It's all a load of Cannonballs in here! This is the virtual Arsenal pub where you can chat about anything except football. Be warned though, like any pub, the content may not always be suitable for everyone.
LyusN1 wrote:The microbrew/craft beer scene in London has exploded and ales, craft beers etc are proving very popular. You need to know where to head to be in the right sort of company though - where people fancy something more than cabbage-water Carlsberg.
Next time you're about in London, for interesting beers and people who will be drinking them, try:
The Black Heart, Camden Town
Camden Town Brewery, Kentish Town (under Kentish Town West station)
The Euston Tap, just outside the station
The Southampton Arms, Darmouth Park
Aces & Eights, Tufnell Park (sometimes... it varies)
The Lamb, Holloway Road
Craft Beer Co, Clerkenwell (although there is one opening in Brixton soon)
The Draft House, Fitzrovia (they have a number about the place though)
The Rake, The Borough
The Holborn Whippet, Holborn
The Jerusalem Tavern, Clerkenwell
The Dovetail, Clerkenwell
The Queens Head, St Pancras
The Bree Louise, Euston
The Wenlock Arms, Hoxton (very good pub but endangered)
The Pelt Trader, (opening in The City soon)
This whole craft beer, local ale thing is going global and London is no exception. There are a fair few others that I can't seem to remember at the moment - and some that I don't recommend! If I think of any others/frequent any others, I'll let you know.
I'd say that the Euston Tap is the best value for money. The Camden Town Brewery is a laugh though, especially since you can get the 4-pint jugs and sit in the sun. You also have the satisfaction of being able to see the brewery through a stable type door so you know the beer travels well since it only goes about 15 feet!
I'm going to london in a couple of months and i was thinking to try brew dog's pub in camden, you think one of those is a better option?
It is cool with some quirky beers but really quite expensive in there. I think there are a few on the list (The Euston Tap and the Queens Head being two) that are a better option, although some of them you would definitely need to go with someone, as the ones a bit 'out-of-town' can be a bit quiet at the wrong time of the week - as can the ones 'in-town' at the weekend when the workers are away! (That might be quite confusing - sorry!)
I'll try again! BrewDog is definitely worth a visit but in my opinion they aren't the absolute best. My family also used to run the pub in Camden Town where BrewDog is now so I have a personal vendetta against them erasing the history The Black Heart is literally 10 seconds away though so you could do both and be well on your way for a pub crawl!
Love a good ale. Nice to have some variety rather than the lager served in the UK which is pretty much all the same. Plus you can always get a good pint of strong guest ale for around £2 in any Spoons.
My brother lives in Alkmaar and we went to a 'beer museum' out there (basically a pub where they had notes on all the different beers and sold them in various measures). To be fair it was a great experience and nice to see people passionate about them, there were some real corkers in there.
Anybody who wants to check out good ales and ciders check out the Nottingham Beer and Cider Festival. Went last year, it's set in the castle grounds which are actually far too nice and wasted on what is essentially a glorified piss-up. Absolutely staggering selection of cast ales (about a thousand) and a not insignificant selection of ciders, with many coming in around the 6% and 9% marks respectively. Best of all works out at about 90p for a third of a pint, and you get a cool mug. Dreamland.
RNTGOONER wrote:I was in Dublín for the Stoke game I drank harp larger it was soooooo good I did not try anything else
no one in ireland drinks harp , vile lager
In fairness, I was forced to drink Harp back in the 80's for a whole weekend (because of a bizarre series of circumstances involving drugs, 2 blond whores, a crashed car and my mate Gary's abortion of a stag weekend ) and it was piss.
Fast forward to a couple years ago and at a wedding was forced to drink a couple pints of dreaded Harp again. I was fuckered surprised to discover they have improved it hugely! As far as pissy lagers go, a cold Harp is up there with the best of them.
When in Brugge , seek out a little place called Le Guerre. Just off the main square down a small Jack the ripperesque lane that back home you'd find 10 junkies banging up, 8 soiled nappies and the local bike eating her chips whilst being lamped out of it . Any hoo, this little side street leads to rustic beer heaven which serves its own beer and it's house special comes in at a healthy George Best Index of 12.5%. Nectar from the gods. House rule is supposed to be 3 per person-max! Funny as Chamakh to see Japanese tourists walking into the plate glass door after one!
cant believe no one has mentioned the finest brewer of ale in britain. if you are into ales/bitter BG you cannot beat adnams. not that keen on ale myself, but even i think some of the stuff they churn out is good. adnams explorer is what i like when i go down the ale route. and travesty i often have it as a top...! also some of the stuff wychwood come out with is nice (not the bottlesd muck, the cask stuff) and crouch vale stuff locally.
from a personal perspective, you cant beat an ice cold bud light or sam adams....but only when in the US and with a bunch of 20 year old women who are into english people. goes down very well...
back on this fair isle im afriad im usually a aspalls cider man.
if you are a cider sceptic and dont like the shit stronbow, bulmers or magners come out with, try aspalls or merrydown. decent quality cider. or a good old fashinoed artisan farmyard scrumpy from the side of the road in cornwall in some old unsanitsed plastic tub.
northbank123 wrote:For cider lovers on a budget I would recommend White Lightning, Diamond White, 3 Hammers and White Storm.
Personally I'm a big fan of Hobgoblin, although I will drink just about any ale (but not a huge fan of stout).
Seek out the cheaper versions of white lightning, usually called white spark or something. Found in many good stockists in the Streatham/Brixton area. You can get it for around 99p for 2 litres and it's got more chemicals in it than any of the class A's around!
The Black Heart is literally 10 seconds away though so you could do both and be well on your way for a pub crawl!
) and it was piss. 
