Passport to Pimlico?

I could have called this blog just Pimlico, but I had to get the film pun in, not hilarious I know, but that's me folks. 😉 Anyway, very close to our port of entry to London, Victoria Railway Station, again we first visited the Victoria Taps, 27 Gillingham Street SW1V 1HP (website), for breakfast and a couple of pints, and the friendly Spanish manager is a welcoming senorita/senora! 👍 Built in 1828 and originally called the Warwick Arms, it was enlarged towards the end of the 19th century, and changed its name to the Victoria Taps earlier this century. Open from 10.00 every day of the week, although you can't buy alcohol before 12.00 on Sundays, but where we usually start drinking if we're in the area for the another obvious reason...

Not too expensive for beer, and a great value brunch, the above costing just £9.00. That's not for just the 2 fried eggs, 2 rashers of bacon, 2 sausages, 2 hash browns, flat mushroom, baked beans, tomato and a slice of toast, as there is a deal where you can get a pint too, making it £9.00 instead of £7.50 (price of the Full English Breakfast). Paul ate the 'Boss Benedict' seen in the background, costing  £6.50 (so just £8.00 with drink), and a souped up Eggs Benedict, which I had on my previous visit, also superb value and quality!

We each started with a pint of St Austell Tribute, a 4.2% pale slightly bitter ale (website), brewed with Fuggles (hopslist), Celeia (hopslist), and Willamette (hopslist) hops; Willamette is a hop I used to be very familiar brewing with in my days working at the old Kelham Island Brewery. Tribute was first brewed after the solar eclipse of 1999 and was called 'Daylight Robbery' at its inception. Because of the English and U.S. hop mix, it's not 'traditional' as such, but a slightly darker version of modern pale ales, gentle citrus, and very easy to drink. Inch's Cider (website) was in the choice of £1.50 add on drinks, including lager and pale ale (not cask), and wine and soft drinks. So, suitably satiated, we ventured on towards Pimlico. 😋

On reaching the Grade II Listed White Ferry House, 1A Sutherland Street SW1V 4LD (publove), we were surprised at the number of youngsters from abroad hovering around, I'd forgotten it is a hostel with 74 beds, as well as a hostelry! 😂 First licensed in 1832, and re-built in 1894, the pub offered hotel accommodation, probably from when, and possibly why, it was rebuilt (CAMRA).

Only 1 cask ale served at a time here, I believe usually ales brewed in London, and there was on offer, from Sambrook's Brewery, now situated in the site of the old Young's Ram Brewery, at 1 Bellwether Lane SW18 1UD (website), their 4.5% Junction. This is a 'Premium Bitter' brewed with Challenger (hopslist), East Kent Golding (hopslist), and Bramling Cross (hopslist) hops, and named after the famous Clapham Junction Station, nearby in Battersea. Junction is an amber ale, with a malty, nutty and fruity hop aroma, and a big malty flavour, slightly sweet to start, but a nutty and strong bitter aftertaste. This is a very traditional English bitter, nice one! 👍

Getting closer to Pimlico tube station is the Cask Pub & Kitchen, 6 Charlwood Street (corner with Tachbrook Street) SW1V 2EE, which has been trading here since 2009, being "London's first craft beer focussed pub" (website). The building is Grade II Listed, I kid you not, but as part of the Thorndike House Lillington Gardens Estate (Historic England). If you want to know anymore about the history of the Cask Pub & Kitchen have a read of London Drinker. 

From among 10 cask ales, from near and far, and we were offered tasters too, cracking service many thanks, I drank Waves Away, a 4.6% Pale Ale produced in East Sussex by Burning Sky Brewery (website); NB think Mark Tranter finessing Dark Star Hophead, but now with his own brewery. 👌 This is an American Pale Ale (APA) style ale, brewed with Citra (hopslist) and Mosaic (hopslist) hops, producing a big bodied pale ale bursting with tropical and citrus fruit aromas and taste, with a lovely dry bitter finish. After such a good version of a completely different style of beer at the previous pub, this was an outstanding version of an APA, Mr Tranter certainly knows his hops. Sadly we ran out of time for more ale... 😣

So, onwards to Pimlico tube station and the Victoria Line, cheers m'dears! 😁

2 New Pubs for me in London.

In you go Paul! 😁 Indeed, handily opening at 10.00 at weekends, I was introduced to The Marquis Cornwallis, 31 Marchmont Street WC1N 1AP (website) for our first pint. A wee bit upset that we had recently missed their having the excellent Thornbridge Jaipur there 😣 and giving a miss to the pointless Doom Bar that was on one of the handpumps, we went for the reasonably consistent Timothy Taylor's (website) Landlord (4.3%). Landlord is a pale-ish amber Bitter, brewed with WGV/Goldings, Savinjski Goldings and Fuggles hops, producing a slightly fruity citrus flavour. It's a pretty easy to drink bitter... sad about the Jaipur not being on!

Having been joined by B at the Cornwallis, and Paul having something to eat there, we next moved on further along the road to the Lord John Russell, 91-93 Marchmont Street WC1N 1AL (facebook); opens at 12.00 weekends, at 11.30 weekdays. This is a pretty decently priced pub considering where it is, and had a couple of Sambrook's ales, and crafty keg beers too (website), the brewery now being situated inside the old Young's Ram Brewery complex in central Wandsworth. Good as their beers are, and Paul appeared to enjoy a few pints of their 4.2% Pumphouse pale ale, I have drunk their ales before, but there was something new for me...

I can't remember ever drinking an ale from The Exeter Brewery (website), and certainly never this ale, and I did used to live in Exeter too, so I had to try their Lighterman (3.5%). This was a very pleasant amber session ale, brewed with Goldings hops, and basically does what it says on the label, a traditional bitter, light and easy to drink, if you like bitter beers. I do 👍

So there you have it, 2 new pubs for me in central London, the first named after an 18th century British General and the other (better value/cheaper) after a 19th century British Prime Minister.

Cheers folks! 🍺

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!