Covent Garden Pubs 3!

Further to my two recent Covent Garden blogs (blog) and (blog), again, a pub crawl from Charing Cross to Tottenham Court Road tube station, and we again started at The Harp, 47 Chandos Place WC2N 4HS (website) as, quite frankly, we're always served excellent ale there, and this visit was no different. One of my favourite breweries Oakham Ales of Peterborough fame (website), and their single hop session ale Citra (4.2%). Unsurprisingly, brewed with Citra hops (hopslist), the first British brewery to use this hop after discovering it in the USA back in 2009, meaning a zesty, grapefruit tasting APA, refreshing and excellent as always, cheers! 😁

And again, we turned left out of The Harp, then left up Bedfordbury, walked to the end and turned right, this time passing both The White Swan and The Round House, and turned left onto Garrick Street, following this up to the 6 exit junction, taking the second on the left, Cranbourn Street, up to Charing Cross Road where our next pub was. That was The Porcupine, 48 Charing Cross Road WC2H 0BS, by Leicester Square tube station (website). An inn/pub has been on this site since 1725, when the original address was 1 Castle Street, before Charing Cross Road was built in the 1870s, the pub was then rebuilt in 1880. 

Here we drank a pale ale, a collaboration between Farnham in Surrey based Hogs Back Brewery (website) and Battersea in London based Mondo Brewing Company (website), their 3.8% Juliet, which was brewed to celebrate International Women's Day (website). Brewed with Cascade (hopslist), Citra (hopslist) and Hallertau Blanc (hopslist) hops, and, as you'd expect, very light and fruity, with hints of grapefruit, gooseberries, and forest fruits. Not as much punch as our earlier pint, but not bad at all. 👌

We then turned right out of The Porcupine, and immediately right again down Great Newport Street, back to the junction and taking the second on the left, Long Acre, continuing to the third left, Neal Street, where towards the end, at the junction with Shelton Street, is the Crown & Anchor, 22 Neal Street WC2H 9PS (website). A pub has been on this site since at least 1811, when Combe & Co Brewery, which was situated across the road since 1787, had the pub. The brewery merged with Watney & Co and Reid's Brewery Co in 1898, and became Watney, Combe, Reid & Co. The current Grade II Listed building was constructed in 1904.

Here we drank, from East London brewery Five Points Brewing (website), their 4.0% XPA, an American Pale Ale style ale, brewed with Citra (hopslist), Galaxy (hopslist) and Sabro (Hop Breeding Co) hops. This produces a pale beer with plenty of citrus and forest fruits, particularly grapefruit, bitter with a refreshing dry finish, quite excellent too! 👍

From the Crown & Anchor we turned left onto Shelton Street, along to Endell Street, where we turned left again and up on the left we reached The Cross Keys, 31 Endell Street WC2H 9EB (Covent Garden website). This is a Grade II Listed building, constructed in 1848, which I visited 14 years ago when it was one of 3 Brodie's pubs (sadly Brodie's no longer exists), including The Old Coffee House in nearby Soho and their taphouse the King William IV in Leyton (website), and you could also get their ales regularly at the King Charles I near King's Cross (website).

They had 2 cask ales, both from Lewes in East Sussex brewery Harvey's (website), and I had a couple of pints of their 4.0% Sussex Best, brewed with 4 'local' English hops. I should have enquired when we visited the brewery back in December 2019 (blog), but the hops regularly used appear to be generally accepted as Fuggle (hopslist), Kent Golding (hopslist), Progress (hopslist) and Bramling Cross (hopslist). It's a traditional style amber bitter, slightly malty with a hint of nuts in the taste, very easy to drink, to my taste not bitter enough, but pretty reliable. 👌

We then followed Endell Street down to its end and reached the corner pub at High Holborn, Craft Beer Company, 168 High Holborn WC1V 7AA (website), which I wrote about in my first Covent Garden blog. However, we didn't have enough time for a pint there, so we crossed the road, and walked down Dyott Street opposite to New Oxford Street, where we turned left up to the junction with Tottenham Court Road and the tube station. 

I trust you've had enough about Covent Garden for now, cheers folks! 😉

3 Brothers Drinking Together in SW19 and 2 in TW10!

Well, the 3 of us hadn't met up together as a trio for some time, and we decided again to meet up on the edge of Wimbledon Village, by Wimbledon Common. There are quite a few decent pubs in the area, but we whittled the choice down to two, a few yards from each other. The Crooked Billet (website), 15 Crooked Billet SW19 4RQ, built in the early 18th century, became a pub in the 1850s, the name coming from the pub sign that was a crooked piece of wood broken from a tree apparently, but there are many theories! Anyway, the name of this small local part of Wimbledon Common, and the road, was taken from the name of the pub; so not a chicken or egg situation. It's a pub I have visited off and on for many years, but Rob arriving last let us choose...

So, we chose the very nearby Hand in Hand, 7 Crooked Billet SW19 4RQ (website), dating back to 1831 and originally a bakery, but was a family owned pub for a hundred years before Young's took it over in 1974. Indeed, a wee bit underage maybe 😉 I first drank Ruddles County there before Young's took it over, and Ruddles Brewery was still an independent brewery then. Nowadays, like The Crooked Billet, both pubs sell guest ales in addition to Young's.  

In addition to the ales in the photograph above, there were also Sambrook's Sidekick, a 3.4% session IPA and Adnams single hopped Mosaic Pale Ale (4.1%) on the other bar. However, from the 4 shown in the photograph above, I drank, from Wandsworth brewery Sambrook's (website), their Pumphouse, a 4.2% pale ale, named after the Pump House Gallery in Battersea Park. This is brewed with 3 British hops, Admiral, Goldings, and notably Ernest, which gives it a strong fruity American style pale ale aroma and taste; light, slightly spicy with apricot and citrus. It was pretty good actually, and despite giving the always excellent Proper Job consideration, I surprised myself and kept to the more locale Pumphouse throughout our visit, nice one.

The next day just Dan and I walked across Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park to the Roebuck, 130 Richmond Hill, Richmond TW10 6RN (website), arguably the pub with the best view in London; the view is protected by an Act of Parliament of 1902! The Roebuck was built in 1717, believed to be on the site of a much older pub, and was a regular drinking hole of Dan and I in the late 1970s and 1980s, and occasionally since. It was recently tastefully refurbished by new owners Greene King, and doesn't appear much altered, if at all, from our older visits.

I was pleased that it wasn't just Greene King ales on sale though, as we enjoyed an excellent couple of pints of the Oakham Ales (website) single-hopped 4.2% 'Session IPA' Citra. Their Citra is, as you would expect, zesty with a hint of citrus in the aroma and taste, very pale, and a great dry bitter finish. An ale I love, and have written about regularly (for example blog), and would include as a luxury item on a desert island discs theme, along with a cooling system. 😉 Oh yes, and we were very pleased with our choice of lunch here, their Sharing Platter, with a portion of chips that we didn't need as it was plenty enough, even for us 2 gluttons!

The view from outside the Roebuck is one that has been painted many times, for example by J.M.W. Turner, and, as I forgot to take a photograph on the day, I thought I would share a photograph of an oil painting of the view. However, this is by a less celebrated, though very local artist, James Isiah Lewis (1861-1934), and is at Orleans House Gallery (in a villa built in the 'Palladian' style in 1710), Orleans Road, Twickenham TW1 3BL (website).

And this view hasn't changed much at all either, cheers! 😁

Oh yes, afterwards we carried on walking eastwards along the Thames to The Ship at Mortlake, the ales were a bit boring sadly, not like on a previous visit (blog)!

A Walk in Derby, includes Pubs, of course!

This walk starts from the railway station; NB there are many other pubs near the station! This walk starts from a road virtually opposite the main station exit at The Victoria Inn at 12 Midland Place DE1 2RR, built in 1878, familiarly called "The Vic" by locals (website). The Vic has 6 cask ales and 12 ciders; I recently drank, from Welsh brewery Purple Moose (website), their 3.6% Snowdonia Ale, a pale golden ale with subtle hints of citrus fruit in the aroma and taste, a very decent pale bitter to start the day! Indeed, I drank here first on my recent visit because it opens at 09.30, but drink-wise I didn't follow the root insinuated in this blog, but wanted to get as many photos taken as possible before too many people were wandering the streets. However, the pubs as I mention them are on a virtually straight walk by-passing the centre of town.

The Brunswick Inn is just along from the station at 1 Railway Terrace DE1 2RU (website), it was built in 1842 and was the first purpose-built railway inn in Britain. They have been brewing their own ales for over 30 years now, and pretty good they are too, plus they sell plenty of guest ales; regularly 16 cask ales in total and 16 ciders, plenty of choice. They held their 37th annual Beer Festival recently, with over 40 ales and 16 ciders and perries! 🍻

Further along the road, and just round the corner to the left is The Alexandra Hotel, 203 Siddals Road DE1 2QE (website), built towards the end of the 19th century, it used to be owned by Shipstone's (website), but was taken over by Bateman's, then Tyne Mill (Castle Rock Brewery) after it was let go by Shipstone's in 1988. They serve up to 7 cask ales, including the regular Castle Rock Harvest Pale (3.8%), which reminded me of my first experience of their ales when we first visited the Castle Rock 'taproom' the Vat & Fiddle in Nottingham (website) about 25 years ago. Guest ales come from various breweries across the country, recently including from Yorkshire, North Riding Brewery (website), from the east side of the Pennines, Redwillow Brewery (website), and from down south, and a new favourite, Kent Brewery (website).

Then walk across the road and down to the River Derwent, heading north-east and cross the river soon, carrying on north-eastwards to reach the regular award winning, 19th century, The Smithfield, Meadow Road DE1 2BH (website), which overlooks the river. 10 cask ales are available, including the ever-present regular Bass, and 9 guest ales, usually including 2 darker beers. Recent ales, again from near and far, include from Welbeck Abbey Brewery (website), Purple Moose (website), Lakes Brew Company (website), and Mallinsons  (website), which I had to include as another favourite of mine, and their excellent 4.5% U.S. Premium an APA style, pale golden and hoppy, brewed with Chinook, Simcoe and Willamette hops from the USA, nice one! Oh yes, and 4 real ciders, indeed, they hold a beer & cider festival early in the year.

Continue along Meadow Road, under a couple of bridges, a little further, on the corner at 13 Exeter Place DE1 2EU, is 'Regency style' The Exeter Arms (website), built in 1816. The pub is owned by Marston's (website), but managed by Dancing Duck Brewery (website), consequently, Marston's Pedigree (4.5%), and Dancing Duck ales are always available; recently, for example, Dancing Duck 22 Best Bitter (4.3%) and Dark Drake Oatmeal Stout (4.5%). Plus guest ales, with up to 6 cask ales in all; I enjoyed the excellent Thornbridge (website) Jaipur India Pale Ale (5.9%), brewed with plenty of Chinook, Centennial, Ahtanum, Simcoe, Columbus and Cascade hops, and which I have written about many times before, supplied in many forms, for example this blog a couple of years ago, 'tis pretty damn good! 

I may be a wee bit wrong about the management, whatever, this is their 'sister' pub...

Yes, apparently they're 'sister' pubs, and I realise that Marston's has changed the way it works, whatever, go down Exeter Place and cross Exeter Bridge to the close to roundabout, turn right up Full Street, and near the top, as it bends to the left, dead opposite is The Old Silk Mill, 19 Full Street DE1 3AF (website). The original nearby Victorian pub was knocked down in 1924, and the half timber framed replacement opened in 1928. They sell 1 regularly changing guest ale (sorry, I didn't take note) 2 regular Dancing Duck ales, Bass, but I headed straight for their regular Oakham Citra! Why did I ignore the rest? Well, we've had a wee bit of a problem with some Citra recently, (theory: one badly 'fined' gyle/batch), so I wanted to see how it was, and, quite frankly, it was excellent, thankful or what! Again, I've written about Oakham (website) Citra (4,2%) many times before too, eg blog, a fine example of a single hopped ale indeed!

Turn right out of the pub, then turn first right and head up Queen Street, turning left at the top, and just along on the left is circa 200 years old The Flowerpot, on the corner with Chapel Street, at 19-25 King Street DE1 3DZ (website). 7 cask ales available, most pretty regular it seems, including the 3.7% light session ale Lenton Lane (website) Pale Moonlight; a very good 4.5% bitter Whim Ales (website) Hartington IPA; the 4.6% golden bitter from Oakham Ales (website) Bishops Farewell, and also from Oakham they have had recently as guests Scarlet Macaw, a 4.4% APA, Celeste, a 4.0% session pale ale, and Reaper's Wish, a 4.5% dark ale; also, presumably guests, Whim Flower Power, a 5.3% blonde and Bass! A fine variety of good ales.

To get to the Furnace Inn, 9 Duke Street DE1 3BX, I found the easiest way was to slightly backtrack on myself, back down Queen Street, then turn first left down St Michael's Lane, then left into Sowter Road, which takes you down to Duke Street, which you turn left at,  and along to the brewpub. The Furnace Inn brewery used to be the home of Shiny Brewing, their 'sister' company (website), which now brews not too far away at Little Eaton, but I hadn't the time to visit on my last trip to Derby, maybe next time... The Furnace Inn and brewery does not appear to have a website, but can be found on Instagram, which I do not use. 😒

They have 8 cask ales on offer, plus 3 ciders/perries, in a quite unassuming environment, including beers from Shiny Brewing, whose ales I first sampled over 7 years ago (blog), and quite a few very decent ales too! However, with limited time in which to partake in many ales and pubs (the Furnace Inn was my second pub, on the day), I had to sample one of their own, which was Fun Sponge, a 4.4% pale bitter. Brewed with Citra and Mosaic hops meant that I would appreciate this fruity, but subtle, pale golden bitter, which had a nice dry finish, not a bad pint. My only quibble was it was slightly cloudy (vegan friendly), which regular readers will appreciate, I don't appreciate, whatever, drinking at the Furnace Inn was a valuable part of my day trip.

Oh! And not to forget that, after 4 years, the Derby Heritage Beer Festival returns this year, 13-16 November 2024 (Derby CAMRA). Obviously that will see a glut of ales, quite frankly though, every day of the year is a 'beer festival' in Derby, cheers!

Have a Hoppy New Year!

And I drank a very good one yesterday, cheers!

More to come very soon... 😉

PS. Can you believe some of the new members proposed for the House of Lords, and that absolute gobshite Tim Martin getting knighted?!? Time to get rid of these 'honours' and abolish the House of Lords, replace it with a second house made up of representatives of regions, like the Senate in the USA or German Bundesrat. My resolution...

A Fair Amount of Beer News!

I originally decided to write this blog after receiving the latest "Autumn 2022" edition of CAMRA's quarterly magazine BEER, but was stimulated further on receiving an email from Nicholson's this weekend that advised me The Falcon at Clapham Junction in London (website) is closing down today (7th August 2022) for refurbishment. If you don't know the pub, it is on the corner at the Junction; official address 2 St Johns Hill SW11 1RU, very handy for Clapham Junction railway station, and on many bus routes. Anyway, it is closed until the 1st of September 2022, so if you want a drink nearby, you'll need to walk a little further up St Johns Hill to number 36 and visit Greene King pub The Junction (website) 😏 Now I'm really Up the Junction (YouTube).

Well, much of the rest of my news may be a wee bit old to you, but some of it I had missed, as was the news that John Bryan, Brewing Director at Oakham Ales, one of my favourite breweries, has retired after 27 years working at the brewery (Oakham Ales). John is pretty famous for being the first Brit to bring back Citra hops from the USA in 2009, and, as regular readers will be well aware, Oakham Citra (4.2%) is one of my favourite ales, which I have written about many times. Well, John's not disappearing completely, as he's remaining a partner in the business, and, in the short-term at least, will still be making annual hop sourcing visits to the USA, cheers John!

In BEER, I also noticed a report of a group called Drinkers for Ukraine (website) who are raising money for Red Cross humanitarian relief in Ukraine, which appears to overlap with Brew for Ukraine, which I mentioned in addition to Dave Unpronounceable's article about his visit to Ukraine earlier this year, and which I reproduced in this blog, and which I've written about since too. Indeed, breweries around the world are brewing beers with profits going towards humanitarian relief for Ukraine, eg Steel City Brewing, who have since brewed another ale called Russian Warship, Go F*ck Yourself (blog). The BEER article also mentioned another Yorkshire brewery, Bridgehouse (website), brewing for Brew for Ukraine a 4.5% blonde ale called White Crow, which was sold in the Strangers' Bar at Westminster earlier this year.

In BEER, they also reproduced an article by John O'Donnell called Ask the expert - what is a pint of beer? (CAMRA) Again, regular readers will be well aware that I have strong views on beer being the only thing in Britain that can be sold at less volume than is advertised, that is, we rarely get what we pay for, a FULL pint, and much beer is wasted (above image, tut tut) because brim measured glasses are usually the norm... And, well you can read the rest of my arguments at this blog, if you haven't before, indeed, Fiddles, Waste and Duty: Full Pint or Not?!?

Finally, I recently heard the sad news that Caledonian Brewery (website) is being closed down by Heineken as it is 'no longer economically viable.' Heineken took over the Edinburgh brewery in 2008, and beer has been brewed there since 1869. Once closed, it is planned that Caledonian beers will be brewed by Greene King at the Belhaven brewery in Dunbar (Edinburgh News).

Not all good news then, whatever, raise a glass to brewers, and cheers!

Peterborough and Oakham Ales Postscript...

Indeed, further to my last blog about my recent visit to Peterborough, which included visiting 2 of the 4 Oakham Ales hostelries run by their sister company, The Oaka Group; I always thought that the Bartons Arms in Birmingham was one of their pubs, which I've visited a few times and written about before (blog), but Helen at Oakham has informed me that it is 'leased' out, shame. However, I have visited the Mansion House in Kennington a few times. eg blog, and their fourth business is actually the East Restaurant on the upper deck of Charters in Peterborough (blog).

Anyway, the postscript is that, although I was too sensible to drink the 6% Oakham Green Devil whilst in Peterborough, I had a couple of pints yesterday at my local, the Dolphin Inn in Hastings, a pub that I have written about before, obviously, eg blog. Anyway! Green Devil is the "big brother" of the 'session ale' at 4.2% Oakham Citra, also a few more hops used, not just significantly stronger, but 'doubled hopped' and twice 'World Champion' ale (website).

They describe the taste on the Green Devil pump clip as being "powerful, tropical fruit" and it certainly has a deeper more full taste than Citra, but I detect some grapefruit as well as tropical fruit flavours, we're all different. Indeed, it's an excellent pale golden bitter, with Wheat Malt used, as well as the usual Maris Otter, my notes say plenty of body, dry finish, and very good!

Looking forward to my next pint shortly, cheers! 

Congratulations to the Tower PotY 2019!

Congratulations again to The Tower for being chosen as CAMRA South East Sussex Pub of the Year 2019! The Tower is situated on the corner of London Road and Tower Road, Bohemia, Hastings & St Leonards TN37 6NB, and I revisited on Tuesday, during which I congratulated Louisa the landlady, and had a few pints, of course! 

6 ales, including 2 regulars (Dark Star 4.7% APA and 3.8% Hophead), and a similar number of real ciders, and usually a perry too, are available. I concentrated on the 2 guest ales in the photograph above, Manchester-based Bootleg (website) Cheeky Monkey (4.2%), and I could only ask for it using my standard 'Northern' accent, sadly not appropriate here as it is basically South Yorkshire, sorry peeps in other parts of the North! I've seen Cheeky Monkey described as a dark ale, but to me it appeared more like an old-fashioned best bitter with a nice deep colour, and quite a good bitter too. But I mostly drank yet another an old favourite, Oakham Citra (4.2% - website), regular readers will realise I love the Citra hop, and Peterborough-based Oakham Ales is an excellent brewer too, pale, grapefruit, dry and bitter, quality as ever!

The other 2 guest ales were both darker beers, the Staffordshire-based Titanic (website) Plum Porter (4.9%) is excellent, and North Yorkshire-based Great Heck (website) Voodoo Mild (4.3%) is pretty good too, though I didn't drink either on the day, but have tried them both before!

Full Pints!

The two regular ales are from local brewer Dark Star (website), though now owned by Fuller's of West London, whose brewing business is to be taken over by Japanese group Asahi (blog), so who knows what is going to happen to the Dark Star ales! At the moment, their Hophead (3.8%) is being brewed in London and all other Dark Star beers, including their American Pale Ale (APA - 4.7%) are still being brewed in Sussex; these cost a good value £3.10 and £3.20 a pint at the Tower; the other ales cost £3.20 a pint (Cheeky Monkey and Citra), £3.30 a pint for Voodoo Mild, and £3.50 a pint for the Plum Porter. Also, a you can see in the photograph immediately above, lined oversize glasses are used, so you always get at least a full pint, great value!

Once again, congratulations to Lou and The Tower, and cheers m'dear!