London Pub Tour 15 - King's Cross: Euston Flyer and The Boot (New Years Eve)

So early evening New Year's Eve was going to be spent at a few pubs in and around King's Cross before heading onto a party. Whilst awaiting friends I had scoped out how busy some of the pubs were in Euston to King's Cross area. I noticed that the Betjeman Arms in St Pancras wasn't too busy and schedued to meet my mates there. Sadly when walking into the pub half an hour later at 7pm the barman informed us the pub was closing. Evidently they decided trade was slow that they would let staff have the evening off, and I certainly don't begrudge them for that.

Photo by Ewan Munro - Flickr

So instead it was off to the Euston Flyer (NW1 2RA), a Fuller's pub directly opposite the British Library which is located closer to King's Cross than Euston. The pub was busy due to showing the Footie, but there was a little seating available. Managing to grab a table I had my first of three beers at the Euston. My first two pints were the ever dependable ESB, though perhaps on a night like New Year's I should have started on a lower ABV. My last pint was a switch to Frontier, which was Fuller's first ever lager when it launched about 3 1/2 years ago. I've never really enjoyed Frontier as much as some of the other craft lagers and generally in a choice between this and mainstream lagers, in most instances I would select mainstream. On this occassion I felt like a lager and considering I don't like Peroni (The one mainstream lager I really can't stand) I chose Frontier.

The Flyer is based on the ground floor of a sixties building that you can tell was a conversion into a pub. It's a large-ish open plan pub with some high level areas aimed at dinning, but not specifically restricted for eaters only. The pub has been given the mahogany look, and the bar itself on one of the side walls wouldn't look out of place in an old Victorian corner pub.

The Euston Flyer was still busy when I set off to my next pub which was down the back streets away from King's cross moving towards Russell Square. It's was an Irish pub which I used to frequent quite often 8+ years ago called The Boot (WC1H 8BS). On the outside the boot didn't look too busy, but on the inside it was buzzing with a variety of age rages and both genders. As it was New Year's the pool table had been pushed against one of the walls and covered, and the expected Irish food spread had been laid atop. That's always one thing I do love about proper Irish pubs, and it's the element of offering free food on certain occasions.

The boot isn't a large pub, more a modest size, that is square. When walking in the bar is to your right against the side wall. All along the walls are photographs and paraphernalia from a variety of sports, including the Hurling and Gaelic Football. I had thought from memory that The Boot served Murphy's but clearly my memory was lying and they offered up Guinness or Guinness Extra Cold. On the bar they also had a house lager with the imaginative name 'The Boot'. I opted for a pint of this but lived to regret it. The beer was very metallic and had an off smell. After looking into it at the pub I found out that the beer was actually Belhaven House lager and it has very mixed reviews. I swapped over to the Guinness for my next two pints as there had to be safety in numbers at that stage.

Sadly that was all for my pub tour before heading off to the party I attended. I didn't drink anything too extra-ordinary. The only drink worth mentioning is the Big Wave Golden Ale by Kona Brewery in Hawaii. I've had this bottle beer before. It's smooth and easy to drink, but not something that if I seen in bottle would make me reach for it over other beers.

So I finally managed to write up all my December exploits before January ended. As January wasn't too busy a month due to friend's being on Dry January I have less Pub Tours, meaning I should hopefully be able to play catch up in February, and maybe even start writing up some of my non-London pub tours amongst other pieces I have in the works.

London Pub Tour 14 - Waterloo: Waterloo Tap, The White Hart, The King's Arms, The Windmill Tavern and The Beer House

Since my last venture out between the Christmas and New Year period was disappointing, I opted to go out again once people were back at work on the Thursday just before New Year's. I kept it simple and headed to Waterloo and started at a new-ish venue, the Waterloo Tap (SE1 7ES).

The Waterloo tap was open in March 2016 by the owners of the Euston Tap (and the Bloomsbury Lanes) in a disused railway arch. The arch was previously not used, but Network Rail have been bringing a lot of railway arches back into use because of the money that can be earnt through rentals. The Waterloo tap is on the major pedestrian thoroughfare between South Bank and Waterloo station. The outside is simply glass through which you can see out the other side, as the venue isn't that large. Upon walking in the bar is to your left with taps on the wall behind the bar number from 1 through to 27 (I think). Above head height behind the bar are the chalk boards showing what each of those taps are serving.

Whenever you walk into a place like Taps or Craft you will inevitably discover that you've never had half these beers before, and some you never even knew about. This does then make it had to choose what will be your poison, so rather than use a complicated method of working out which might be a rare brew or rare for London, you just randomly find a percentage and go with it, which is how I ended up with a pint of Gun Smoked by Four Pure Brewing. It did indeed live up to it's name and be smokey. It was also quite dark and didn't let any light through. At 4.7% it was a solid drink to start with considering this was going to be a bit of a heavy night. I kept it Bermondsey based and choose a pint of 21|03 by Brew by Numbers. Now I didn't actually choose this one, but the bar man pulled two of these by accident so rather than waste beer I took it. This was higher at 5.2% and was a cloudy, bitter, citrus beer but nonetheless went down easily.

As you would expect from a railway arch, the roof of the pub is an arch. When looking at the back window, you don't get a view of anything, but you can see some of their used key-kegs and see what you missed out on. The toilets for the pub are on this back wall, and strangely the men's toilet has a lock for the customer to close the door even though it is a urinal inside. The Tap wasn't that busy but then this was an early start and no doubt it would get busy later. I left the Tap and walked on to the White Hart (SE1 8TJ) which is in the back streets of Waterloo but still a very popular pub.

The White Hart stands proudly and bright on this quiet street corner. Upon walking in through the front door you are facing straight on to the smaller side of the bar, where a display or some lagers and all the cask ales are displayed. On the left are tables running along the bar, and on the right is the longest side of the bar with more seating all the way down. There are extra beers available on the two other sides of the bar, though at first I wasn't aware of this so surveyed the ales and chose a pint of Cornish Trawler by Skinners. The beer felt very dry on the mouth and wasn't as refreshing as I expected. This put was certainly busier than the Tap, with all the seats taken, but only a few were standing at the further reaches of the bar, which is where I headed. I then noticed that alongside the London Lager, Camden Pale, Becks and Carling they also offered Franzisknner, Veltins, Meantime Pacific Red and Stigel. There was also a very good selection of Begian beers including the amazing Delirium. Considering I didn't want to jump straight to 9 or 10% I thought I'd give the Steigel a go, as I've never had that in the UK. But upon looking at the pump clip it turned out this wasn't Steigel this was Steigel Pilnser (They had used Stigel badge and just added a tape saying Pilsner), which I certainly wasn't going to say no to. I only ordered a half of the Stigel Pilsner (Pils) and really enjoyed it. Some wonderful raisin hints came through whilst drinking and I wished I had seen this prior to ordering the Skinners, The White Hart was now getting quite busy with the after work and pre-theatre crowd so I moved on to another busy back street Waterloo pub, The King's Arms (SE1 8TB).

This King's Arms is a wonderful looking pub on the outside that fits in with the surroundings. If you didn't know about it, you might just miss the place. The pub has quite a few doors and is separated into Lounge and Saloon. I couldn't honestly tell you which side I walked into as the pub was packed on both sides, so I just selected the one with the easiest access to the bar. Sadly the area of the bar I walked up to only had the more standard lagers you would expect to see. I enquired about the ale selection but turns out there are around 9 pumps so I opted for the easiest one to remember which was Ale of Kings which turned out to be made by Sharp's. Also on tap was Hark by Thornbridge, Adnams Bitter, Dark Star Pale Ale and Calif-oregon Amber. The Sharp's was a good choice at £4.50 being nice and crisp and the usual standard expected.

The side of the bar I was in started to empty out a little which gave me the chance to move around and look at the craft kegs on offer. There was Nouvelle Saison, Queen of Diamonds, Neck Oil and N 7.7. I was too tempted by the N 7.7 and the few I'd tucked away prior to this obviously didn't help my decision making, so I went and ordered a half. The N 7.7 (v1.0) 2016 by Hammerton Brewery was, as you've guessed, 7.7% ABV. A half pint cost £2.90 and this was a Double IPA with a massive hop and citrus punch. Whilst 'sipping' my 7.7% half pinter I had a chance for a better look round the pub. There was a dinning area in the rear that was quite empty, and the opposite side of the pub was straight and long, but felt like it held less than the area I'd been in. I also had a look in the fridges underneath and there were quite a few craft cans and bottles tucked away in there. I do keep saying I should visit this pub more, and I think I will, but perhaps at a less busy time so I can sit and enjoy it more.

It was next onwards to The Windmill Tavern (SE1 8LW) which was only a minute or two walk away, but takes you back out onto a high street. The Windmill Tavern is actually owned by the same company that owns the King's Arms however, the two pubs really couldn't feel any different. Whereas the King's Arms offered a varying selection of standard keg and ales, alongside a good selection of guest beers, the Windmill's offering was more tied to Fuller's with Montana Red, Frontier and Fullers IPA on Keg and on cask were Bengal Lancer, London Pride and Doombar. The pub also didn't have the more cosy feel of the King's Arms, it felt more a spit and saw dust style pub.

Pump clips facing inwards

The entrance to the pub was on a side stairway which leads you into the back bar. You can then walk through a door opening to reach the front bar which mainly consisted of short tables with short stools. To be honest I'm not sure if there was another entrance, but with my quick look in the front bar I didn't notice one. The rear bar was a long connected sofa on the back wall, with some tables. The bar separates the two areas but is very open allowing you to easily see the other side and out the front windows, along with letting the noise flow through. The pub wasn't packed as there remained seating, though I wouldn't say it wasn't busy. The pub serves Thai food which explained the smell. The strangest thing about the Windmill is the position of the ales. The pubs are attached against the partition between the two bars, with the pump clips facing inwards, so they're only visible from the opposite bar. I ended up selecting the Fullers IPA, which was my second time trying the beer, and I must admit it hadn't improved on second tasting.

After the disappointing pint at the Windmill I made my way back to Waterloo station and down the stairs from the platform to the Beer House (SE1 7LY). I had come to assume the Beer House pubs were owned by Greene King as all the ales they ever stock are Greene King, but when typing up this blog I learned they're in fact owned by a company called SSP. The Beer House offers a selection of standard and premium lagers, and it actually quite a good selection for a station pub compared to what is offered by the other station pubs Sloe Bar. I opted for a pint of Erdinger Weissbrau which comes in a 5.3%. The beer came in a beautiful pint glass which only made this final pint all the more better.

The Beer House itself was it's regularly self, not too busy, but lucky if you get a seat, which I managed to do. The pub has no natural light as its underground and the train screens were not working, which also meant, no phone signal. Thankfully the free WiFi was working which enabled me to check my train times. As a station pub in London this isn't a bad location to sit out any delays or have a swift half whilst waiting for your train. I just about managed to finish my very filling pint of Erdinger Weissbrau, before heading off to catch my train.

On reflection The Taps lived up to the expectation from it's bigger brother in Euston and provided a large selection of beers. But prior to the Taps there has been many other venues offering a varying selection of lagers and beers and this is something the White Hart and the King's Arms do well, and can be seen by the number of people always at these venues. The Windmill was disappointing mainly due to how well the King's Arms has been run by the same company, though I understand appealing to different clientele. And as a station pub in London, the Beer House this isn't a bad location to sit out any delays or have a swift half whilst waiting for your train.

London Pub Tour 13 - Old Street: WIlliam Blake, Masque Haunt and The Artillery Arms

Due to Christmas and Boxing Day falling on the weekend, I had Monday and Tuesday off work. On the Tuesday I decided to head into central London and in particular Old Street, to visit some of the pubs there. Everything didn't go to plan with the first three pubs I actually walked to being closed, obviously because everyone in the city had the day off and therefore there was no reason for the pubs to be open. I was walking towards one last group of pubs to see if they're open, and if not it was a sign to head onto other pastures. Luckily I spotted the William Blake (EC1V 9BP), and the lights were on, meaning there was life inside.

Upon walking up the steps and through the door, I thought I'd just walked into a spoons based on the carpet, the bar and hand pumps facing me, and the long open plan seating to the right. But at look at the drinks on the bar and the staff uniform confirmed it wasn't, and the spoons was actually just a few doors down (my next stop). On the bar there was a large selection of lagers from Fosters, Amstel, Heineken, to Punk IPA, Hop House 13 and Samuel Adams. The pub also had 9 hand pumps spread out across the bar, with Doombar repeated 3 times, hobgoblin twice and they also had a pump clip for Santa's Cider from Lilley's, Now I know Lilley's ciders are always very sweet, so sweet that they sometimes just taste like juice, which makes them very easy to drink. As it was 6% I went for half a pint however, the guy behind the bar told me that unfortunately the Santa's Cider was their mulled cider. Then he said that he didn't actually use the whole box and had still had the box down in the cellar so he could go get me a half. He actually came up with the box and poured me a half and put the box in the fridge in case anyone else was wanting it straight rather than mulled. That was very amazing service, as I would have fully understood if it was their mulled cider only. Whilst I was waiting for him to collect the cider from the cellar I have looked at the large bottle fridge behind the bar and seen something I definitely wanted, so alongside the half of Santa's Cider I also got a bottle of Icelandic Pale Ale by the wonderful Einstock.

I took a seat at one of the high tables opposite the long side of the bar. Against the wall were booth style seating. At the end there was a large function room that could also double up as a dinning area, and had retractable doors. I only noticed at this stage the seating around on either side of the front entrance which went upwards towards bay windows. It certainly looked impressive and could see these being reserved on busy nights with groups wanting an area that could be a bit more private. The put wasn't that busy and have rugby showing on TV. There were at most 10 people in the pub which felt weird for a pub of this size. The bar itself was long which with the size gives an insight into how busy this venue must get.

Taking in the surroundings I tucked into the Santa's cider which was very sweet as expected but very drinkable. Next up was the Einstock! I've had their Toasted Ported previously (and have a bottle at home as well) which was a great drink, so was looking forward to this beer. It certainly didn't disappoint and lived up to my hype and expectations. I'm not a massive hop head, but do appreciate hoppy beers, but I do like to have a nice smooth drink that lets the flavour just pull through with massive IBUs, and this is one of those beers. Now all I need to do is hunt down their White IPA (Been told they sell it in Waitrose?) and maybe see if I can find their Wee Heavy as well.

After these drinks I wandered a few doors down to the Masque Haunt (EC1V 9BP) which is a spoons. The pub was busier than the William Blake but still plenty of seating. There were from what I could see 6 ales on including the obligatory Greene King's (IPA and Abbott) along with J W Lees Plum Pudding, Butcombe's Chris Moose and a collaboration ale called Het Anker Belgian Blonde. Although tempted by the J W Lees I didn't actually feel in the mood for an ale following on from the Pale Ale I just had so selected a pint of Bravo by Wimbledon Brewery which was on keg. This beer was hoppy but felt less hoppy than when I had it previously and was better than I remembered. I had selected an empty table by the window but after a few minutes a group came by and said that was their table and they had just gone to play the quiz machine. Now considering the pub was empty I couldn't be bothered to argue about the fact they left a table with nothing on it, to clearly indicate you someone was still sat there, and instead moved one row further back (which they could have easily done).

The pub on the outside was undergoing development so had scaffolding, which made the pub feel slightly darker due to reduction in light. The pub is on a corner and stretches down quite far with a raised seating area at the far end. There isn't much width the bar though. There was wood paneling around the inside bits other than the bar area, with the rest being glass facing out towards the scaffolding. A few odds pictures and sketches hung on the wall but I didn't bother examining whether they were related to the pub name or area.

After finishing up my pint I head about 5 minutes south to The Artillery Arms (EC1Y 8ND) a small Fullers pub on a street corner. Upon walking into the pub the first thing you notice is the small bar in the middle. It's a strange site to behold such a small bar that seems only suitable for one person to work within. The word surrounding it is very decorative and matches the feel of the pub. The pub itself inside is quite small, and on this visit there were only the bar keep and two others in the pub that I could see. It turns out there was also a group in the function room upstairs keeping some of the other staff busy. I can tell this place would get packed quickly due to it's size but thanks to it's location there would certainly be drinker's outside before 9pm.

Five of the six hand pumps were on, all offering Fuller's ales only sadly (Pride x2, Seafarers, ESB and Oliver's Island) considering above the bar were a load of pump clips showing non-Fuller's ales that had been sold as guests. On tap they had Peroni, Amstel, San Miguel and Guinness. I opted for just a half of the ESB which was on fine form. Sadly the pub was a little too quiet for my liking, but then again this was a bank holiday, so what was I expecting. I imagine this place could have a good atmosphere early on in the week, whilst not being rammed, and the design of the bar to me is quite unique. So it was just the half here before heading off towards Moorgate. Sadly the pub I was planning to head here was alas closed, so I decided to call it a day and get on the train at Moorgate. Overall the pubs were good but I would definitely need to re-visit them.

London Pub Tour 12 - Wood Green: Prince, Spouters Corner and The Wellington (Christmas Eve)

So I'm finally up to Christmas Eve, only took me a month to get to writing this up. Let's see if I can start writing up January pub visits before we arrive in February.

For this pub tour I was starting in a pub which I used to visit over 15yrs ago, the Prince (N22 8PA) or as it was known previously the Prince of Wales. The pub was closed down and CAMRA obtain an ACV for it, and it was only reopened a few months ago so thought what better than a trip down memory lane.

The pub is a short walk away from the busy high street of Wood Green, and is set in a residential area. There is a small 'green' just outside, making this large corner pub visible from the main road. Inside the pub the layout seemed exactly the same as I could remember, even down to the 'serving hatch'* at the end of the bar so those in the other part of the bar can order without popping into the lounge. Although the pub layout was the same, the decor was completely changed. Gone was the carpet and in was the wood floorboard. Gone were any mainstream beer and in were a selection of cask pumps, ciders on tap and craft keg lager. The other part of the bar was still not fully opened and had the benches from outside temporarily setup, at least I hope it was temporarily. I took this as my opportunity to sit on these as it was quieter and was the area I used to hang out in. Also on this side where the pool table used to reside will be mirco-brewery from Bohem, though no word on when exactly this would open. The pub itself wasn't that busy, which was to be a theme for the other pubs on this Christmas Eve (Probably the quietest one I've ever experienced).

On the bench I sat down with my first pint of the night in the Prince which was Keller Pils by Lost and Grounded Brewery from Bristol. The pint cost £5 and was a very nice easy drink to start the night. There was a nice choice with 5 hand pumps and I think about 8 keg beers, of which I'd only ever drunk two of the beers before. My next pint was Zen Garden by Tapstone from Somerset at £3.60. This was an unfined beer, which I tend to not be too fond of, depending on the beer style, but this one was actually quite nice. Though it was only 3.6% I didn't think the overall beer was session-able but then again I wasn't here for session considering there were more beers I hadn't tried. My final beer at the Prince was 11|03 by Brew By Numbers. Like most of the UK keg beers this one was again priced at £5 which considering London prices is reasonable. It was a 4.2% Session IPA which had some very nice fruit flavours coming through.

After three pints it was time to move on as there was a plan to go to another recently re-opened pub though it was a bit of a distance away, and in the end I never ending up making it there. After walking back into Wood Green and choosing to go into The Goose for a pint and use of the facilities, upon walking in and being hit by the smell of vomit I changed my mind and instead head to the spoons across the road, Spouters Corner (N22 6EJ). This is a large open plan spoons underneath a cinema complex, right opposite the tube station. The only unique feature for this spoons has to be the glass bricks that separate the walkway to the toilets and the table seating area. I sat at a high seated table which evidently was too close to the door, as people kept leaving it open, which is just what you want in winter.

Santi-Freeze

My first drink was a pint of Sir Noel's Christmas Ale by Arkell's. This wasn't so great, much like most of the Christmas ales I've tasted. For my next pint I stupidly opted for another Christmas ale, Santi-Freeze by Burton Bridge Brewery but I was thankfully pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted. It was actually my best Christmas session beer for 2016, and as such I have a second pint of it before leaving the spoons.

The last stop was unplanned, as I had actually wanted to head to a pub further up but by this stage realised that was too ambitious. I'd made it to Turnpike Lane station, only a short walk from Wood Green and rather than go to the spoons here I went into an Irish pub called Wellington (N8 0QY). The pub is owned by Trust Inns who I'd never heard of before prior to writing this blog post. The history section on their website states they came about after buying S&N pubs and then later on buying some further pubs from M&B.

The pub had the look of an Irish local, with booth style seating and entirely carpeted floor. There was a jukebox which someone was loading up with money and selecting a plethora of well known Irish songs. There were only about 6 people in the pub, including the lady serving behind the bar. There wasn't much choice on the beer front which led to my choice of Coors Light, as I felt a Guinness at this stage would be too heavy. There was a dart board towards the back of the pub which I made use of during the drinking of my pint.

After this pint it was time to call it a night and get a cab home. It was still quite surprisingly early and I didn't feel drunk, only slightly merry, which is a good result prior to Christmas.

London Pub Tour 11 - Pimlico: Marquis of Westminster, Grosvenor and King William IV

On this pub tour it was back to the Pimlico area to sweep up some of the pubs I'd yet to visit in my blog. My first stop was the Marquis of Westminster (SW1V 1RY) which is a corner pub on Belgrave Road and Warwick Way. The outside is painted a bright white and has benches available, which are directly facing the sun during the Summer Afternoon. As it was winter everyone was inside drinking.

Photo by Ewan Munro (Flickr)

The pub inside is actually much smaller than it looks. Part of the inside is taken up with a staircase heading upstairs, which was installed as part of a minor refurbishment in circa 2013. Due to the staircase placement the main wall narrows in on the main bar, and creates a small enclosure at the far end, which is a good place for small groups to drink in, otherwise it's wasted and you can become trapped/blocked off from the rest of the pub. The floor inside is all wood boards, and there are about 10 tables. The pub wasn't that busy and the majority of the customers were either tourists from the nearby hotels or suits from a job somewhere nearby. The Christmas music was on and there was plenty of tinsel decorated around the place.

There is a huge blackboard on the wall listing the food menu and wines. On the top of the bar they display pump clips of previous ales they've served. Alongside some of the more regular lagers there are Longhorn IPA, Lowenbrau and Adnams Dry Hop. On the ale front the Marquis always stocks a Taylor Walker, on this day it was Landlord. They also had Killcat Pale, Chelsea Blonde, Ghost Ship and Pure Ubu. I felt like taking it easy today so chose to go with a Kozel. I've had Kozel a few times but this one felt sweeter than normal.

The next pub I was visiting was just over half a mile away, situated on the busy Grosvenor Road which runs alongside the Thames. The pub used to be called the Spread Eagle (before my time), but evidently renamed to The Grosvenor after its location. The pub has a rear parking lot for those driving by in need of some sustenance, and their large blackboard situated outside showing their food offering must be to tempt them in. The outside of the pub is the beer garden with a few benches but is covered with an oasis of plants. The pub is larger than expected inside. When you first walk in there is a sofa seating area just to your right, with the bar ahead and to the left. The bar is a very large horseshoe bar that seems slightly wasted with all the beer taps on the front part only. Behind the sofa area there is a section with tables and chairs, whilst to the left and in the other half of the bar is a pool table area and some more seating.

There were four ales available (Doombar, Landlord, Cornish Coaster and Bombardier) with two pumps at the front with all the rest of the beers, and two pubs hidden down the far right end on their own, which I thought strange. Their lagers included Heineken, Fosters and 1664 but I settled on a pint of Warsteiner for £5.10. I sat in a small nook with a table facing into the pub but with a view also out the front window. The pub on the sofa seating side wasn't too busy, but by the pool table there was a work's Christmas drinks going on. The pub had good lighting throughout, mainly via a type of lantern, which provided a nice atmosphere. There were many large wooden ship models around the pub, along with pictures and old pub signs. I've drunk in the Grosvenor a few times but not regularly due to its location and proximity to transport. I certainly could see myself relaxing in the darker months in this pub but the main issue is that there are pubs that easily meet the same criteria which I would pass on my way here, meaning I have to actively seek out wanting to drink here, along with dragging others out the way as well.

I finished off my Warsteiner and made my way down the road to a hostel. This hostel is in and above a pub named King William IV (SW1V 3LG). I've honestly only been in this pub once before and it wasn't my scene then and 7 years later I still came away with the same conclusion. The pub inside is certainly more geared up to catering to the hostel stayers which I fully understand however, it lacks any true feel of a British pub and just feels more like a bar in a hostel in any country. It is totally possible to have a British pub feel and also be a hostel as this is something that Pub Love have managed at their venues.

The entrance to the pub is on the side and when walking through the bar is directly in front of you. To the right is the front of the pub facing the main road, but with such high windows you can't actually see out. There is some comfortable looking sofa seating running up the wall one side, whilst on the opposite side are some basic wooden tables for dinning. In-between these two areas, set against the wall, is a stage presumably for their open mic nights. The bar is large and wraps around from the front towards the back, where the pub becomes a bit more narrow but still has some seating.

The beer selection on tap was limited to Guinness, Heineken, Strongbow original or Dark Fruits and Fosters. The bottle selection was certainly better offering Affligem, Sharps' Pilsner and a selection of German beers. I bought a bottle of the Sharp's which was £3.50 for 330ml, a decent price. They also sold Tayto crisps which is another positive for me. I asked for a bag of salt and vinegar and the bar/hostel worker looked at me confused and came over with a salt shaker and bottle of vinegar. After both looking at each other weirdly I clarified saying a bag of Tayto's crisps, Salt and Vinegar flavour, which certainly cleared the thought from her mind that I wanted to add salt and vinegar to my beer. (Just had a quick look on Untappd to see if there was such a beer and there was only one result! - a homebrew beer, phew). I drank my pilsner which is nowhere near either my favourite pilsner of Sharp's drink.

After this I called it time, and made my way back to Victoria station. If only the Grosvenor Station hadn't closed over a 100 years ago, as this pub is conveniently located nearby. Thankfully for the lazy me there is bus route 24 that starts right outside and takes me to Victoria, so that'll do nicely.

London Pub Tour 10 - Lower Edmonton: Stag & Hounds and Beehive

I only managed two pubs in my next pub tour, and they're away from the usual location of central London and actually out towards the suburbs, in particular Lower Edmonton.

The first pub was the Stag & Hounds (N9 9JW) which is an Ember Inns pub. The pub is in a huge building which you would only expect to see from an old pub in the suburbs. The outside is painted white and decorated with mock Tudor beams. There is a car park just to the side of the pub which is very useful as this is very much a pub geared towards dinning and families. There is an upstairs dinning area but the downstairs also offers dinning at all tables. The pub was much larger and spacious then I had expected from the outside. Upon walking through the two sets of doors you there's quite a large space before arriving at the bar which stretches down towards the bottom of the pub. The pub is carpeted throughout, and it seems a good hard wearing type. There was a family gathering happening at the bottom end of the pub, and a few drinkers scattered around the rest of the tables near the bar area.

The pub offered what I deem a standard London selection of keg beers with the likes of Stella, Peroni, Coors, Hop House 13 and Carling. Ember Inns also offer a good focus towards national ales band on this visit they had Brakspear and Purity Pure Gold on, alongside their house ale of Ember Inns Pale Ale. There was also a Christmas ale on Ember Inn Snow Place Like Home which was brewer by Black Sheep. I selected this as my drink because Black Sheep make some nice ales, and it was Christmas, why not. It was only £3.20 for a pint and CAMRA members get a 20p discount on a pint. The beer laced the glass well and was one of the better Christmas ales I've had this year.

For my next pint I opted for the house Ember Inns Pale Ale which is also brewed by Black Sheep. This wasn't as good as the Christmas ale but again at £3.20 it's a decent price. I noticed that there was a cask setup on the floor, with a hand pump attached to it. It wasn't in use but was there to advertise both the up coming ales board and that on Monday's they only charge £2.49 for any ale, which is a very competitive price. This seems to be an Ember Inns promotion for their whole estate and not specific to just the individual pub. My last drink at the Stag & Hounds was a bottle of the ever so wonderful Hiver The Honey Beer. The honey adds a sweetness to the beer which is not over powering. I would recommend the Honey Beer and their Honey Ale to people.

After my drinks at the Stag & Hounds I decided to wonder across the road to the Beehive (N9 9JZ). The Beehive is again a big pub that has plenty of frontage onto the road. There are benches outside for the better weather but today was more an inside affair. The Beehive is a Greene King pub, which I was well aware of before entering but which I was surprised to see was only serving Greene King IPA and the remainder of the ales were  from other national breweries. There were 5 ales on across the eight taps, with the remaining three acting as repeaters. I selected the excellent BoltMaker by Timothy Taylor. The pint was in excellent condition and retained its head.

The Beehive appears to have had a recent refurbishment turning one side into a gastro looking dinning area with wood flooring and cream chairs around tables whilst the bar area remained carpeted with casual seating. The refurb has made the pub very light throughout though loses that more warmth feel of the Stag & Hounds, which I feel you get from carpet. The pub wasn't too busy though some regulars and the landlord were sat opposite the bar discussing the spurs game they had come back from.

My last drink of the evening was a bottle of Mahou Cinco Estrellas by the San Miguel brewery. I've not come across this beer before in a pub so was certainly drawn to see what it tasted like. It wasn't outstanding but was drinkable. It just came across as a pale lager, whereas I was expecting something slightly more powerful like a reserve style beer due to the 5.5% abv.

If there was perhaps another pub nearby I would have popped in there for a final pint, but as nothing is within walking distance, I called it a night and made my way home. The two pubs were both imposing suburbia pubs that offered a good range in ales and lagers, and had their own style that would appeal to different clientele, and as expected of pubs in the suburbs were geared up for food.

London Pub Tour 9 - Whitehall: Clarence, Old Shades, Silver Cross and Walker's of Whitehall

It was still the lead up to Christmas and I opted to head up to Whitehall and the offering of pubs there. From Embankment tube station I walked to my starting point, the Clarence (SW1A 2HP).

The Clarence is a Geronimo's, aka Young's pub, which stands out on the street corner due to imposing size. The pub is partial wood, there are lots of nice lights and it has a very clean look. There are green tiles on the wall by the large clock, I'm unsure if this was something orignal found during the refurbishment 5+yrs ago or whether its a bizzare design feature. The pub actually feels a lot like a Nicholson's. The back and front of the bar is filled with tables whilst the middle is stools and the bar service area.

The hand pumps are spread out amongst the bar with different ales on each on, so you have to ensure you look around before choosing. The kegs meanwhile are just repeated in each of the three units so no need to hunt around. The ales included the usual Youngs selection, some Adnams, and then Naked Ladies from Twickenham and Quartermaine from Wimbledon. I opted for the Quartermaine which came in at 5.8% and wasn't so easy to drink as a first pint. Perhaps I should have chose more wisely and went safe with a 4%er.

The bar wasn't too busy though the seating at the front had all been claimed and so I settled with a bar stall opposite the bar. I relaxed and took my time with the pint, not only because it was 5.8% but also because I didn't think they'd be any seats at the next few pubs due to it being post work. I left the Clarence and headed a few mere metres to my next pub, The Old Shades (SW1A 2BX).

When I walked into the Old Shades I realised I would have no trouble in finding a seat due to how empty it was. There were some customers in the small bay window at the front, and the bar staff, and that was about it. Unsurprisingly I got amazing quick service. There were some beers on that I hadn't tried before like Bishops Tipple and Edinburgh Castle (Seen but never been tempted). Alongside this they had the new pump clip design for Pedigree, which I don't feel is anywhere near as good as the old one. I however was drawn to the Shandon Stout by Franciscan Wells. The pint tasted very much like a Murphy's stout, which is a good compliment.

The pub is long and narrow and has wood panelling all around, and is actually about the same length as the Clarence but not as wide at the front. At the back is a dinning area which looked great with some sofa booth style seating, but was evidently deserted. The pub had plenty of seating and I selected my seat so I could get a good view of the Chandelier and stained glass dome window above the bar (Sadly as you might be able to tell from the photos on this blog, I do need to use a proper camera and not my phone camera, hence why no photos of the aforementioned chandelier). The front of the bar is tiled, which is quite different and impressive.

The pub didn't get any busier and it was at this stage I realised that it just wasn't going to be a busy night in the pubs, which is fine by me. I left the Old Shades and again made the very short walk to the Silver Cross (SW1A 2BX). The Silver Cross (A Taylor Walker) has two floors, both with bars, though the downstairs was sectioned off for a private party on this visit. The pub just on the upstairs area is certainly larger than either of the two previous pubs and was busier with around 50 people or more in the pub, but not felling packed. It has been claimed that the Silver Cross was the only legal brothel in the UK based on a royal licence that was granted which has never been revoked. Although I don't believe they operate using that licence any more!

At the bar I was surprised to see it wasn't too Greene King orientated on the ales. They had Guardsman, Trooper, Hackney IPA and Bentonville. I selected a pint of the Amber Ale by Hackney and took a stool on one of the high tables. It was at this point I noticed the mismatch of the flooring in the pub with some wood, carpet, till and slabs, however it all seemed to go well with the feel of the pub. The walls were just as mismatched with areas having mirrors, wood panels, photograph wallpaper and other pattern wallpaper. The music within the pub was slightly loud considering it wasn't busy though that wouldn't put me off visiting again.

I only remained for the one as I had a last visit I wanted to make to a pub that is in my eyes really a bar, and that I've never been impressed with, but felt I should at least visit. The pub is literally just round the corner from the Silver Cross, and even has a board advertising the fact. The place, Walker's of Whitehall (SW1A 2DD). Last time I was in this venue they had no real beer option at all so it did surprise me to see 5 ales on tap this time. Although tempted by the lovely Harvey's Best, I opted for something new, as I so often do, and selected the XT 3 by XT Brewing. The pint itself was really not great and I feel perhaps it was more to do with the venue rather than the beer itself, and at this point was rather glad I didn't let it spoil Harvey's for me.

The bar area is quite small and has a large high cushioned seating around one wall, with some tables available. I don't think you could fit more than 30 people in the space, and that would perhaps be a slightly uncomfortable number. The place had about 10 people and they all seemed to be drinking cocktails. There was a horrible soundtrack playing quite loudly of just dance/drum beats. Downstairs is a restaurant and the facilities, and where I departed after paying a visit to the boys room.

Considering all these pubs were opposite a spoons, they all manage to pull in customers and provide a decent and well maintained pint of ale (well, apart from one). They each offered something unique in the pub design and it's always good to see such a variety of pubs. I didn't pop into the spoons but will aim to cover that one another time.

London Pub Tour 8 - Victoria: St. George's Tavern, Brass Monkey and Windsor castle

I decided to keep it local for my next pub tour in Dec 2016 and stuck to Victoria. My first stop was St. George's Tavern (SW1V 1QD) which is a Nicholson's pub opposite the passport office. How busy this pub is depends on time of day and how many people are applying for last minute passports before their holiday, so by that measure avoid at lunchtimes during school holiday. I fortunately went in the evening however it was still packed without a seat to call home.

The pub itself is a not so large corner pub. There is a fair bit of seating outside though it is a noisy and quite congested junction at present due to traffic works, plus its winter, so I wouldn't recommend. The pub has a well varnished dark wood floor and typically has low lighting on. There are a few large barrels acting as tables near the front of the pub. The windows opposite the bar are actually doors that fold away during the hot summer spells. Towards the rear are some larger seating areas for big groups, and a dinning area. There is also a downstairs bar that you can book (no charge) if your having a large group coming for a party/celebration/piss up. The bar upstairs is actually quite large though the service area is reduced due to some of the structural pillars which does make queuing, yes queuing, difficult.

As a Nicholson's pub there is a varying array of lagers including Meantime Brewery Fresh which comes from the three large tanks situated to the right of the bar (It's not hard to miss them). I opted to have a pint of the Brewery Fresh as I hadn't tasted it here since it was installed, as I'm normally tempted by their ale range. The Brewery Fresh was okay, but I think I would have preferred a standard meantime tap such as London Lager or Pale Ale instead. I next plumped for an ale, which was my friend the Wild Holly by Thornbridge which I'd had previously at the Trafalgar in pub tour 7.

After the two I opted to move on with hope of finding a seat at my next stop the Brass Monkey (SW1V 1AU). You could easily walk past this place and not notice it is a pub, as it doesn't generally stand out even with its green-ish paint. The pub is not very wide but has a long depth, and right near the rear is where you'll find the bar. There was a selection of three ales (Doom, Swift and Landlord) along with 6 'standard' lagers including the quite familar in these parts Meantime Pale Ale. I opted for a pint of Heineken because, why not. The pump has the now standard frozen ice around the outside to let you know it's cold, just as I would expect all the other beers to be.

The Brass Monkey is usually quite packed with suits who pile in here after work before catching the train home. Surprisingly today it was empty. The raised snug area at the rear just above and behind the bar was empty and that is normally the best seat in the house. I've spent a few too many lunch times chilling in the snug, enjoying a good pint of Landlord. The front area of the pub has hard wearing carpet which stops just before the small bar area where it becomes wood. The tables are the perfect height for dinning and the pub does offer a full menu and snacks. There were some reservations on the tables towards the front meaning there were people due soon, so after the one I moved onwards to my final stop, the Windsor Castle (SW1P 1DN).

This pub re-opened shortly after I moved to Victoria, after an extension refurb and rename from the Cardinal to the Windsor. This is a Samuel Smith's pub and as such the refurb has been done in a Victorian style with the dark wood, lots of glass and the screened/partitioned drinking areas. I've said it previously but I do think Sam Smith's do the best refurbishments. As a Sam Smith's pub in the London the beer selection is as expected, the only ale on tap is of course Old Brewery Bitter with the rest serving the Sam Smith's keg selection which includes Taddy, Double 4, Extra Stout and Wheat Beer. I turned my attention to the pricey but beautiful bottled beers that Sam Smith's offer and settled on one of my favourite, the Chocolate Stout. I pared this bottle of beer with a pack of crisps, what more did you expect. The price was a Sam Smith's eye watering £6.50, though the bottle is 550ml, so with a head fits perfectly into a pint glass. This beer to me is amazing, but it could be as it plays well to my sweet tooth. The chocolate smell and taste of this beer is (currently) to me unrivalled. The beer is so smooth and delicious, although I would never advise more than 2 in a session, as it could become a bit sickly sweet.

The pub was busy but most people seemed to be seated in the large open room at the rear, with all the 'comfy' sofa and arm chairs. Little do most people realise that they're probably sat on a small fortune with the amount of coins people lose in those seats. My mate once found enough for a whole pint of Old Brewery! After finishing off my bottle of the stout too easily I order a half of the Pure Organic Lager to wind down the night. This was a very crisps beer and not one I'd actually sampled before from their range. I had actually checked if they had any of their Christmas bottled beer for me to take home but sadly there was none.

So after my drink I called it a night and made the short walk back to Victoria station. On my route back I passed the Brass Monkey and expected it was heavying with suits. Glad I didn't hang around and tempt fate.

Beers to note - December 2016

In December, due to it being Christmas I did drink a lot of seasonal and special Christmas and winter brews. These beers are always hit and miss and so perhaps next year I'll avoid all the seasonal ones that crop up, apart from the big hitting seasonal regulars from Harveys and Shep Neame. This is reflected in my list below of beers to note:


Bloody Notorious (Beavertown) - 9.1%
This was a beer in a can that I shared due to it being such a high hitter. It tasted amazing. Big hop hits, fruit notes not entirely orange as they try to make out and abv not feeling higher than 6%.

Davy's Old Wallops (Charles Wells) - 4.2%
Now I'm not sure if it was the mug it was served in that made this beer stand out for me, but it tasted great. Was smooth and easy drinking session beer that is well worth trying.

Organic Chocolate Stout (Samuel Smiths) - 5%
This beer is one of my all time favourites. Actually this and any of the fruit beers that Sam's do. The chocolate favour is amazing, it smooth and creamy to drink, doesn't feel like any percentage, which of course is dangerous. Though you certainly can't have more than 2 of these in a session as they are heavy and will become to sickly sweet.

Delirium Noel (Brouwerij Huyghe) - 10%
This was a heavy hitter but again was a bottle share. The citrus smell coming off it was everything you would expect from the perfect Belgium beer. It's taste was exactly following on from the scent and went down a treat, but you do easily feel the ABV on it, which is a very good thing for a double digit beer.

Trooper Red 'N' Black Porter (Robinsons) - 6.8%
I've included this one as I had been looking for it for a while and happened upon it by chance but sadly it didn't live up to my expectations. It was of course red when held up in the light much like a Guinness but it lacked that bit extra I was expecting. It was a decent beer and I would definitely drink again, but I think maybe my own hype let this one down.

Santi-Freeze (Burton Bridge) - 4.5%
This was the best Christmas themed beer for me. perfectly balanced beer that was easy to drink and I had a few as part of my session which is unusual for a Christmas beer.

Icelandic Arctic Pale Ale (Einstok) - 5.6%
Einstok make amazing beers, is my judgement after drinking this one. I'd previously had their stout and still have a another one spare to drink. The pale ale was just as well developed. Beautiful crisp beer that makes you want more. Now I need to find the White Ale, just hope my hype doesn't get the better of me like it did with Trooper.

Stiegl Pils (Stiegl) - 4.9%
A beautiful tasting Pils that shows up some of the mainstream Pils we have over here like Camden Pils or Veltins. This beer shows how a Pils should be done and was a pleasure to drink

London Pub Tour 7 - Chelsea: Phoenix, Chelsea Potter and Trafalgar

I'm catching up with some of the pubs tours I've done over Christmas, hence publishing this one on New Years Day. I hope you all had a great time and here's to 2017 being filled with more beautiful beers and discovering more wonderful pubs.

I was once again out in the Chelsea area and used this opportunity to visit three pubs, two of which I've passed many times and never felt the urge to go in. First up, just off King's Road was The Phoenix (SW3 4EE). This is a Young's pub and I've never gone in before as I feel there are some much better surrounding Young's pubs nearby and in a much more convenient location. Once you walk into the pub the space inside feels much larger than it looked from the outside. This seems to be the case as they have very little seating towards the front or opposite the bar, leaving quite a wide opening all the way through the pub to the back where they have the dinning area with plenty of tables. A wide open area like this is either due to the bar area getting busy in the evenings or just providing a large walkway through to dinning area for groups of guest, and I think I side with the latter idea.


There were three hand pumps and as a Young's pub it can be expected that the Bitter would be on. The other two were their Winter Ale and Doombar. The kegs were a standard showing for the area featuring Camden Hells and Pale Ale, along with Peroni, Birra Moretti and Chelsea Blonde (Which can be found in keg or hand pump in a lot of pubs in the Chelsea area). I opted for a pint of the Winter Aleat £4.45 which had only just gone on and so I had to wait a few minutes whilst they pulled through. It's not the best beer in the Young's range but is not a bad middle percentage beer.

I next walked up to King's Road and down to the Chelsea Potter, a Taylor Walker pub. The benches outside the pub had quite a few people sat on and drinking considering it was quite cold. Inside the bench theme continued. Big picnic benches lined up all against the long wall, that seat about 10 people. There was a high stool seating area closer to the bar which is where I opted to sit. On the bar there were the now familiar Greene King ale range of London Glory, IPA, Rudolph, 1730 (Taylor Walker's own in house beer), and the guest ale was Sambrooks Pump House. On keg were some of the mainstreams along with Rekorderlig Smooth Raspberry and Grimbergen Blonde. Since I'd just had the Winter Warmer I thought I'd keep it high ABV and choose the Grimbergen at 6.7% for £5.60. It was a good beer and one to savour rather than attempt to rush down.

My last stop was the Trafalgar (SW3 5XP) which is just a short stroll across the road. This pub has had a make over and the outside garish purple has been tonned down to a blue. Inside if a mighty big and enjoyable pub. When you step inside up ahead of you is the horse shoe bar. There is plenty of sitting all around, a complete mix including high tables and stools, sofas and well, normal table and chairs. The pub was actually busier than the Potter but due to its size it felt less busy. There were nice lamps and lighting all around, in particular the liked the lighting just above the bar. The beer selection here is the best of the three pubs, though in this instance I'm basing best around a mix of beers I've not had/seen before alongside the mainstream, so a choice for everyone.

There were five hand pumps with only 4 in use offering up Tribute, London Pride, Doombar and Thornbridge Wild Holly, so sadly not the best selection I've seen here. On keg though they had the standard Peroni, Guinness, Heineken etc.. but they also had some more rare beers such as Numero Uno, Otra Vez and Wheaty McWheatface. I decided to spread myself across two beers so selected a half of the Wild Holly and half of the Otra Vez which came to £5.15. As the Otra was advertised as a sour beer and boy was it sour. Not entirely my style nor taste but it was worth having a half to give it a try. The Wild Holly was better at 4.8% and was Dark and malty, as winter ales should be on a cold day.

After finishing up my half of Winter Holly I called it a night. I'd managed to drink in two new pubs and tried 3 new beers to me. It wasn't a bad evening and considering it was Chelsea area, it didn't hit my wallet too hard.