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.

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.