Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Brewdog

  • London – Islington (Borough of) – Brewdog Clerkenwell

    London – Islington (Borough of) – Brewdog Clerkenwell

    I’m slowly working my way around the Brewdogs of the world, although unfortunately my attempt to go to Brewdog in Gothenburg this month has rather fallen through. So, I visited the one in Clerkenwell instead.

    This isn’t a great photo, the layout makes it a bit difficult to take photos without walking about and that’s not an ideal situation given the current health climate. It’s a spacious Brewdog which is split over a couple of floors, with the usual range of different seating types.

    This is two thirds of a pint of Breakout Space from Full Circle, although I only ordered a third. I did query that, since this is an expensive beer, but they kindly just gave me the extra third. I suppose since their beer stocks will be thrown away on Thursday, it perhaps matters a little less. The bar didn’t have as many darker options as they usually would, so I veered into this hoppy IPA and it was quite decadent for this beer style. Very fruity, smooth, slightly sweet and an aftertaste of pineapple, this is about as tropical as I’ll be getting for some time.

    Since Brewdog were so gracious with the free third of a pint they ended up giving me, I ordered their own doppelbock of Weizen Up (which was also over-poured, although that’s a useful side benefit of ordering thirds). I’ve never quite understood what the difference is between a doppelbock and a dunkel (my friend Nathan will tut, as he’ll find that obvious no doubt) so I’ve finally looked it up, and apparently “with alcohol concentrations of 4.5% to 6% by volume, dunkels are weaker than Doppelbocks, another traditional dark Bavarian beer”. So with that mystery now solved, back to the beer, which had a caramel and toffee taste, it was likely being back in Germany. Well, without the McRibs.

    I had noted that Brewdog were doing this as it was featured on Untappd and it seemed an interesting collaboration with that many breweries taking part. Unfortunately, that weekend is now lost for Brewdog, but hopefully they can do something similar in the future.

    I had a look on TripAdvisor and this bar has done well to only get two very low scores over the years that it has been open, one which was about it being busy when football was on (the manager seemed confused as the bar doesn’t show football) and the other complained he wasn’t asked if he wanted fries. I’d say that they’re doing pretty well if that’s all people can complain about.

    The staff here were friendly and pro-active, although it was very quiet on a Monday afternoon. They were serving food, although I’m not sure they were selling much, but the bar environment was clean and everything seemed ordered. It’s not the cheapest location, but the range of beers is usually well balanced and there are also some decadent and tempting options in the fridges. Slightly strange to see that Wetherspoons are selling off pints of Brewdog Punk IPA for £1.50, whilst they were nearly £6 here, but such is the strange world of alcohol retailing….

    Anyway, I liked this outlet of Brewdog, calm and welcoming. Goodness knows when I’ll next be in a Brewdog though…

  • London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Canary Wharf – Brewdog

    London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Canary Wharf – Brewdog

    Carrying on with my theme of working around the Brewdog pubs of the UK, this is their outlet at Canary Wharf. As may be visible from the photo, their rolling shutter was broken and so one of their staff had managed to get underneath to get in, but it was impossible for anyone else. This did mean that the inside of the pub was closed, but they could serve customers with the staff getting in and out via the fire escape.

    So, this was the limit of the Brewdog seating, this covered external area which was actually rather comfortable. There were a couple of other customers during the time that I was here, but a surprisingly small number of customers who tried to get in. This can’t be a good time for Brewdog at Canary Wharf even if they could open up properly.

    The Velvet Vengeance is Brewdog’s own beer and I’ve never had this one before. Poured badly and in a glass that was slightly chipped at the top, it wasn’t a tour de force from the staff. But, they were clearly in trying circumstances and they were unfailingly polite. There were tastes of chocolate and biscuits I thought, with it all being smooth, although not quite as rich as I had expected. Still decent though and at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature.

    So, this was all perfectly OK, although it’s not quite the visit that I had expected and there are of course no photos of the interior. I’m sure that I’ll have chance to pop in again at some point in the future though.

  • London – Camden (Borough of) – Brewdog

    London – Camden (Borough of) – Brewdog

    And another day in London, so another Brewdog for my little collection…. This one is located in Camden and was formerly the Laurel Tree which had closed and then been turned into a restaurant. Brewdog were given permission to return it to use as a pub in 2011 and it became their first outlet in London.

    The pub is bright and modern in feel and although there’s a basement level, it isn’t the largest Brewdog in the estate. The staff member was friendly and helpful, with the appropriate health protocols all being handled professionally.

    The beer choice was wide, although there were no interesting dark beers from guest brewers, which is a little rare for Brewdog. Anyway, they had their own beer of Pudding Face which I haven’t had before and this was a quiet remarkable drink, as it tasted of a chocolate eclair. Beer shouldn’t have to taste like this, but I’m pleased when it does. It was certainly just a little decadent and there were tastes of pastry, chocolate and toffee, all coming together beautifully in a beer. I’m now rather glad that there weren’t any guest beers to try, as I would have missed out on this. Brewdog isn’t trying to be the cheapest option for beers, and this was towards the higher end of the scale, but the quality was high.

    As an aside, a senior person from Brewdog came in when I was there, but not many other customers did, only two during the time that I was there. I can see why so many pubs are deciding not to open at all at the moment in London, these are still challenging times.

    When walking to the toilets I was confronted (from the other direction) with this ladder and I suspect a customer who was slightly (well, very) drunk would have marched straight up it. It’s just their store-room up there and the ladder had been left down, so I was pleased I realised to walk around it rather than straight up it.

    Anyway, it’s another perfectly decent outlet and the beer is, as usual, towards the excellent end of the spectrum. The staff member was friendly, the pub was clean and so that’ll do me….

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – Brewdog Paddington

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – Brewdog Paddington

    I’m still working my way around Brewdogs in the UK, although, unfortunately, not quite as fast as I’d like. Anyway, this is their outlet in Paddington, a sizeable affair located by the Floating Pocket Park. There’s some work going on outside the front of the pub, but it is in there somewhere on this photo.

    This is probably a better photo, it’s what the Brewdog looks out onto.

    The beer list and I went for The Boogie Below, a milkshake IPA from New Bristol Brewery. They did have a very tempting imperial stout, the Brush from Omnipollo, but it was £8 for a third of a pint and I’m not as decadent as Nathan. Anyway, back to the drink I actually did have, it was suitably summery and refreshing with the pineapple and coconut being evident in the taste. A lingering aftertaste and at an appropriate chilled temperature, all rather lovely.

    This is a good idea, something that probably works alongside Deskdog, which is an area that people can get work done. I’m not sure how popular a designated separate area would be, as I like sitting in the main part of the pub, but it’ll be interesting to see how it evolves.

     

    And the interior is so on-trend it slightly hurts, but it’s still comfortable, welcoming and fun. The beer choices were excellent and there was a range of different styles, with the staff being knowledgeable as usual. This is rather a decent addition to the Brewdog chain, although it wasn’t particularly busy when I visited on a Tuesday lunchtime.

    The staff were friendly and engaging, with the track and trace requirements being met and everything was clean and organised. Brewdog took over here from Draft House, who still operate a few pubs across London, in early 2019. All told, a rather lovely visit.

  • Cambridge – Brewdog

    Cambridge – Brewdog

    I’m slowly and steadily (which keeps reminding me of strong and stable) working through the Brewdogs in the world and this is one of their newer ones, opening in Cambridge in 2019.

    The beer board, with palpably enthusiastic staff serving customers. A nicely balanced selection of beers, although that’s no surprise in a Brewdog.

    The bar is laid out over two floors.

    I had a nice little table reserved upstairs near to the front of the pub. The staff members upstairs were helpful and friendly, this is a very laidback pub, but it still seemed efficiently run to me.

    This is the Cranachan Killer, a fruit beer which isn’t normally what I gravitate to. But, I liked the description which mentioned the raspberries, honey, toasted oats and cream. So, it’s an oatmeal pale ale, with a rich taste of raspberries running through it and a slightly sweet flavour. Served at the beautiful moderately chilled temperature, this was well measured and not too sweet with a pleasant and smooth aftertaste. Nice.

    Both of these burgers are mine, they were buy one get one free as part of Brewdog’s Vegan Monday offer, then the Government’s eat out to help out kicked in. So the burgers, also reduced by the Government’s VAT cut, cost just over £2.30 each and the beer was about £4, so a total meal cost of £8.60 or so. Marvellous value.

    I didn’t order fries or any sides, since I thought two burgers would be enough. They’re both vegan burgers and I thought now would be a good time to try them, although I had low expectations.

    The one at the front is the Temple of Seitan, which was rather creative. The seitan has a texture and coating sort of similar to chicken, although it’s not quite there. But the kale added texture, the tomato chutney added some sweetness and flavour and I liked the hummus. A perfectly acceptable burger. Both of the burgers came with a vegan beetroot brioche bun, which retained its texture and tasted fine.

    But, that’s not the burger I want to write excitedly about, it’s the one at the back, the Beyond Meat Burger. It came with vegan Gouda cheese, chipotle slaw, roasted red peppers and pickles. Pickles are a delight with nearly any meal (particularly chicken bakes), and the peppers added some sweetness and the slaw some crunch, but they weren’t the main part of the excitement here. That vegan burger was a joy to behold (OK, I’m going a bit far now, I wasn’t at Greggs) as it had the texture of meat, a similar flavour and, actually, I think I preferred it to meat. I’d quite happily sub out meat burgers if this is the quality of the vegan alternative. It’s like the Greggs vegan sausage roll all over again, tremendously exciting.

    Gloriously creative from Brewdog and they’re rolling out more vegan and vegetarian options next month which keeps them on-trend and intriguing. But, anyway, this pub was clean, the staff were engaging, the food was marvellous and I couldn’t find any fault here worth noting. I’m not sure Brewdog get much better than this, everything running to a high standard. How very lovely.

  • London – Shepherd’s Bush – Brewdog

    London – Shepherd’s Bush – Brewdog

    Still working through the Brewdogs in the UK, the Shepherd’s Bush location has gone through a few incarnations of pubs over the years, but has been part of the Brewdog empire since 2013. This bar is well-reviewed on-line and has managed to pick up nearly no negative reviews, an impressive effort. Some of the negative reviews they have got are ridiculous, one accusing them of charging more than another pub for a beer, which was one Brewdog don’t even serve anyway.

    Brewdog customer service is usually excellent and there was no exception here, with a couple of engaging and helpful staff. There was an extensive and well-measured beer selection as usual, with some interesting and exciting options. There were some tempting more expensive beers, but I managed to resist the allure of the pricey….

    There’s the usual modern decor in the pub with a variety of seating, including tall tables and more comfortable lower level seating. All on-trend, clean and crisp.

    This is the Plum Pudding Porter from Wiper and True, I thought it was served marginally too cold (and I hope a certain someone doesn’t read this and tut) as the flavour was just a bit weak. There were elements of coffee and plum, which were pleasant flavours, but there wasn’t much of an aftertaste. Not a bad beer at all though, I’d have just like some stronger flavours.

    The environment of this Brewdog is relaxed and comfortable, although that was aided by there only being a few people in it, as that does help with the peaceful element. I’m sure it gets busy in the evenings, but I like the vibe to the bar, all seeming well managed and welcoming.

  • London – Soho (Brewdog)

    London – Soho (Brewdog)

    Part of my slow and steady attempt to work my way through the lists of Brewdog outlets, the Soho location is on two floors and is relatively spacious. The staff seemed to spend quite a bit of time worrying how they were going to fit their reservations inside the pub if it rained, not that they needed to worry, it didn’t rain and it’s still too hot in London. But, I digress and I can’t keep going on about how hot it is in the capital. Although it is very hot.

    I was seated alone at a table for eight, which seemed a grand use of space for me, but they weren’t getting particularly busy until later on.

    The interior of the pub, with the traditional Brewdog beer fridge.

    The menu board for those wanting to order at the bar. But, there were also drinks lists at the table and customers could order via the app as well. The coronavirus standards seemed to be high and the staff were asking customers to leave their details under track and trace, which a good number of pubs aren’t bothering with.

    I went for Wings Wednesday as this was half-price due to the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme. The first portion is served as a large-size and then they top up the wings on request. I was marginally irritated that I tried to hide the blue cheese sauce, as that isn’t replaced, but a staff member swept it up when clearing the first plate away and no replacement brought. I did think about querying this, but I didn’t want to cause a scene over some blue cheese sauce. Even I’d struggle to complain about something that minor. Although I thought about it.

    The additional portion sizes were more moderate, even for Brewdog, and the service was reactive and never pro-active. I didn’t want another drink, but they didn’t ask about that, nor did they ever ask if I wanted more wings. I suspect they were suffering from having too many staff on, which can sometimes lead to poorer service.

    This was the Dr Todd from the Wild Beer Company, which comes in at the best part of £14 for a pint. I’m not made of money and so I limited myself to a third, which was probably the perfect size drink as the taste is strong and this is better sipped than downed. It’s a sour, which was pleasingly not too, well, sour, but it did have powerful flavours of ginger and lemon, along with a more subtle hint of honey. The drink has been aged in whisky barrels, which was also evident from the taste and I remain convinced this is the best way to experience whisky. So, have a drink from a whisky barrel that isn’t whisky. Win-win.

    The walk down to the toilets and also to the downstairs bar area.

    The Government’s subsidy made this very reasonably priced and everything seemed well managed and under control. The service was always polite, but it could have been far more pro-active. I have to say though, the Brewdog choice of drinks was outstanding, perhaps not the cheapest, but there were numerous innovative options. The atmosphere was laid-back and friendly as well, it was a comfortable environment.

  • Norwich – Brewdog (Wings Wednesday)

    Norwich – Brewdog (Wings Wednesday)

    Back to Brewdog, which I’ve written about before, but some of my favourite pubs are still closed and I think this chain has handled things well in recent months. And I like their craft beer. So, I pre-booked a table in advance and this was acknowledged and confirmed around a day later.

    The bar area with the list of beers on the back bar. I took these photos when leaving, at a time when it was quieter, because otherwise it was relatively busy throughout the evening. When entering the bar, there’s a staff member near to the door and they explain how everything is working in terms of hygiene and safety. Customers need to scan a QR code (I won’t mention that Nathan’s Nokia 8210 doesn’t have this facility, so he had to stand and look confused) and that allowed me to give my contact details to comply with Government rules, and there’s also an ordering facility as well on the app. Customers can decide whether to use the app to order, but table service is still offered.

    Another photo of the front bar area.

    My drink was Layer Cake, a pastry stout with layers of flavour including marshmallow and chocolate. Decadent, rich and very sippable. I was also conveniently seated next to a hand sanitiser, which was quite handy given that the food choice for the evening wasn’t the cleanest to eat.

    And, Wings Wednesday, which is either cauliflower or chicken wings for £10 and they keep on bringing them until you tell them not to bring them. Which seems a very good deal. The wings were excellent, evenly coated with a pleasantly flavoured sauce and they were all cooked well. I like blue cheese, but not always blue cheese dip, but this one complemented the chicken wings nicely, and they also brought me over some hot sauce.

    Service was friendly and engaging throughout, everything was brought over with no real delay and the staff seemed to be in control of the whole process. There is an air of professionalism to Brewdog, so the whole efficiency of the process wasn’t unsurprising.

  • York – Brewdog

    York – Brewdog

    I’m writing this shortly after the Prime Minister’s announcement that all pubs, bars and restaurants should close from tonight. It was a week ago today that I was in Brewdog in York, feels much longer given how much has changed with the virus situation. Anyway, it’ll all blow over soon hopefully.

    I hadn’t realised that there was a Brewdog in York, it was only walking by that I happened to notice it, a reminder that I need to look at their list of UK pubs more often. Well, after this virus has finished faffing about with the British pub scene anyway.

    The staff member was friendly and helpful, something that the chain tends to get right. Not the most vibrant of atmospheres, since there was only one other customer on a Friday afternoon, but I didn’t require a nightclub feel, so all was well.

    I opted for the Velvet Merkin by Firestone Brewing, all the way from California. It’s not cheap, at just over £10 per pint, but this isn’t a drink that needs to be purchased in such a large measure. It felt like its 8.5%, with this being the barrel aged version of the brewery’s Velvet Merlin beer. The beer was marvellous, rich in initial flavour and there were afternotes of chocolate, vanilla and coffee. A multi-layered drink and very decadent, an excellent guest choice from Brewdog.

    The packed bar….. Everything felt welcoming about the location though, no loud music, the temperature was appropriate and the toilets were clean and fully stocked, something particularly important at the time.

    There are a few different sections to this Brewdog, this is the seating area at the rear. It makes me feel rather quite sad to know that for several weeks this bar, and tens of thousands of others, will be closed.

    Anyway, the pub is well reviewed on-line, but I felt the need to have a little look at the grumpy reviews on TripAdvisor. This is one of the 1/5 reviews, they didn’t like what I would call the on trend decor:

    “The worst part though is the venue itself. It’s like walking into a building site. What a total mess it looks. Maybe they are trying to be trendy I don’t know but it’s a right tip. Rough walls, filthy floor, cables and tat hanging from the roof. The bar is made of outdoor road paving slabs that looked like they hadn’t had a wipe down in days. The front of the bar is just rough old pallets with bloody great splinters sticking out.”

    And another unhappy customer who didn’t like the design:

    “The decor is a dump.. think it’s meant to be trendy, but it’s still a dump… and beer at up to £12.50 a bottle… mmmm don’t think I will bother again..”

    On a matter of principle, a really innovative craft beer bar is inevitably going to have bottles at over £10, such as the cost of importation.

    “Shame. I loath decorating and DIY so why would I feel relaxed in a placed that intentionally gives itself the ambience of a renovation project?”

    And another one, the bar seems to get more complaints about its decor than anything else.

    I imagine there’s quite a student feel to this bar on evenings throughout the year, it’s on the infamous Micklegate bar crawl and it’s all suitably on-trend. I liked this Brewdog though, and the staff member remembered what I’d ordered and asked if I’d enjoyed it. Now, I accept that this wasn’t a huge feat of memory given the number of customers, but it’s still a nice touch.

     

  • Florence – Brewdog (One Good Visit, One Bad Visit)

    Florence – Brewdog (One Good Visit, One Bad Visit)

    OK, I’ll start with the bad visit, which was the second one that I made. I had booked to go to the bar via The Fork, which had otherwise worked brilliantly this weekend, and would give me a 20% discount. Unfortunately, despite the bar having that booking they decided against opening which is fine if they had bothered to tell me. So, probably best not to book for this bar unless visiting in the evening.

    Anyway, back to the first visit, which was much better.

    The Brewdog in Florence is smaller than most of the others in the chain that I’ve been to, which is also reflected in the smaller selection of beers. However, the selection is still well-balanced and there was plenty of choice available. I had the Zombie Cake porter and it tasted as I expected, rich with plenty of chocolate in flavour, as well as some vanilla. The prices were as I’d expect from Brewdog, it’s not the cheapest, but the quality is pretty much guaranteed.

    The bar was relatively compact, but there was a reasonable amount of seating available as there are two floors to the building. The welcome at the bar was friendly and immediate, with the staff member being engaging, helpful and polite. All rather lovely.

    The downstairs of the bar, which shows live sports and can I understand get a little crowded in the evening at times.

    This is the well, one of the features of the downstairs bar, which also felt slightly damp (the downstairs that is, not the well which was had no water in it at all). The atmosphere was laid back on the first visit, it’s a safe and comfortable environment.

    I was so pleased with the first visit that I decided to go back for food, but as mentioned earlier on, the bar didn’t open. There’s one thing opening late as there are likely many reasons, but perhaps it’d be helpful just to alert customers rather than just ignore the situation. It might have been that they opened just a little late, but if I had known, I could have waited, but I’m not going to stand outside for what might be hours. So, unfortunately, I can’t say much about the food, but I like that they’ve got some localisation going in, rather than just having the standard menu which we have in the UK. Incidentally, they have free snacks in the evening, although I’m not sure between what times, although I suspect they’re probably erratic…..