London Pub Tour 6 - Charing Cross: Princess of Wales, Ship and Shovell, Champagne Charlie's and The Sherlock Holmes

I've been visiting a lot of pubs in the Victoria area so opted to head slightly further to Charing Cross. Charing cross has many a selection of pubs and my first stop was a Nicholson's pub on Villiers Street called The Princess of Wales (WC2N 6ND). I've always avoided this pub as due to it proximity to Charing Cross station and being on the walk to Embankment tube station, it's always too busy. Well surprisingly the pub didn't look busy from the outside so I opted to go in.

The pub was much smaller inside than I was expecting. There were some high tables by the front window which would seat maybe 8 to 10 people each. Then some smaller tables passing along the wall opposite the bar through to the back. There was an upstairs dinning area which I didn't pop up to see how big it was though I noticed this was a Nicholson' Sausage and Chop House. I've never come across this branding of theirs before but it appears to be their way of offering a simpler menu much like Fullers Ale & Pie pubs, maybe due to restricted kitchen size, which I could understand if the upstairs dinning plus kitchen was the same as the bar area.

There were 6 hands pumps of which only 4 were on. I've had the house Nicholson's Pale Ale and Cotleigh's tawny before, so my decision was between Blackwolf's Big Red or Thornbridge's Wild Holly. I swung towards the Big Red as it wasn't a high abv at 3.8% and I've had quite a lot of winter/Christmas beers in the last few weeks, so it seemed a good time for a break. The beer was smooth but not overly impressive to make me want to order another one. All the tables were occupied so I found a place further towards the rear along the bar I could stand without being an obstruction to others wishing to order.

I moved on afterwards to the Ship and Shovell (WC2N 5PH) which is less than a one minute walk away, even against a rush hour crowd. The Ship and Shovell is down a walkway which you have to pass under Charing Cross station. The pub itself is unique as its actually occupies two separate buildings on the opposite sides of the walkway. The original pub is the bigger building from the 1860s which is always open, versus the newer building which opened in the late 90s but isn't always open. On this occasion the newer building was closed however the original side is the better in my opinion.

This pub is a Halls and Woodhouse pub and as such all ales on tap were Badger. I do like Halls and Woodhouse pubs however, I'm not a fan of Badger beers. There were 4 hand pumps with only 3 on providing a choice of Tanglefoot, First Call or Fursty Ferret. There were the whole selection of Badger beers and ciders on bottle, whilst on tap they had a small selection of mainstream lagers which included Peroni, Amstel and 1664. Also on tap was Badger's own lager, Leaping Legend. I'd tasted all these drinks before except for their pear cider but as I was in an ale mood I went for a pint of Tanglefoot. As stated I'm not truely a fan of Badger beers but I think Tanglefoot is definitely my favourite and it tasted much better than the Big Red I'd had before.

The pub had lots of free tables but I again decided to stand at a quite end of the bar so I could admire the interior of this wonderful pub. The pub had a nautical theme, like many do, with some very nice wooden ship models. There were some old portraits on the walls, of which I'm not going to attempt to guess the subjects and I'm sure can be found elsewhere online. The walls were wood panelled and there was a large section with beautiful mirrors. The pub had some minor screened areas and was full of beautiful wood all round. Halls & Woodhouse and Sam Smith's that I do admire when it comes to tasteful refurbishments of pubs.

After finishing my pint I headed slightly back on myself to an establishment I've passed many times that has a sign stating ales served but of which I always shied away from due thinking, based on its name, it wouldn't be my type of scene nor might I be permitted in. What is this place I talk of, well it's Champagne Charlie's.

After walking through and down the stairs to the basement area, you enter a very dim (mood lighting style) lit bar in front of you. The bar was 2 lagers (Meantime and London Pale Ale) and 2 ales (Old Wallop and Whitstable Bay). I opted for a pint of Old Wallop by Charles and Well and was pleasantly surprised when it was poured into a wonderful looking tankard. I was certainly not expecting that nice touch!

The bar was quite empty with only four older gentlemen drinking lagers and wines whilst standing at the bar. What I assume was a work party came from around a corner and left, which made me realise the place much have quite a big dinning area. Along with this I noticed that the bar area to the left of the entrance was actually much bigger than I gave it credit for as it stretches much further back. I sat at a small table with a view of their big fridge so I could have a nose. There were a few bottles that I perhaps wouldn't mind going back for to have a taste of. During my time sipping the from the tankard quite a few groups of 2-4 young (25-35yrs) people came down into the bar ordering beers and taking up seating in the bar area. I did see that they only served up the Old Wallop in the tankard, so people ordering the Whitstable Bay did miss out.

As the place was starting to get busier with work crowds as it had hit 5pm I left and made my way to my last venue, the very touristy Sherlock Holmes (WC2N 5DB). This pub is only a few metres away from the Ship and Shovell and was completely packed with either the after work crowd or the pre-theatre crowd. Usually the pub is full of American and Japanese tourists however I didn't spot one at all, and everyone had a UK accent which I found bizzare. Now the Sherlock Holmes is a Greene King pub which serves two special beers for the place: Holmes and Watson. As stated before, I'm not a fan of Greene King beers, as there is just something in the flavour that I'm not particularly keen on. Yes it's drinkable but I normally try to avoid their ales. Yet as I was in an ale mood and I had deliberately subjected myself to coming to this bar knowing full well it was a Greene King and what would be on I ordered a pint of Watson. The Holmes stated on the badge 'House Ale' which I've tasted a few times previously in Greene King pubs under other disguises whilst the Watson stated Amber Ale. The beer was as expected of Greene King, which is for each individual to judge themselves.

Looking round the pub it seemed to have less memorabilia on the walls then I remembered. All that remained of the old CRT TVs, that played Black and White out of copyright Sherlock Holmes episodes, were the brackets from the ceiling. As the pub was rammed and only getting busier, along with Spice Girls playing over the sound system, I made quick with my pint, and paid a visit to the lads room before leaving. Looking back at the pub from the road I certainly could admire what a grand and beautiful building it is, and can't help but feel that although touristy, it certainly wasn't a horrible 'tourist trap' like some other establishment. And at least was an introduction for many to the idea of a traditional British pub.

London Pub Tour 5 - Chelsea: Surprise, Coopers Arms, Phene and Prince Albert

I've not been able to keep up with the blog recently due to a busy christmas time both work wise and socially, though I hope to get back to my bi-weekly posts. I decided to pop over to Chelsea area today and sample some beer in a few pubs that I've been to a few times before. The first stop was The Surprise (SW3 4AJ) which is a residential area on a very open corner. Upon walking in I noticed a quite empty pub with the tables on the bar side mostly filled with individuals whilst the non-bar side with soft furnishing was emptier.

There were three ales pumps however, only two were in use. As a Young's pub they served Young's Bitter but alongside this they served a house Young's house ale called HMS Surprise. I've had the Surprise and didn't think much of it so didn't go for it. On the lager side they had London Lager, Chelsea Blonde, Amstel, Guinness, Peroni and Heineken. Based on these options I selected a pint of London Lager for £5.25. I've had it many times and ob
viously its a solid pint to fall back on, and only 4.5% abv. The pub itself has wooden floorboards and had a Christmas tree in one corner. There were some basic hanging paper decorations from the ceiling though overall it looks nice. This pub doesn't offer a great selection but isn't a bad place if you want a comfy few pints with mates after work. There was a slight nautical theme with some ship decorations and obviously the house pint is named The Surprise after the HMS Surprise.

I only stayed for the one and opted to move onto the next nearby pub which so happened to be another Young's pub called the Coopers Arms (SW3 5TB). This place again was quite empty for a Friday, with only about 4 tables with people and the rest empty. Some of the staff were on break occupying and chatting in the corner and was nice to see them all getting along outside of working and is a good sign of a well run pub. There were 6 ale pumps though only 5 were in use, with two as repeaters. So the three ales on offer were Young's Bitter, Young's Special and Sambrook's Wandle. On tap there was Young's IPA, 1664, Guinness, Peroni, Fosters, Yakima Red, London Lager, London Pale Ale, and one that was list as out of service. I went for a pint of Yakima Red and settled down on a large table by myself next to a plug socket to charge my phone. I also bought a packet of Piper's crisps which was flavoured as Three Bird Roast. To be honest it just tasted of chicken but it was worth trying.

The Yakima was standard style as expected, a good pint with a high price point. The pub had a few more people pour in for a booking but still was empty. There was some very fancy and peculiar light in the pub that caught me attention. After finishing my pint of Yakima I decided to go for a bottle of the always good Ram Rod. The bar staff were very good and even offered me a rod and special mix, which is unusual to come across in pubs nowdays, though I did decline the offer. The Ram Rod went down a treat and is always a bottle I would recommend.

I next walked further into the housing and chelsea to arrive at the Phene (SW3 5NY). They only have two and pumps serving up Wandle and Good Old Boy when I went in. I believe Good Old Boy must be their house as it's always on when I go in, unless they're serving the same cask for the last 3 months...

I opted to stick with keg and chose a pint of Camden Ink which I'd never had before. They did offer a standard selection of keg beers which included Amstel, Heineken, Chelsea Blonde, Camden Hells, London Pale Ale and Renegade Craft Lager. The pint served was very much head very, aka a short pint. It's an okay pub inside though the clientele aimed for are from more money. I understand they shoot scenes from The Only Way is Chelsea in here, which says a lot. There is a big dinning area out back and upstairs. The staff and customers were very much over dressed for a pub for my sense, though I felt better with the drunk wedding party there on the bombs. There was lots of seating in the bar area though almost all were reserved. There was club music playing lowly across the sound system. It did feel much busier than the previous two pub though not sure if it was more down to the rowdy suited type making so much noise. I think this could be an okay pub on the right day.

I next headed towards the river and headed south alongside Battersea Park and to the Prince Albert (SW11 4PF). Now this pub was busy and filled with customers. It was again a Young's pub and had a very nice horseshoe bar which I'm always partial to. There were 4 pumps with only 3 on which were Young's Special, Sambrook's Pump House and Sharp's Coaster. I selected a pint of Pump House but as he poured he turned to me and said he thinks its at the end and is there anything else he can offer me. The fact he could have served a full pint to me but end of the barrel, yet didn't, speak excellently for customer service here. I chose the Coaster instead which poured perfectly.

The pub had lots of seating available with an area that was on a high staging. There was a mixture of tile and wood floor across the pub and of course this was dog friendly due to proximity to Battersea Park. Overall this was a nice pub set back from the river a few hundred metres but close enough to the park.

All the pubs today were very much aimed for a more upmarket clientele, though some of them had a very nice potential, and I feel may be enjoyable on the right day of the week.

London Pub Tour 4 - Pimlico: Cask Pub & Kitchen, Pride of Pimlico and Gallery

I've been popping into pubs recently that I've either neglected for a while or never previously visited. Today however I decided to pop by some pubs that I've regularly visited over the last 6 months. I started off by popping into the beer nirvana that is Cask Pub & Kitchen (SW1V 2EE). This is a sister pub and precursor to the The Craft Beer Co pub chain.

The pub itself is on the corner of a 1950's estate, Lillington Gardens, which was part of the redevelopment after World War II and the new estate ideology that planners were promoting. Cask opened in 2009 and the outside area has some table and chairs for outdoor drinking, and even on this chilly day some people were braving it. When you walk into Cask the bar is just visible round the corner of the wall and between the pillar. Once you approach the bar you see the very large selection of ales and lagers available. There are 10 hand pumps that cover multiple styles, and normally you have a few casks from one brewery. Next are the kegs, all 12 of them, serving up lagers from London, Double IPAs from America and a stout (Imperial if your lucky) or two. Rather than name all that was one went I went as the selection changes regularly, I've attached a photo of the beer menu.

I opted to go for two half pints, of the first of which was an alt beer, Neu by Orbit Beers London. Now Cask isn't cheap but it does offer you a selection and at £2.65 for a half, it was good to try this beer. Sadly there was no major taste coming from it, though that did at least mean there was nothing off putting about it. The second half was All Day IPA from Founder Brewing Co at £2.95. I can understand the price for this beer more than the first, due to it being imported from the US. It was much better than the Neu and there was hops coming through in the taste. I touched upon the price as I do like to at least cover the cost aspect of beer, though I know if going to Cask I will tend to drink or find beers that I wouldn't normally find on tap elsewhere hence why I'm probably more willing to pay the price. They also have a massive selection of bottles which range in price from £4 through to £90, though offer a 1/3 off for take away bottles.

The pub itself had a varied selection of drinkers in with plenty of seating, though sadly most of it was marked as reserved from 7pm. I'm not a huge fan of reservations at pubs as it can put off already present and paying customers from remaining, which has a knock on effect particularly if a booking arrives later than planned, which is quite common. The pub wasn't overdone with Christmas decorations and was perhaps going with the theme of Christmas-lite.

I left Cask and walked 2 minutes down the road to the Pride of Pimlico (SW1V 2QA). Much like Cask this pub is built into the same 1950's development and has always been a pub. This is much more of a local boozer and is particularly popular with the Irish. This pub honestly smells and reminds me of an Irish pub I used to go to as a kid, which is now sadly closed. The pub serves only keg with the selection offered of John Smith, Guinness, Guinness Golden, Carlsberg, Stella, Fosters and Peroni. There is some Rekorderlig Cider bottles available for those with a sweet tooth, but most importantly they sell Tayto crisps!

The pub is very spacious with seating all around the two front bay windows. They seating at the front and rear bar (although the whole pub is one room, there are two bar serving areas). There is a pool table that has plenty of space to play on, and not be stuck up against a wall like in so many other pubs. Then there is a middle aisle between the front and rear bar, which mainly guys sit on and watching the horse racing on the TV. The pub was quite busy with everyone taking the seats against the bars and bay window area nearest to the front bar. I would guess there were around 30 people, which was more than were in Cask. I bought a pint of Stella and a bag of Tayto's and relaxed in the friendly and comfortable environment.

After finishing off my pint I headed a further two minutes down the road to The Gallery (SW1V 3AS) which is situated right next to an entrance to Pimlico tube station. This pub was very quiet with only about 8 customers on the ground floor area. The pub has a lot of seating with a little raised area on the ground floor. There's also s an upstairs balcony seating area, which I've only ever sat once in. The bar is staffed by Aussi's (always has been, at least for the last 6yrs) and we all know Aussi's and beer go well together.

There were 5 hand pumps serving up London Glory (Greene King), Pure Gold (Purity), Boon Doggle (Ringwood), Iron Duke (Cottage Brewery) and Landlord (Timothy Taylor). Alongside this were 7 kegs offering Leff, Budvar, 1664, Guinness, Peroni, Staropramen and Becks. Sadly the Budvar was off so I opted for a Becks. The Gallery can be busy at lunch time with tourist heading to the Tate Gallery nearby and after work with teachers from the nearby school. I've had food here previoulsy, a burger, but I didn't think it was too great. Beer wise I had opted for the becks as I've had all the ales on offer before and since I'd already started on lager, had decided to keep to it.

After finishing off my pint it was a short stride to the tube station and off homeward bound.

London Pub Tour 3 - Westminster: Constitution, Prince of Wales, Queens Arms & Jugged Hare

I opted to visit some pubs in Victoria that I've been to quite a few times before before but have neglected for a while. The first stop was at the Constitution (SW1V 2LP), which has only recently re-opened after a refurbishment. On the outside the picnic benches had been replace with wooden tables but all looked the same. When walking inside I could immediately see the changes that had taken place although the pub still felt very much the same. The carpet has been pulled up and wood flooring is now throughout, along with wood panelling on the walls. New tables and chairs though very much similar dark colours as before. There was a new tall central communal table, which wasn't plain and was actually very beautiful. I'm unable to recollect whether the ship models have been removed from the top of the walls. The major change was the beers on tap and food menu change. The pub is now under new owners and they have given it a slight bump up market but not too massively.

This pub used to be the only place I knew of in the area that served Worthington Smoothflow though this has been removed. The regulars are still here and I assume haven't been priced out, and they continue to sell some mainstream lagers such as Fosters and Carlsberg, though have added some craft or premium lagers into the mix which didn't exist before. They still had three ale pumps though these were dispensing Doom, Speckled and Greene King IPA. I opted for a bottle of the Orchard Pig, Truffler at £4.70 for the 500ml bottle. It was a run of the mill cider for me, nothing to turn me off but nothing stand out to make me choose this over other brands.

I next headed towards the station to the Prince of Wales (SW1V 1DW). This is a small corner pub with a few benches outside on a busy restaurant street. The pub was very busy and all seats were taken, though to be fair the pub can only probably seat 30 people. I managed to find a space, which so happened to be in the corner near the entrance door, right next to the bar. This pub always has a nice selection of ales to choose from (6 taps) and on this occasion they had Doombar, Pride, Landlord, ESB, Poppy and Over The Bar. Now I'm always tempted by an ESB or Landlord but the Over The Bar was from Otter, and I wasn't going to pass up this as I like their beers and hadn't had this one before. The pint came to £4.40 and it didn't disappoint, and went down a treat.

The pub became busier still, though not sure how, and although I would have liked to try another, I departed and made my way round the corner to the Queens Arms (SW1V 1QT). The Queens Arms is a grand corner pub, that is in perfect condition and good to look at. Now the Queens Arms is not a pub I would generally go to as it is definitely more geared up to being an eatery than a drinkery though on this visit it was actually quite quiet. Not all the tables were full and the bar had a few people standing and drinking at it. There were 5 hand pumps with only 4 in action serving Under Current, Stiff Upper Lip, Ubu and a Sambrooks. Though I had never had Under Current before I felt more in the mood for a lager and this place serves the premium and mainstream craft ones. Looking through I could see Camden Hells, Camden Pils, Amstel, London Stout and a Mondo Brewery beer. I opted for a pint of Pale Ale by Truman's Brewery at £5.10. I've had a few of the Truman's ales but haven't really considered them great so thought I'd give their lager a try. Sadly I felt this too was lacking in the 'wow' or 'I could have another of those' areas. The crowd in the Queens Arms was very young and upmarket and that isn't quite my style. Though the pub does look good inside and offered a few nice bottles, I wasn't going to hang around after my one.

My final stop was the Jugged Hare (SW1V 1DX) which is a Fuller's Ale & Pie pub, which just means a simpler menu choice. The building is an old bank though doesn't stand out too much. Walking into the pub and it feels a nice size. Then you notice there is further seating out the back and an upstairs balcony seating area. One feature I always love is the very large painting on the wall. It's such a busy painting with so much going on in the scene and you always spot something new. The bar had the usual selection of Fullers ales including Seafarers and their seasonal Fire Cracker. They had the Fullers IPA, Honey Dew and Birra Moretti on tap. I had a look at their bottle fridge and immediately seen what I was going to have. I knew that they sold it here, but I'm never quite sure whether today was going to be the day I opted to purchase it.

I decided to go all out and buy a bottle of the Fullers Imperial Stout Limited Edition for £7 something. The Italian barmaid was very friendly and chatty as she served the customers. I poured the silkly black stout into my brandy-esque glass and savoured the smell, before going in for a glup. It was a beautiful texture and good taste. I honestly can't think of a better beer type than an imperial stout, though the only downfall is always the percentage. I thought the bottle would be somewhere along the lines of the Golden Pride, at 8.4% however I was a bit taken back to see it was 10.7%, but hey whats 2% between friends. I sat back and supped the beer ensuring I didn't rush such a beautiful beer as this.

Brighton Visit - Brighton Beer Dispensary, Royal Sovereign, North Laine Brewhouse

So I had a work function down in Brighton and decided to make the most of the trip and researched pubs to visit. Luckily I was based right on the seafront near to the i360 attraction, which meant I was only a short walk from the high street and a big selection of pubs.

When I arrived in Brighton and walked from the station to the hotel I was surprised at the vast number of pubs I passed, and hadn't expected this town to yield so many establishments. Though sadly I wouldn't be visiting any of these places as I had already determined the places I was going to pop into.

As 5:30 rolled around and the meeting drew to an end, I knew I had till 7pm to visit one or two places before having to come back for a group dinner. I immediately decided to head to the Brighton Beer Dispensary (BN1 3EG) just off the high street and about 10 minutes walk away. The pub itself was easy to find and was thankfully not too busy, which is one thing you can always be unsure of at that time on a Tuesday. Sometimes locations are absolutely empty or surprisingly packed. I was soon to learn that Tuesday's are a very busy affair in Brighton due to it being Student Night.

Brighton Beer Dispensary

Upon walking in I was presented with a much larger selection than I had anticipated. There were keg taps and ale pumps on the bar along with keg taps on the back wall, ales on gravity and cider. I noticed the blackboard showing there were 15 beers and 3 ciders available for selection. I opted to go for Freshman which is brewed by Brighton Bier, the owners of the pub, at £5.10 for a pint. I wasn't expecting to see that type of pricing outside London for a local produced beer but then it is the whole craft market, and if I'm okay paying that in London then why shouldn't I pay that elsewhere. The beer itself was hoppy but within my drinkable range, as I'm not one for overly hop beers (prefer my malts).

I took a seat in the conservatory extension due to the main bar all being full (hence no photos). There were at least 30 people in the main bar area and the conservatory was beginning to fill up as well. The first drink after a long meeting always goes down well and this one was no exception. I studied the menu and decided to buy two halves from two breweries I'd never actually heard of before. I order half of the Best Bitter Bramling Cross from True North Brew Co. and half of the Poker Face from Blackjack Beers. The first was not a very powerful bitter, and was quite weak in the flavour sense but was nontheless easily drinkable. The Poker Face was much better: Floral and light, and I could certainly have had another, but I needed to be making my way back closer to the hotel and perhaps pay a visit to another pub.

On my way from the hotel I had passed a few pubs but one had caught my eye with its frontage, this was the Royal Sovereign (BN1 2HE). Walking in you are presented with the rear of the horeshoe bar, and a feeling it is more restaurant than pub. Walking round to the side and front of the bar where you finally see the beers on offer I seen they had four ale pump but with only two on (With two ales that I hadn't heard of before). Alongside this there was a selection of 7 keg craft beers and 5 lagers however, not so mainstream but more along the lines of Cobra, Pravha and Staropramen. I opted to try one of the ales which was B-46 from Greyhound Brewery, I believe the other ale was Amber Eyes.

There was a massive fire roaring away to one side of the pub which everyone seemed to have gathered around so I headed to the quieter seating area on the opposite side. It then struck me that the lighting in the pub was very...red, and I noted the thai food menus, so  i wasn't far off with the restaurant feel. The pub itself had a mixed age groups and was quite large. There was a big outside area for smokers and inside they had put pump clips along the walls and sheet music for famous songs.The beer itself was fine though not one I would rush back for. Sadly I didn't have an opportunity for any further beer 'tasting' as I needed to show my face for the dinner.

After the dinner I headed out with some of the others from the meeting to catch the second half of the European football matches that were on. We were aiming to go to Molly Malones but ended up at Yates. I haven't been in a Yates for years (Leicester Square) and this one was decorated and ready for Christmas and looked quite bright and inviting though still looked rough around the edges (Wooded chipboard on part of the floor that must have been broken). I had a pint of Revisionist Craft Lager which I've had before and forgotten that I was not a fan of, so stuck to the Guinness thereafter. Instead of playing the football match sound they played club music mixed with some Christmas hits. I left shortly after a fight nearly kicked off between two lads, over what, I've no idea. I had one more place that was on my must visit list and it was 15 minutes walk away, North Laine Brewhouse (BN1 4AA).

The Brewhouse itself has ample seating, and could easily hold a few hundred. When I arrived it had just turned 11pm and there were a few large groups of university students on the bench seating nearest the bar, but they left shortly after (Hope it wasn't me that scared them off). The Brewhouse was open till 00:30 though I wasn't planning to stay till close. Behind the bar and slightly up above eye sight you can see all the brewing equipment, still looking nice and shinny.

Time Hope

Black Rock Stout

On tap there were a selection of ales from the brewhouse along with beers from other breweries. The pump clips for each in-house beer were polaroids of staff which didn't quite grab the attention of the eye.  I decided to try two halves of their own brews: Black Rock Oatmeal Stout & Time Hop (£2.15 each). The Black Rock was a solid stout but I wouldn't consider it sessionable. The Time Hop didn't seem to have much hop kick but was very citrusy and went down a treat.

The Brewhouse at this stage was emptying out and only 6 other customers were drinking. I seen a poster advertising £3 pint nights for every Friday in November, which certainly seems a bargain price, and is no doubt when the place is rammed.

I decided to call it a night and head back to my hotel, but not without taking a walk along the coast to get some sea air to help give a good nights kip.

London Pub Tour 2 - Lambeth: The Windmill, Tamesis Dock and The Rose

For my next pub tour I started slightly south of where I finished off my previous one in Westminster. The reason for this was when in the Marquis of Granby I seen a pub I'd never been to just over the river in Lambeth.

So I set out via the 507 bus from Victoria on a rainy day with quite a bit of traffic on the road. As it was raining quite heavy I didn't have my phone out for directions and was relying upon memory. As I walked up Lambeth High Street (a very misleading name, no shops at all on this road, which one would expect from a high street) I began to doubt I'd taken the correct road, yet I still pushed on. Then up ahead, a lit up pub sign became visible. I'd arrived at The Windmill (SE1 7JS).

The pub is quite large inside, and a few others had braved the weather and were drinking already. The barman was very friendly and made conversation about the rain, which had just soaked me. There were four ales on tap (Pride, Doom, Landlord and Sharp's Atlantic) none of which took my fancy. I then spotted they had Blue Moon Belgium White on tap. This was the first ever American 'craft' beer I ever had and so I had to have a pint for old time-sake (I declined the addition of an orange slice). The beer still holds up well and it is something that I would drink again.

I sat down in a corner near the pool table and surveyed the pub. It felt to have four distinct areas.
The bar area - with a bar up against the wall and no chairs or tables in front of it.
The pool table area - with an advertising board and plenty of seating around the window
The seating area - doesn't need more description, all the sofas and chairs in the big area opposite the bar
The higher seating level - up some steps to a higher seating level and a TV showing sky sports

The Windmill was an okay pub, though perhaps needs a revisit on a better weather day to experience the atmosphere. I headed off out into the rain and walked the short distance to the River Thames and my next stop, the Tamesis Dock (SE1 7TP).

I've visited this moored boat on the Thames many times through the years, but mainly on fair weather days. I've never really sat inside the boat near the bar as sitting on the deck provides you with perfect view to watch life on the Thames and the seagulls on the sand below. I noticed straight away the beer selection had changed since I last came here 5 years ago (when I worked in the Vauxhall area). All the beers on tap were of the craft variety and as being on a moored yet moving ship, there was rightly no ale. I opted for a pint of Adnams, Jack Brand Ease Up IPA for £4.70 and took a seat on the bar level.

The beer had the usual Adnams flavour with extra hop than normally found in their pints. There were a few customers downstairs drinking, though my only experience of the downstairs previously was for use of the facilities. I sat back and relaxed inside the boat with the sound of rain outside and voices rising up from he deck below. I could have easily stayed and relaxed with another Ease Up IPA however the show must go on, and I had one more pub I needed to visit.

As I walked up to the Rose (SE1 7TL) I could see the large number of people inside drinking. Compared to the previous two establishments, this one was heaving. I noticed that the pub signage was missing from the outside, and upon walking in could see they'd done this pub up since I last visited. The central bar looked great as always, though the pub seemed to have turned very gastro with a young professional, suited crowd.

Mon to Tues, free if you spend £300

I ordered a pint of the Caledonian Three Hop Lager for £4.90 forgetting how much  I actually don't like that beer. There was no seating available so I made my way further back down the pub where I realised it wasn't quite as busy as it had first seemed. Sadly it was the usual story of everyone hanging round the bar area that from the outside made it seem busy. I found a corner with a low table to stand in and done what any sensible person would do and pulled out my phone to read the news and not make eye contact with anyone. The crowd around the bar left shortly after, for which I'll take the credit, for lowering the tone of their pub. I'm not sure if it was with the crowd going or maybe someone walked past me, but my nose pricked up at the wonderful smell of mulled wine flowing from somewhere. It was at this stage I realised that I never come to the Rose this early in the evening before and definitely not this sober. It was always a late hangout spot once you've had a few at the Tamesis and maybe the pub had always been like this and I'd just never realised due to my state.

Well it is with that thought that I finished up my pint, walked out and looked up at where the sign used to be and remembered that I used to call this pub the Black Rose because the pub sign used to be black with a red rose on it....

London Pub Tour 1 - Westminster: Albert, Munich Cricket Club, Low Slow & Juke and Marquis of Granby

I work near Victoria station in London which has provided me with access to a wealth of pubs that are only a few minutes travel away. Although when you in one area too often you can find yourself not regularly visiting or ever having gone to some of the pubs actually within walking distance. The Albert (SW1H 0NP) pub in Victoria happens to be one of these pubs.

Not my photo, a stock free use one

This is a large victorian corner pub that's would be impossible not notice and register was there. And obviously I've noted it, it's just I always had somewhere else I wanted to try which left this place on my list of unvisited pubs. So to correct that wrong I went along to final check out the innards and tick it off the list.

Now this is a Taylor Walker pub, like so many in the Victoria area, and unfortunately Taylor Walker pubs are now owned by Greene King. Taylor Walker pubs always had a good selection of ales, and I don't think I've seen one of their pub's with less than 5 hand pumps, all with different ales. The ales they selected would come from a large array of breweries ensuring that there was at least one drink you could settle on. Sadly since Greene King took over I've seen the selection drop down to mostly the Greene King range (Greene King, Hardy's and Hansons, Belhaven etc..) which is disappointing since I'm not too fond of Greene King ales (Something about the taste running through all their brews).

Hidden amidst the Greene King.....Titanic

So imagine my surprise upon walking into the Albert and starring right out at me is Titanic's Chocolate and Vanilla Stout. I've not had this version of the Titanic stout before though last year discovered the wonders of their Plum Porter (yum yum). So I immediately opted for a pint of this from the very eager barman who was queuing up orders from the punters. The beer was a beautiful colour and the aroma's coming off it were very enticing and the flavour did not disappoint. It wasn't quite on the same level as their plum porter but I'm not letting that distract from the good pint it was.

The Albert itself was decked out in Christmas ware and was at that comfortable busy where nearly all tables are taken although only 2 or 3 people per table. Although, it was only once I'd taken my seat that I realised there was a dinning area at the back and upstairs, which absolutely makes sense for a large Victorian pub of this size. I can certainly say having a Titanic Stout on a cold dark evening, in a large Victorian pub filled with Christmas lights shall now become my bellwether for the start of the Christmas period and not the Coca Cola advert.

it's just not cricket

I left the Albert after the one as I had a few more pubs I'd not visited in a while that I needed to get to. My next stop was at the Munich Cricket Club (SW1H 0HW) on Strutton Ground only a few minutes walk away. Now the last time I visited this pub it was called the Old Monk Exchange. The pub is actually in a basement and I can fully see why they've converted it into a Germany style beer hall (loosely). At first glance not much had changed. The tables had been replaced with benches and Munich/German memorabilia adorned the walls, and as expected the beer selection was all German. Now my knowledge on German beers is not great but they did have quite a few brands I'd never heard of including Löwenbräu, hence why I opted for a pint, though I selected the Oktoberfest version at 6.1% compared to the original at 5.2%. (This was after one of the staff members had finished swearing at I assume her manager, saying she refused to do something, very nice welcome to the pub)

I grabbed an empty bench, which was very easy considering only 6 other customers were in the pub, and enjoyed the surprisingly easy drinking pint. I had to wander back up to the bar to double check it was the Oktoberfest version as it certainly didn't have any hint of a 6%-er. I will most defintely come back to this pub to sample a few more of the German beers that I've not had before though it's not top of my list.

I left the Munich Cricket Club and regained signal on my phone. The obvious choice at this stage was to head to the Grafton Arms next door however two Greene King pubs in one day was not to be as I noticed on the WhatPub website that there was a pub nearby that I've never seen nor heard of before, so I went off in search of it.

I found the Low Slow & Juke just off Victoria street on Abbey Orchard Street (SW1H 0EX). This pub was again downstairs and what immediately strikes you is that its hosts live music seemingly of the American New Orleans jazz style. When you reach the bottom of the stairs there is a reception desk which I soon learned was to handle all the table bookings and reserved seating this place has. I just stated I was here for a drink and she nodded me through to the bar.

Inside neon light

The pub had a nice selection of ales, though an even bigger selection of bottle beers. I had already set my eye on the S

team Brewery Lager which I'd never had before. The kind gentleman behind the bar informed me it was happy hour and preceded to point out a range of draft ales/lagers on a reduced price however, my mind was set and I stuck with my Steam Lager. I didn't realise till this moment that the pub is actually owned by Marston's which then made sense of the beers in the happy hour were Pedigree, EPA and Pearl Jet (The new name for Oyster Stout). My Steam Lager had the usual taste coming through as any Steam Brewery beer and was drunk in no time at all.

I decided to not hang around for another drink in case the bookings all arrived and besides I had a final destination to get too and needed to get to a pub a bit closer. I hadn't at this stage decided which pub I'd go to exactly. I did linger outside the Speaker but decided to push on a bit further passing three other pubs before I settled on the Marquis of Granby (SW1P 3RF) a Nicholson's.

The pub was quite full and no seats were available and the bar area full of people. Once near the front of the bar I seen the pump selection wasn't as wide as some of the other Nicholson's pubs, but then I noticed they had some Firkin's on gravity dispense. Of course was going to have the gravity dispense as that's quite rare to find in big London pubs. Unfortunately for me the beer i was drawn to was 'Al Murray Pub Landlord - Dependence Day' which tasted very watery and also of elder-flower.

The gravity drop choices

Houses of Parliament Division Bell

What the beer lacked the pub did make up for. They had their own hand cooked crisps for which you can choose a flavour which they will add into the brown paper bag and shake up for you. I selected good old salt and vinegar and they tasted beautiful. Also the pub had a glass cabinet that they called their 'Beer Library'. Within this cabinet were books, beers and notes of the brewing process which made for an interesting peruse. Though the one stand out feature had to be the Houses of Parliament Division bell. I'd never noticed this when I'd been in this pub before, and it's certainly an interesting feature, particularly as they state its still active.

After finishing off the Al Murray pint I called it a day and headed on my way. I had managed to visit two new pubs and had three really enjoyable beers, which I will certainly call a good evening.

Here it goes...

So I've decided to join in with the world of blogging. You might say I'm late to the game but for me I feel this is the perfect time.

I've never been one to log, record or share everything I do however, I feel I now reached a stage where I want to capture those thoughts and musings and have them written down, hence this blog. I've opted to write my thoughts on pubs and beer because it's something that is just part of me. I love to discover new pubs. Each pub with their unique interior's, pub sign's, atmosphere and at times, differing selection of beers.

I feel nothing can quite beat a good pub and when I see a pub that I've not been to before, I want to enter that pub and discover it's story, the people within and the community it serves. I'm not sure what set me off on wanting to discover new pubs rather than finding a regular and being content, but the need to venture to new pubs hasn't died down. And when in those pubs, of course, there is nothing better than trying something new. It adds to the unique experience of that pub and helps cement the memory, pairing a beer with a location.

Living within London I've covered quite a large number of pubs however there are areas that either I haven't re-visited in a long time or ever. So I'm starting afresh and will write details on all pubs I go to, though if I have been there before or even regularly I will mention it, as I would still like to jot down my thoughts of those pubs at this particular time.

Of course it's not a pub blog if I don't talk about the product which brings me there, the beer. So I will share my musings on the beers I sample however, I'm no expert within the aspect of beer. I'm not one who could identify the hops used or provide a clear definition of the fruits or coffee flavours oozing out from the beer, but I know what beers I like and appreciate all varieties.

I hope this blog will drive me to better log both in photos and words my initial thoughts of pubs and beers.

Liam K