While in Manchester the worst and more noisy aspects of bathroom replacement were taking place, we fled to London to get some peace and quiet and, importantly, to be able to have a shower. The re-instating of our bathroom is still taking place, alas with no shower yet, but reassuringly, the connections are there, so it is a matter of time. In the meantime, I have had to resort to washing in the sink again. I say again, because my sister reminded me of our early days at our granny's in Castle Douglas, where that was the daily way of doing things until, once a week, we bathed in a zinc bath in the outhouse. I must say, washing in such a way today is more vexatious than it seemed then.
It is a while since I have spent a week in London and of course, despite the reason and a determination to act as normally as possible, we did tend to treat it as a holiday. And why not?
Given that we had struck lucky with the weather, we determined to get out and about, but we started in the usual way with a pint or two in the Aldgate Tap, having previously had a quick pint in its sister, the Euston Tap. Now both sell cask beer, but also tend to have a good choice of German beer, so, given the temperature of around 30C, that's what we plumped for in both places. The choice was good with at least three beers in each and the standard Bitburger which actually, for a mass-produced beer, is both dry and bitter.
The next day, in a nod to our good intentions, we went shopping to Waitrose - it is nearest - and to be fair, we mainly ate in for a change. Later that day, I had the pleasure of meeting, by arrangement, with fellow beer writer Laura Hadland. We met in a well thought of pub, the Old Fountain at Old Street which sells a range of cask beers, but my pint of Five Points Gold wasn't up to much and Laura's Oakham was very much end of cask. Fortunately, as often is the case, the company and conversation more than made up for it. Then it was a quick bus trip for me to another favourite, the Sutton Arms where the cask was just fine, though the choice didn't appeal, so I switched to Ayinger German lager when E arrived to join me.
On Wednesday afternoon, we took a very hot number 15 bus to a new pub. Another Bloomsbury Leisure pub, this time on the Strand and a big bugger too, featuring Czech Budvar- and cask too, though I didn't try it. Stranded is aiming to sell beer the Czech way - in oversized glasses with a big head. The measures are two thirds, and it was fun to watch the attempts to pour correctly and then the services of a Czech beer and bar expert - who clipped the assorted staff behind the ear as she showed them how it was done. Shame she poured the excess beer away, though Jon Dalton, the owner and an old acquaintance of mine, was kind enough to give us a couple on the house. We wish him well and certainly go there. The dark is particularly recommended and while Jon has high hopes that the Czech pours will take off, he remarked that it was a bit of a punt as the presentation is unfamiliar to most Brits.
Thursday saw us in Brighton, where I had not been before. Suffice to say, a very hot day, so no cask beer was supped, but I thoroughly recommend the Hole in the Wall - thanks Retired Martin - and of course the Evening Star. Though we didn't spend too much time in the pub given the glorious sunshine, we will certainly go again, and the railway station is a thing of beauty which entirely gobsmacked me. More pubs to try for sure too.
On Saturday we went out to Jack Duignan's new gaff, the King's Arms in Bethnall Green. No issues with beer quality there, and the Charrington IPA went down well. Another positive tick for London cask. We took the long route via the Peacock, another Will Hawkes recommendation. We were the only customers for a few minutes in this splendidly renovated pub in a housing estate. Very pubby, and the guy in charge was great as he explained he had very few beers on due to the cellar dispense equipment suffering a losing encounter with an untethered gas bottle the previous night. I didn't fancy the cask choices of Five Points Pale and Landlord, but the Guinness on an 80/20 mixture was rather good as a substitute. We will be back.
Our final pub was the Blue Maid. This is a fantastic looking place. Someone has spent serious money here and it shows. Two cask beers on offer, but I have decided that I actually dislike Five Points Best and didn't want a 3.4% Burning Sky offering. What a warm welcome too from the Ozzy barman - manager maybe - but talk about eye watering prices? 2.8% beers for north of £7.50? Me neither. But £5 a pint for cask? Well done, and the taste I had was fine, though I opted for London Black as my last pint of the trip. E enjoyed a very expensive Ginger Beer and the pleasure it gave her was worth the price, so maybe they are on to something after all.
It was great to bump into my beer judging pal, Paul Davies at Anspach and Hobday. He is a really nice person, and we had a good catch up. Having already met Caroline Debenham by accident, it just shows how small and connected the beer world is.
Finally, a big shout-out to Heritage Brewing of Burton on Trent. Both their Masseys and Charrington IPA were excellent.
4 comments:
Sounds like a good holiday, despite occasional cask issues, and just wandering around London is a joy.
That Will Hawkes knows his pubs, doesn't he ?
On price, I paid under a fiver for a superb 5.7% Marble Stout at the Euston Tap 18 months ago, and often under £6, so definitely a mixed bag.
The Old Fountain, regrettably, is becoming like the Bree Louise in its final years. People still talk as if it's a legendary pub, but in reality the cask is almost always warm, flaccid and unappetising.
Hand & Marigold is a sister pub to the genuinely awesome Traf and I'd back them to succeed, even with the beer mile becoming less fashionable than it once was.
I tend to avoid the 'Tap' outlets nowadays, mainly because the cask offering is the same old beers on rotation and I'm unlikely to get a tick.
As I weigh up the contenders for my 2024-25 London Pub of the Year, I can't help but feel that the overall landscape in the capital is pretty uninspiring, especially for cask-first drinkers like myself.
How is it that a £1.99 pint I had in a nondescript Wetherspoons in Halesowen last week can be so much better than a £6.50 pint in the heart of London in a busy, popular Grade I listed GBG pub with a supposed reputation for good beer?!?
Ben - good points. I felt that about the Old Fountain, but as it was my first visit in years, I thought I would be gentle. Your final point is one which we all could do with an answer to.
Summed it up perfectly there, Ben.
I need to know why you were in that Halesowen Spoons though (I was up the hill in Rowley Regis this week and share your sentiment).
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