London Pub Tour 55 - Lambeth North: Pineapple, The Steam Engine,The Three Stags and Duke of Sussex

I arrived back into Waterloo on a Sunday afternoon after a short weekend down at a wedding in Dorking. The missus was off to meet up with some friends so I took the opportunity to visit some pubs in the Lambeth North area, right near Waterloo. I walked about 10 minutes (including a road works detour) to reach my first pub the Pineapple (SE1 7DZ). The pub sits on what looks like a main road which runs alongside the railway arches. There are benches out front which were full of people who were outside during half time. Entering from the door on the bench side I discovered the pub was split into two rooms, with the majority of people in the other larger room. The floor is wooden and the bar runs across both sides of the pub. Staying on the smaller, and quieter side, I walked up to the bar where everything on offer was standard run of the mill. There were three hand pumps offering GK IPA, London Glory and Doombar, so nothing of interest for me there. The kegs were Budweiser, Fosters, Guinness, Coors Light, Carling, Stella, Carlsbery, Strongbow and John Smith. I selected a pint of Budweiser, for what reason I don't know, which came in at £4.30.

The floor of the pub is wooden but up ahead there is a carpet area with soft seating. The area was empty even though a screen with the match was in here. I sat down and looked around noting that this looks like a conservatory which has had the glass covered up, apart from a single sun light. All the furnishings are red (Chairs, walls etc). To my left were two middle age men playing and then discussing their chess match. They even brought the match back to a previous state after looking at a photo, and discussing what they could have done to change the outcome. There was memorabilia lining the top shelf on the wall from books to bottles to packaging and promo material. The pub had plenty of seating/stools and a clientele of old men and young lads.

Just as I left the pub it started to drizzle outside hence the empty outside photo I managed to grab. Fortunately the walk to the next pub, The Steam Engine (SE1 7BU), wasn't far. The pub sits again on a quiet road and has a dark blue painted exterior. Walking up to the pub I seen the Pub Love sign, which immediately cheered me up as I knew there would be a big selected of beers, and I wasn't disappointed. Aside from the 5 hand pumps (of which three were off and one was serving Old Rosie cider) and the usual keg lagers (Amstel, London Lager, Guinness) there was a selection of 36 cans and bottles, which is too many to list here. 

There is a menu listing all the beers but my eye was caught by a can I seen on the wall. I'm not a fan of peanut butter but once I seen the Peanut Butter Milk Stout by TailGate I knew I that was what I was going to drink. The can was the standard 330ml and cost £5.90, even though the beer was only 5.8% but oh boy it was worth it once I tasted the beer. The beer has a peanut butter nose and the taste is spot on. It's a stout with a beautiful peanut butter taste, which pairs well.

The pub wasn't too busy and it was easy to find a seat. There was a table of 6 seating and a few individual drinking. When entering through the front door your side on to the bar and in the more dinning area seating. There are stalls placed around the bar for those that wish to sit there. The rear of the pub had bench seating with tables and a rug area in front of a fire with soft chairs. A hostel is also based above the pub, with the entrance door being just to the side of the snug area. The walls are white with photos placed around relating to trains. 2000's Indie music is playing lightly in the background and fits with the pubs style.

As I was relaxed and it was still raining outside I picked up the beer menu and scouted for another drink to have. I settled on a 355ml bottle of the Castaway IPA by Kona Brewery. It led with a citrus nose and a grapefruit and hoppy taste. The pub started to pick up a bit from the 10 that were in originally to 30+ who had all come in for the burger menu offered by Pub Love. I finished up my beer and visited the men's where another train photo was hanging.

I made my way out to the main road and to pub number 3, The Three Stags (SE1 7PZ) which is directly opposite the wonderful Imperial War Museum. The Three Stags is a Greene King pub which was very gastro. The entrance is on the corner and your faced with an L shaped bar. The pub is very open plan apart from in the right corner where there is a glass segmented area named Chaplin's Corner. Next to this there is some bench seating. Along the other wall there is a raised seating area. The floor is wooden with tiles around the bar and Chaplin's Corner.

The bar had three hand pumps, which surprisingly had no Greene King ales on. The lagers were more non-mainstream: Pravha, Staropramen, Guinness, Aspall Suffolk, London Lager, London Pale Ale, Cobra, Punk IPA and Noble. I went for a pint of Sir Titus from Saltaire brewery for £4.10 which smelt nice but tasted chalky. All the tables inside were taken, mainly due to a large group booking. There were benches outside which had coverings to protect from the rain, which were in use by people even though on a busy junction. I took a dry seat on the outside bench and forced the pint down.

The sun was back out which made the walk back to Waterloo station easy. On the walk back I passed the Duke of Sussex (SE1 7AY) which I hadn't been in for over 6 years, so it made total sense at this stage to stop for a swift half. The outside had a large covered seating area which was empty at this time. The building itself still has the Truman tiles on the outside and look pretty with the blue exterior and a red bench. I entered via the corner door and wasn't prepared for the way the pub had changed.

The first thing I noticed was that the two bar pub had become a one bar pub. The bar had been moved left on the back wall and the space on the right had been knocked through to create a single L shaped curved bar. The second thing to strike me was the strange/unique hand pumps used for dispensing the ales. 4 ales were on offer Wandle, Black Sheep, Sharps Atlantic and Truman's Bow Bells. The Kegs included Amstel, Heineken, Estrella, Guinness, Aspall Suffolk, Shipyard, Longhorn IPA and Yakima Red. I went for a half of Bow Bells for £2.15. The beer is named after the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons. The badge even had oranges and lemons on it though from the beer I only got a slight lemon taste.

There are no stalls in the bar, with seating round the corner being low tables and chairs, which were all occupied. Opposite the bar there was soft seating with accompanying tables, then a row of high tables in front. The floor is wood apart from a rug with some poofs near the entrance. The pub smelt of garlic pizza, which was certainly making me hungry. On the soft seating there looked to be a homeless man who had bought a half pint, which he a drunk a bit of and then fell asleep seated upright on the soft seating. Who can blame him, I think I would do that in his situation as well. The pub has certainly changed since I used to visit, but it had improved its interior and exterior, which is always a plus. I made my way back to Waterloo to meet up with the missus and make our way home.

London Pub Tour 30 - Brixton: Prince of Wales, SW9, Beehive and Craft Beer Co.

I was down in Brixton to pick up some beer that I had brewed at London Beer Labs. I'll be putting a two part post up on the brew session and the outcome of the beers soon. Whilst down in Brixton and awaiting the London Beer lab location to open I used it as an opportunity to knock off some of the pubs in the area. My first stop was the Prince of Wales (SW9 8HH) or as it seems to now be stylised, POW. The pub is just a short walk away from the train and tube station and just off the high street. The outside is brown with some big windows and not much else to it. Upon entering the pub you will see the bar off to your front and right. The bar stretches from the window across to the far side of the pub, but the area against the window is for a coffee machine and glass collection. The bar actual has metal front and edge which I guess is more durable.

The pub offered up three hand pumps which served Doombar, Tribute and Brixton Effra. It was nice to see at least a local ale on offering. The lagers though were more standard with the except of VPA by Portobello. There were some Brixton bottle beers plus a range of ciders. I in the ended just wanted a plain simple lager after the day I had, so opted for the Budweiser which cost £4.60 for the pint and matched my need and mood.

The pub is quite open with only a few tables on the lower level, and lots of space around the bar. On the raised area is where the majority of the seating and the booths are contained. The pub has other levels but I believe these are for the club levels. Food is served at the pub and there was also a DJ setting up for later, but in the meantime there was some loud music blaring out.. The crowd in the bar was young but it wasn't too busy at this time of the day. On the ceiling there were some fans and just above the bar angled mirrors. The tables themselves are old (maybe reclaimed) and just had dark wood stain put on top which is now chipping off.

After finishing up my lager I made my way closer to the Beer Labs and stopped at SW9 Bar (SW9 8EG). It is difficult at times to determine whether a venue listed as a bar is pub-like or more restaurant, Particularly now with lots of gastro pubs and rural pubs mainly focused on food, the line has become more blurred. In my interpretations the SW9 Bar falls under the 'pub' category, hence why I'm including it in my Pub Tour outings. The bar is just off the main road across from the station, and down a pedestrian footpath. They serve only keg beers which included Hoegaarden, Stella, Guinness, Becks Vier and Leffe. There was a good bottle selection which included local beers from breweries such as Brixton and London Beer Labs.

I got a pint of Hoegaarden for £4.90 and moved over to one of the tables by the footpath window, and near the front door. Outside storm Doris was working away and nobody was using the outside seats. Inside there were only 10 people in the bar. Pop music was playing quietly in the background and the conversation levels were low. The seating on the tables had slight reclines which made them very comfy to sit slightly back in and relax, though I there were some seats that were more like deck chairs on their lowest seating and were perhaps too low for the tables they were placed against. The bar was quite dark and had element light bulbs hanging from the ceiling to add to the effect. The bar was quite relaxing and considering I only had to walk across the road to the Beer Lab it meant I could take my time with the pint.

Once ready I picked up my box of beers and then headed back towards the station. As the weather was still bad and I was going to have to carry these beers all the way home with me on the tube, I thought I needed a slight beer top up, so headed to the Craft Beer Co. (SW9 8PA). This is quite a small Craft Beer Co venue on a market street opposite the railway track. The design of the pub (both outside and in) is minimalist and industrial. The main feature is the bar in the left hand corner which had 10 hand pumps (With a focus on Oakham Ales) and I believe 20 keg beers. The ales were situated on the bar top whilst the keg beers on the large cooper pipe unit which arches over the bar. Being Craft Beer Co. there was inevitably such a large selection of bottle beers from all over the UK and World, it's impossible to name them.

There were a few tables in the pub but all were taken so I was left to stand in the corner at the bar, ensuring I didn't block anybody. The pub wasn't busy, around 15 people, but enough to take all the tables. I had two beers whilst at the pub, the first was New World Order and the second Bishops Farewell, both by Oakham's. Both seemed to be Golden Ales with the New World Order being slightly more malty in taste, but both in good form.

I was still in the mood for another beer so made the decision to visit the Spoons just around the corner, The Beehive (SW9 7DG). The Spoons was quite grotty outside and there was only one door in. Once inside you realised that this must be an early spoons due to the width of the pub. The pub is long but not wide at all, and add to this that it become less wide at the bar area and there are large supporting columns throughout, you can see that it's not quite the usual Spoons open plan pub. There were 9 hand pumps offering Pride, Hobgoblin, Ruddle and Buffalo. Shockingly I couldn't believe that Pride was being sold for £2.65, considering Fuller's consider that their Premium Ale...
As usual Spoons had a varied bottle selection and the tap selection included Strongbow Black, Magners, John Smith, 1664, Carlsbery, San Miguel, Fosters, Devils Backbone, Sambrooks IPS, Shipyard, Coors and Guinness.

I selected a pint of Buffalo by Dorking Brewery which was very smokey in taste and not what I was expecting, but enjoyable nonetheless. There was no seating room and barely any standing room due to pub layout, so I was standing in the area area where a column stopped bar service. A gentleman came in and ordered half a Guinness and was surprised at how cheap it was, so I assume he either does that everyday or its his first time in a Spoons. After uncomfortably finishing off my pint, I finally decided to call it time and head back with my rattling box of bottle beers.