London
Redemption Brewery has brewhouse it deserves
Redemption Brewery was one of the early London craft brewers that helped kick-start the renaissance in the capital’s brewing scene, which had lain largely dormant for far too many years. In a sign that it has really grown up the brewery has just moved from it’s old site to a new unit in Tottenham (on…
Read MoreNorthern Tap to replace Cider Tap at Euston Station
The Cider Tap at London’s Euston Station is to be replaced by the Northern Tap that will celebrate British beers from outside the capital, predominantly from the north of the city. This will coincide with a complete overhaul of the site, which will also involve a major investment in its sister pub the Euston Tap…
Read MoreThoughts from Amateur Drinker
My last piece ended with “Finally here’s hoping that the next column in not lamenting the failure of a very promising N17 event to issue tickets”. Unfortunately, although the beer was superb, this was indeed the case. I had suggested to Beavertown that the event should be all ticket. However, they dismissed the idea, as…
Read MoreMicro-pub 2.0 – The Other Room
Micro-pubs are a terrific phenomenon and we are seeing them spring up all over the country. With their re-using of former empty high street premises, compact size, cask-only beer range, no music, and no food they are a welcome addition to the pub scene. But they are not for everybody – for the very reasons…
Read MoreSometimes only pints will do
With so many different beers to drink these days (of serious strength) my consumption of pints has dwindled. But sometimes specific occasions demand beer being drunk in this quintessentially British measure – namely a UK cask ale served in a traditional Victorian pub. Step forward Fuller’s Bengal Lancer and the brewery’s Red Lion pub in…
Read MoreAround Town with Amateur Drinker
A month that began with a tap takeover, which eerily foresaw an actual takeover ended with two fantastic parties on successive Friday nights in Bermondsey. Brewdog Camden hosted Ballast Point, with the highlight unsurprisingly being the Grapefruit Sculpin. A couple of weeks later the brewery was acquired by Constellation Brands for $1bn. We are fortunate…
Read MoreAround Town with Amateur Drinker
Any review (albeit delayed by my day job) of a drinker’s month must concentrate on the marathon that was London Beer City. That involved a week of excellent well-organised events. But I’m not going to start there. I’m going to begin with an event that unfortunately is not going to get off the ground –…
Read MoreBefore the London brewing revolution…
Let’s turn the clock back to London in September 2009 and a piece published in the Financial Times. Off a main road, close by a housing estate in a densely-built corner of south-west London, stands a non-descript 3,000 sq ft industrial unit. It houses two stainless steel fermenting vessels, a large water tank and a…
Read MoreMeantime stretches authenticity of London Lager
‘Born and Brewed in London’ it says on the front of the label on bottles of the flagship beer from Meantime Brewery – London Lager. On the back of the label it waxes particularly lyrically: ‘The countryside surrounding London provides the world’s finest brewing ingredients: Kentish hops and East Anglian malting barley. At Meantime’s…
Read MoreIs it a pub, a bar, a Chinese restaurant…?
Walking in off Berwick Street in London’s Soho you are hit by four gleaming copper tanks of Pilsner Urquell. This is no ordinary pub. Duck & Rice is restaurateur Alan Yau’s newly opened joint. You initially can’t work out whether it is a pub, a bar, a high class hotel toilet (with its marble effect…
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