The Bar Towel

I'll be in London for a couple of days later this week. Other than Jerusalem Tavern, what other pubs in central London are worth seeking out? Thanks

(I tried the "Off to London" thread from 2007 started by Rozko in Random Talk but it keeps saying either I'm not entitled to access it or error)

If you do a search on here, remove the &highlight=London from the end of the url, a weird glitch in the search function.
here's the "Off to London" thread
http://www.bartowel.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=2954

this one too
http://www.bartowel.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=2675

That's great. Cheers.

Check out the Ratebeer Places section and Fancy a Pint for some additional info.

Hi,

Heading to the UK in May for business and want to try to get in some brewery tours. Anyone have experiences or recommendations? Right now I'm thinking Adnams and Fullers.

Cheers,
J

jaymack wrote:Hi,

Heading to the UK in May for business and want to try to get in some brewery tours. Anyone have experiences or recommendations? Right now I'm thinking Adnams and Fullers.

Cheers,
J

What part of the UK you going to? It's a pain in the backside to get around and knowing what part you'll be in will greatly assist others in helping you.

For instance, doing Adnams from London would be virtually a full day due to the woeful roads across to the Norfolk/Suffolk area.

Yeah, I've started doing some google map searches and me thinks this won't be as easy as I thought. I'm going to be about 30 minutes east of London but will have a whole weekend to travel around.

jaymack wrote:Yeah, I've started doing some google map searches and me thinks this won't be as easy as I thought. I'm going to be about 30 minutes east of London but will have a whole weekend to travel around.

Shepherd Neame in Kent would be a great place to visit, again that's probably a whole day experience.

There aren't a lot of breweries based in London itself; really only Meantime, Fullers & Battersea.

It would be a better idea to look outside the big smoke. And a lot more satisfying. London is just like Toronto; busy, noisy and not as superior as it thinks it is

England may appear small compared to here, but it is just an awful place to travel around; either by car or public transit. Pick one good place and stay there for a full day.

jaymack wrote:Yeah, I've started doing some google map searches and me thinks this won't be as easy as I thought. I'm going to be about 30 minutes east of London but will have a whole weekend to travel around.

So, where did you end up going?

Ha, funny you shoudl ask. Didn't quite get as much down time as hoped (I was there for work after all) so settled for pub crawling in Reading where I was stationed.
The Hobgobblin was probabaly the most memorable. Got to respect a pub that puts a note on the wall stating Cell Phones are banned while drinking.

Didn't recognize or know half of the breweries or beers I was drinking most of the time but it was all solid enough milds and bitters on Cask.
Ended up in a Fuller's Tied house and had the ESB, Goldin Pride and Hock. Also found Adnams Bitter on tap.

I did get to the Hopback brewery and brewpub. The Summer Lightning was probabaly the best offering, the Stout was a disappointment.

Also visited the 0 Degrees brewpub. Great Black Lager, interesting Mango Ale, disappointing Bock (too much English and not enough German)

Definitely need to go back again for personal rather than business.

jaymack wrote:Ha, funny you shoudl ask. Didn't quite get as much down time as hoped (I was there for work after all) so settled for pub crawling in Reading where I was stationed.
The Hobgobblin was probabaly the most memorable. Got to respect a pub that puts a note on the wall stating Cell Phones are banned while drinking.

Didn't recognize or know half of the breweries or beers I was drinking most of the time but it was all solid enough milds and bitters on Cask.
Ended up in a Fuller's Tied house and had the ESB, Goldin Pride and Hock. Also found Adnams Bitter on tap.

I did get to the Hopback brewery and brewpub. The Summer Lightning was probabaly the best offering, the Stout was a disappointment.

Also visited the 0 Degrees brewpub. Great Black Lager, interesting Mango Ale, disappointing Bock (too much English and not enough German)

Definitely need to go back again for personal rather than business.

Shame I didn't know you were going to be in/around Reading...I grew up just outside of town in a village called Binfield Heath. You probably would've enjoyed visiting the Loddon Brewery there. The Hoppit is an excellent session bitter and the Ferryman's Gold likewise. While Reading is a little industrial the surrounding towns are filled with wonderful, authentic pubs with great food, atmosphere, history and beer.

Jon Walker wrote: Shame I didn't know you were going to be in/around Reading...I grew up just outside of town in a village called Binfield Heath. You probably would've enjoyed visiting the Loddon Brewery there. The Hoppit is an excellent session bitter and the Ferryman's Gold likewise. While Reading is a little industrial the surrounding towns are filled with wonderful, authentic pubs with great food, atmosphere, history and beer.

Small world. I dont doubt the surrounding area is as you describe. We were situated near the city centre so there was some "standard" bars but overall I can't complain about the pub selection. And the pies from Sweeney & Todd were to die for. Mouth's watering just thinking about them

Anyone have anything new to report from London?

Heading out the week before Easter to relive my student days. Have a good 6 days to eat, drink, and be merry.

Bytowner wrote:Anyone have anything new to report from London?

Heading out the week before Easter to relive my student days. Have a good 6 days to eat, drink, and be merry.

We were in London for a week back in May 2013. I spent most of my time in pubs while the girlfriend and mother-in-law were doing stupid touristy stuff. Below are most of the places I went to largely governed by where the ladies were going to be that day and some opened mid morning. Some places I left off were more bar or restaurant than pub and some places I can't exactly remember the names or where they were. I never had a bad pint anywhere and drank more cask beer than anything. The top three I'd definitely visit again. There were nothing wrong with the bottom group and I'd go to them again if in the area.

Cask Pub+Kitchen
Rake (Borough Market)
The Harp

Cleveland Arms (near Paddington Station where we were staying)
The Iron Duke (Fuller's)
The Queen's Head
The Old Shades

The Harp isn't very remarkable beer-wise (but all solid stuff) but I loved the location and setting. It's in a neighbourhood on a side road with the windows open and if it wasn't for the diverted traffic on to the side street it would have been even more magical sitting there quietly enjoying the cask beer.

Thanks lister. The Rake and Harp were both standards when I lived there. Don't think I ever went to the others, I'll keep an eye out.

Looking around BA it doesn't look like the scene has changed too much. Frankly I'm more stressed out about picking the right restaurant for our "all out" night.