London – Brewdog Tower Hill

I’m slowly working my way around Brewdog locations in the UK, although I have some way still to go. I’m a martyr to my completist urges…..

This is the Tower Hill location, just a short walk away from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It’s a large venue, but unfortunately a combination of an early evening visit just before Christmas meant that it was also not inconsiderably busy.

I opted for half a Jet Black Heart and the staff member had real problems pouring it, some considerable fobbing meant he spent some time trying to get it to settle. He seemed to know what he was doing, but I’ve never seen a bar have sprays of water to clean down the side of glasses from where the beer was overflowing. I don’t know enough about the brewing and dispenses processes, but they seemed to be struggling a little here with some of the beers. The beer also didn’t taste quite right, the flavours were there, but it didn’t seem rich enough.

Some highlights from the food menu.

Behind the bar, which at the time was quiet, although that didn’t last long.

The beer fridge, with some interesting options. Beers can be taken away, or consumed at the bar for a surcharge of around £2 per can or bottle.

And some more photos of the interior. The service at the bar was friendly and efficient, despite it being relatively busy. I was impressed that customers were being served in turn, so the bar staff seemed aware of what was going on.

A growler filler on the bar.

Anyway, onto TripAdvisor to see what drivel people have posted there.

“I visited Brewdog last week, ordered a pint of Punk EPA. When I got back to the table I realised there was a fruit fly in my beer. Took it back and barman told me it must have flown in there on way to table, put in his finger to scoop it out then offered the same pint back to me!”

I liked this one, although as a customer I’d have just taken the fly out myself. Although bar staff taking things out of the glass with their finger isn’t ideal…..

“1) drunken local men peeing in the sink in the bathroom. A sign would be helpful or an attendant to make sure these neanderthals can find their way to the urinal, and to teach them the difference between their backside and their elbow
2) another drunken man crawling around the floor on all fours wearing a leather BDSM mask. Perhaps part of a stag-do, but it was still off putting when you’re with children.”

Fortunately my standards are higher than that, goodness knows what was happening in the pub on that night….

“This is the worst place to drink in the whole of London. Rude, overbearing staff with shocking customer service skills and bad attitudes all round. I would rather gouge my eyeballs out than ever revisit this place.”

This one is from Google, where the reviews are normally more sensible. I can safely say that very few people would consider this pub to be the worst place to drink in the city. Certainly nobody would who has visited some of the rougher pubs that are in the city.

All in all, it’s probably a much more sedate and calm environment during other times of the year, but the staff seemed on top of everything even when it was busy. The prices aren’t the cheapest, but the atmosphere was welcoming and comfortable.