London Pub Tour 42 - Westminster: Barley Mow, Royal Oak, White Horse & Bower and Loose Box

Since I swept up some of the remaining pubs in Victoria I thought I would make my way across towards Horseferry Road in Westminster to tick off the four pubs there resulting in another large part of the map being completed. I done this trip in two phases, the first two pubs during lunch the other two after work, but of course, both on the same day. The first point of call was the Barley Mow (SW1P 2EE) a large Enterprise Inn pub. The entrance door on the main road is actually the side entrance as you arrive at stairs to go up to the large function room or turn right to enter into the bar area. If your enter from the side road entrance, you face the bar straight on. The bar is in a U shape hugging around the wall. The space around the bar is very open and the floor around the bar is tiled. The bar has a large selection of ales (8 hand pumps) which on my visit were LPA from Southwark, Naked Ladies, Eagle IPA, Lighthouse, Doombar, Blindside, Session IPA and Sharp's Barley Mow Ale. On keg there was Blue Moon, Guinness, Sharp's Pilsner, Coors Light, San Miguel, 1664, Magners and Carling. Alongside this was a varied bottle selection of ales, lagers and ciders.

As there was a large ale selection I went for two halves. My first half was of Blindside by Truman's, a golden ale at 4.4%. This was a smooth ale and tasted good. My second half was Session IPA from Three Sods Brewery. I've not come across this brewery before which was behind my selection. This beer was also 4.4% but it just felt like something was missing in flavour, it wasn't all there. I had my two beers stood up on the quieter side of the bar. For a lunch this place was very busy, there were bout 50+ people in the pub and the majority were not eating. The pub does normally get busier in the evenings and to control the outside area there are large plastic barriers installed to prevent people spilling too far out onto the pavement. The pub has a wooden interior and where the walls are painted it's a dark red colour. The floor is wood apart from the raised seating area towards the front of the pub which is carpet. There are lots of tables around the pub all suitable for dinning, and there are some high tables scattered around as well. What I did find strange though was the food wasn't being made on site. Staff were ferrying food back and forth across the road from a cafe (about 200m away) on traps with the food wrapped in foil. Then a member of staff unwrapped it and would check to see if order was correct and send out to the table. I can only imagine this would lead to a large number of incorrect orders and delays in food going out.

I left the Barley Mow and made my way a short distance past the source of their food to a pub just off the main road. The Royal Oak (SW1P 4BZ) is a Young's pub set on a tight corner which provide a distinct shape to the pub, a triangle shape without the top point. Due to the shape there are windows on three sides. there are entrance doors on the two large sides to the pub, and both entrances are level with the bar. The bar is a small straight bar and offered up 5 ales but only three were on at the time of visiting, which were Bombardier, Young;s Gold and Young;s Bitter. On keg there was Coast to Coast, Thatchers, Fosters, Peroni, Hells, 1664, Estrella and Guinness. I wasn't interested in any of the cask or keg offering so went for a trusted bottle of Ram Rod. Although only 275ml it comes in at 5.2% so makes for a suitable lunchtime drink.

The area in front of the bar has high tables and always is well lit with the light able to enter from all sides. This section was busy with customers as expected. The pub goes back further on the right hand side and against the wall here are a few tables, with sofa seating on the wall side. These tables seem aimed at diners and there were a few people eating here. The front of the bar is mainly glass with the bits in between being painted white or wooden. The rear section of the pub was painted red. I took a seat on one of the rear tables as it was towards the end of lunch and no one else would be coming in this late for food. There were about 25 people in the pub and all of them were men apart from the two bar ladies working, who were clearing through the two hand pumps for tonight. I seen a sign saying happy hour was 4pm to 6pm Monday to Friday, which entailed 20% off all drinks. Once sat down I did notice the plates people were seating off, small slates, which seemed impractical for eating off and also too small. Excusing the 'plates' the pub was very nice and I could see this as a nice pub to relax in outside of busy hours, whilst the Barley Mow would be best during the after work rush, due to its size and outside area.

I headed back to work to put in the few hours as required before walking back to Horserferry Road to visit the two remaining pubs. My first port of call was the White Horse & Bower (SW1P 2EE) a Shep Neame pub. The pub is on a corner and has a small outside seating area. There are two entrances in, one at the front and one near the rear on the side road. This is a single room pub with the bar stretching about halfway down. The floor at the front is wooden with the other half being carpet. There were a few tables at the front with the majority of tables in the rear including two booth seats. The furniture felt quite basic and minimal though. There were no stalls at the bar which is probably a good idea considering the width of the pub at this part.

Being a Shep Neame pub the ales on sale were all from their brewery. There were 4 hand pumps serving Spitfire Gold, Master Brew, Whistable Bay and Hog Island. The keg beers aside from the Guinness are again all Shep Neame beers produced under licence with the likes of Ashai and Oranjeboom. There were a few Shep bottles including the wonderful Double Stout. In the end I opted for a pint of Spitfire Gold at £4.40. Although the styles are different, I really can't tell the difference between Spitfire and Spitfire Gold. I think I might have to do a side tasting at a pub one day. I found a seat, as the pub wasn't that busy with only about 20 people in. The pub was hot but thankfully not smelly. Towards the rear of the pub there is a dart board and the toilets. On the walls of the pub there were black and white old photos of London including the nearby Whitehall area. I finished up my gold and made my way across the road to my last pub/bar the Loose Box (SW1P 2AA).

I had never even realised this place existed, as its slightly covered with the bushes outside and that it seems to fit in with the government buildings next door. The place is a large single floor open plan pub. There is a slight raised seating area which was reserved for a work party. The rest of the pub had the seating and tables re-arranged to cater for different bookings and as a result although the pub was empty all the seats were reserved. At some points of the pub there were four tables pushed together and the seats arranged around them in a U. The floor in the pub was wood and the walls painted blue and white. The ceiling wasn't high so the pub felt dark, and wasn't helped with the fact the sun was shinning the other way, hence why the other pubs are probably more popular earlier in the evening.

The bar ran all along the left hand side wall. I was surprised to see that they served ale and that the ales weren't your standard national brands like Doombar. On the two hand pumps they served Wimbleon's Common and Truman's Blindside. On keg there was a bigger offering which has Bud Light, Toasted Lager, Honkers, Goose IPA, Leffe, Camden Ink, Caple Road, Camden Pale, Peroni and Estrella. So it was all in all quite a good varied selection of keg beers. I went for a half of the Toasted Lager by Blue Point Brewing Company. Considering the keg was from the US the price of £2.80 seemed reasonable though I didn't taste any toasted notes to the beer as the name would seem to suggest. The pub also had a nice bottle selection and so I opted for a bottle of 312 Urban Wheat Beer by Goose Island. The 330ml bottle cost £4.95 and didn't have as strong a wheat beer flavour as I expected but was nonetheless enjoyable. I would perhaps come to this pub again just to have the Honkers on tap as I really enjoyed it in bottle previously, but other than that I'm not to sure what the appeal of the place is, other than work drinks.

Beers to note - March 2017

I'm still playing catch up due to losing the first two weeks of March for write ups, though am now into my March write ups, and hoping to keep up the good post rate. During March I managed to sample 69 beers with 39 of these being 'new' to me (56%). These beers were consumed in 44 different locations, mainly pubs, of these 21 were 'new' to me. I'm using the term 'new' as I'm basing the data on Untappd data which I only started using about 18 months ago. So although I may have had a beer or visited a pub before, I'm considering it 'new' if it was before 18 months.

Of those 69 beers I had in March the below are the ones that stood out most for me:


Guinness Rye Pale Ale (Guinness) - 5.0% | Bottle 500ml
I think I remember the press release about the newest beer in the Brewer's Project from Guinness but had put it to back of mind and not thought of locating it. I happened to be in Morrisons looks for a bottle of Draught Guinness Original when my attention was brought to the Rye Pale Ale. I picked it up without hesitation (along with the Guinness Original). The beer tasted good, as it was both light but spicy. The beer tasted miles better than their Hop House 13 and is definitely competing with the West Indies Porter. I can't wait to taste the next in the series as they've tended to be quite good.



Honkers Ale (Goose Island) - 4.3% | Bottle 355ml
I've seen this a few times in pubs but never gone for it as I'm not a massive fan of Goose Island IPA. Well I was certainly surprised by this beer, firstly with it being a bitter and secondly tasting so amazing. Such a shame this was only 355ml as I could have done with a 500ml version.






Dave (Great Heck) - 3.8% | Cask Pint
I didn't have great expectations for this beer as the venue itself wasn't that great and it was served in a doombar glass. But the beer shone through the venue and delivered its wonderful malty taste. And at 3.8% can easily be sessioned.






Moment of Clarity (Siren) - 4.7% | Keg Pint
The price I had for this abv beer seemed quite high but it was worth the money in the taste it delivered. The beer was slightly hazy but came through with a tropical fruit taste and the hops. Not a session beer, particularly at the price I paid.



Little Haka (The Little Beer Corporation) - 3.5% | Keg Pint
Perfect example of new world hops in an ale. Light and bitter yet a sweet after taste. Best of all was the amazing fruity aroma the beer gives off, which makes it even more enjoyable to drink. At 3.5% and with a nose like that, it's certainly night out material.




Digital IPA (Yeastie Boys) - 5.7% | Bottle 330ml
Another brilliant example of new world hops this time in a stronger beer. The nose is still there but not as powerful but the flavour is sweet and hoppy.




XB (Theakston) - 4.5% | Bottle 500ml
I've had a few Theakston beers in my time but I don't think I've ever had this classic, and I must say its now become a favourite of mine. It was a nice bitter with some good malts coming through.







Ram Rod (Charles and Wells) - 5.2% | Bottle 275ml
I've always liked the Charles Wells small bottle beers such as Ram Rod and Light Ale. I know they're aimed to be used in mixtures such as light and mild but on their own they're excellent tasting. The Ram Rod is particularly enjoyable as the 275ml is a perfect size for the high ABV.

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.