Visit to West/South West London

So what were we doing drinking in a Wetherspoons pub? Well, historically, as in the last few years, I've considered the Bricklayers to be my pub of choice in Putney, sadly, they've gradually descended into the abyss, it's freezing out of the summer season, I've been there and they've had no beers at all, recently very few ales available, and on our last visit we were served up a very poor pint from the usually reliable Twickenham Ales, and at £4.40 a pint... I've given up! So, to The Rocket, Putney Wharf Tower, Brewhouse Lane, Putney SW15 2JQ (website), it has a great view of the bridge and down the river (Thames), and is next door but one to St Mary's Church (website), who's 15th century tower is visible, and the church where the Putney Debates were held by the Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War, proper historic!

Also, as I'm a member of CAMRA I get another 50p off a pint of real ale there with a voucher, and during my recent visit, that was off an already low £2.29 a pint, so just £1.79 each for a few very different decent ales, instead of £4.40 a pint plus for poorly conditioned/dead ale, no competition, and there's not much else in Putney for real ale these days either! My brother Dan, really liked the 4.9% Romsey brewery Flack Manor (website) Hedge  Hop, a traditionally copper coloured bitter, slightly sweet biscuit flavour, with hints of fruit and spice the result of the use of Cascade, Pilot and Challenger hops, not bad and Dan kept returning to it...

But I prefered, from the much more local Wandsworth brewer, Sambrook's (website) Powerhouse Porter (also 4.9%). I have to admit I wasn't too impressed with Sambrook's in their early days, but their ales seem to get better every time I try them, and this one is a gorgeous example of a Porter! Brewed using a variety of malts, and producing a smooth deep dark red ale with plenty of body, and a hint of chocolate in the taste, very nice, cheers!

The next day we walked a circuitous 18 mile route to Richmond and back, via Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park, and the Thames footpath (mostly Middlesex side). In Richmond we visited The Victoria Inn, 78 Hill Rise TW10 6UB, our new 'favourite' pub there, with excellent service from the Cornish 'maid' (oops! My history of living in Devon and Cornwall coming out there, sorry, all women down there are called 'maid' and all men are called 'boy', so 'young boy' or 'old boy' etc!). Anyway, here we both drank the Suffolk brewer Adnams (website) Ghost Ship (4.5%), more expensive, oh well, you can't be paying £1.79 a pint everywhere, sadly... This is a pale sharp refreshing ale, with a slight citrus flavour from the Citra hops used (and other unspecified hops from the USA) and a dry bitter finish, their best ale, I believe.

When we got back to Putney we dropped down in strength at The Rocket, but what a great brewery to find an ale from, Oakham of Peterborough (website), and again at £1.79 for CAMRA members, still great value at £2.29 though for others! Jeffrey Hudson Bitter (JHB, 3.8%) is a wonderful pale golden ale, with citrus in the aroma and flavour provided by the Challenger and Mount Hood hops used, quite sharp and refreshing, with a dry bitter finish and, indeed, one of the best session ales brewed!

I usually prefer to drink at smaller local ale houses, but the manager/cellar manager appears to be keeping their ales in very good condition, and, although quite a busy pub, The Rocket has an appropriate number of staff working to keep the drinks flowing and the till ticking, cheers!

More great ales, oh dear, cheers!

I'll start off with 2 pale bitters, OK, they're all pale bitters, 😉from The Park Brewery in Kingston upon Thames (website), the theme of their ales being Richmond Park, obviously. First, their 4.4% Gallows Gold, brewed with Simcoe and Cascade hops, providing a big fruity aroma with tropical and citrus flavours, with a great dry bitter finish. I liked this a lot, but... 

Spankers IPA (5.4%), like Gallows Gold but with knobs on! Brewed with three of the 'C' hops, Chinook, Columbus and Centennial, you'd expect citrus flavours and aroma, and you wouldn't be wrong, an enormous citrus aroma, and grapefruit ++ in the flavour, loadsa body, pale golden, dry and bitter, I wrote "gorgeous" in my notes, that's how I remember it!

Next, 2 more excellent pale bitters, but this time from East Sussex brewery, Franklins Brewing Company (website). I've already recently discussed their 4.2% Resurrection EPA, a couple of blogs ago, with its wonderful flavours from the Amarillo, Galaxy, Centennial and Citra hops used, and I've had it at 2 further bars since, still excellent! 

Next though, their stronger North Shore IPA (5.5%), another ale I always love to drink. This is brewed with New Zealand hops, Rakau, and another pale golden bitter with plenty of body, plenty of fruit in the aroma and taste too, and, again, noted as "gorgeous!"

I mentioned the Three Sods Trade Union Pale Ale in my last blog, so we'll pass my notes on that one this time, but, another brewery that seems to be consistently putting out great ales is Green Duck Beer Company of the West Midlands (website). Their Duck & Dab IPA (5%) is brewed with Sorachi Ace and Mount Hood hops which provide plenty of citrus on the nose, not just a fruity aroma, but citrus in the flavour too, plenty of body, and finishing off as a very dry bitter, another excellent ale!

Finally-ish, we come to Shiny Brewing of Derbyshire (website), another brewery I keep tasting great ales from! Their 4.6% Affinity, they call an ESB, and do not share the hops used on their website, but it is yet another nice one! You'll have to believe my description, a pale golden ale, with much citrus aroma, I had to think again and again at what fruit is in the flavour, definitely grapefruit, and hints of orange and mango, whatever, finishes off a lovely dry bitter indeed! 

I also drank an ale from the ever reliable Oakham Ales, but you'll have to wait for my next blog, because there's an extra story there, cheers!