and helpful staff members around, although it’s not the cheapest for those paying for their meal as mine would have cost around £44 before the tip. And if I get chance for another meal here, I will most certainly take it and hopefully next time I’ll get more robot interaction during the service.

April 25, 2023
London – Wandsworth (Borough of) – Battersea Power Station

I wasn’t quite sure what was currently inside the former Battersea Power Station, but given that it was pouring down with rain it seemed a place to dry off if nothing else.

I certainly didn’t expect anything this decadent in the former turbine hall, part of a building which once produced a fifth of the city’s power. I also hadn’t realised that there were two turbine halls, each with two chimneys, with a connecting building in between them. Turbine Hall A was completed in 1935 and Turbine Hall B was completed in 1955, being decommissioned in 1975 and 1983 respectively. I must say that I was surprised and delighted with the whole arrangement.

This is the connecting building in the middle.

After the site was decommissioned it was left derelict for just over three decades with numerous different projects suggested and then rejected or left unfunded. It was granted Grade II listed status in 1980 and that was upgraded to Grade II* in 2007.

This is the second hall, with this impressive brick arrangement at one end looking out towards the River Thames.

And looking down the second hall. The food venues seem to mostly be quite high end, but there’s a Nando’s there to mix things up a bit. But no Greggs I note.

Control Room B looks rather decadent, it’s now an all-day bar and some of the historic equipment is located here from when the building was used to produce electricity. It’s not really a place for me though, they concentrate on wine, champagne and cocktails, with a dreary selection of bottled beers that looks like someone has popped to the Tesco Express down the road. Anyway, I digress.

I liked this mural of Britishness. There are some more photos of this mural as well as a few more from around the building at https://www.flickr.com/photos/julianwhite-uk/albums/72177720307752196/. There’s also more information at the developer’s web-site at https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk/about/.

April 24, 2023