Real Ale Reviews

The Crown & Two Chairmen, Soho, London

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Right some of you will remember that before Christmas I started a series of posts about a day out I had in London on the Real Ale trail. The final part of the series has taken a  long time coming but here it is, finally the series will be complete and balance will be restored to my universe. This will probably be quite short given the amount of time since I was there and I only have about half a page of notes….and no pictures!!!!!! But here it is, my review of The Crown and Two Chairmen in Soho.

The options for hand-pulled ales included London Pride, Old Rosie cider, Adnams Southwold German Kolsch and Doombar from Cornwall. Quite a fan of Doombar from Sharps Brewery, I was a fair few into the day when I had this pint but I find it full of flavour but not overpowering in the palette.  There were 22 taps and I managed to corner the assistant manager for a chat while we were waiting for our burgers and chips to come out. Initially defensive about whether the place was part of a chain when I inquired, she finally said that the place was part of the same chain as The Adelphi in Leeds (which I didntt know was part of a chain actually). Apparently the ethos of the chain is to allow the bars to have as much individuality as possible whilst still having the top down approach of serving good beers and quality food. From what we saw, the place was busy as well, this is certainly the case.

I wouldn’t have put it down as a sibling of The Adelhpi but as soon as I found  out that it was it was obvious. These guys are doing something right because I would definitely go back there and, as I sit in Leeds in the snow following an afternoon of sledging, it’s made me think about the Adelphi so much that I’m off out there for tea.

Tags: adnams, Doombar, London Pride, Old Rosie, Soho, The Crown and Two Chairmen London

The Coal Hole – The Strand, London

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The first impression of this pub is what I would expect from a pub on a main street in London. Initially I thought it was a little bit touristy, with oak panelling broken by up by faux medieval tapestry. That said there were more people knocking about in actual suits than in shell suits with cameras so I was willing to give it a try.

I took me about five seconds and a quick glance across the beer selection to decide that I liked the place, I didn’t realise it at the time but this was to be the first of three visits to Nicholson’s Pubs on the day and the range and quality of the ales available was top drawer. We sampled…

Timothy Taylor Landord - Reviewed by so many people before, I always think that it tastes a little fruitier on draught than out of a bottle.

Greene King IPA - This should be entry three in the Day in London series and I had had an American Pale Ale immediately before drinking this. After a bottle of the hop filled American cousin I found the Greene King a bit shollow in taste, probably more appropriate to a session but ultimately not a world rocking IPA.

Cairngorm Autumn Nuts - I really liked this Ruby Ale, it wasn’t massively hopped and I think  Fletch would probably have found it underwhelming, but there was still goodcflavour and it was spot on for me.  Pleasingly it does carry an autumnal feel and offers some warmth from the winter chill.

The bar was also offering London Pride and Hobgoblin and the range of autumnal guests in the pipeline spanned to 12 which the barstaff told me would be constantly rotating through the season.  Hats off.

Tags: Cairngorm, Cairngorm Autumn Nuts, Greene King IPA, Hobgoblin, London, London Pride, Nicholsons Pubs, The Coal House, The Strand, Timothy Taylor Landlord

Alan’s Daytrip to London

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This post does exactly what it says on the tin. A couple of weeks ago I had a day off work and thought a trip to sample the real ale houses of London was in order.

Some of the establishments warranted posts of their own but, unfortunately, some did not. Those that did not are only mentioned here and may include brief tasting notes of the beers we (my University housemate and East End friend Jack was helping me out for the day) came across during our travels.

The pubs that we felt warranted their own posts tended to have a number of quality real ales on which we made tasting notes and the full articles that will follow are as much about the beers as the pubs. The itinery for the  day was as follows…

We met at Tooting Bec tube station, luckily bumping into each other outside one of the four exits, to visit the first pub of the day…

The Kings Head, Tooting – This place had a classic style, with original Victorian tiling, but a modern touch with Sky Sports and an IT Box. Despite the appealing decor I have to say that it was ultimately at the lower end of what can be considered a ‘Real Ale’ pub. There are three regular ales, Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA and London Pride, as well a Guest Ale of Highland Davenport’s The Fall (which was off). Both Jack and myself decided to start the day with London Pride – I will not go over old ground with tasting notes but will say that the beer was well kept.

The Eagle Ale House, Clapham – unfortunately The Eagle did not open until three and we arrived at one thirty. As  we arrived the landlord was unfortunately on his way out. He said that if he had not been he would have opened for us. That would have got him a very very good review. In the event, having not been able to go into the bar I can say that, from the outside it looked absolute quality. A massive regret that we were not able to have a beer there but one to add to the list of good reasons not to leave it too long before heading South again.

The Prince of Wales, Clapham – a 20 minute walk from The Eagle and also closed! In all honesty this did not look to offer the same quality drinking environment as we just felt we had probably missed out on but it did carry Timmy Taylor’s on draught so would certainly be worth a visit if passing on that basis alone.

The Porterhouse, Covent Garden (revisited) – following my last visit to the Porterhouse, which left me slightly underwhelmed,  The Beer Boy had encouraged me to give it another go. Suffice to say that a a revisit proved a productive way to spend some time, full review and tasting notes to follow.

The Coal House, The Strand – the first of three Nicholson Pubs visited on the day, the rolling range of 12 autumnal guest ales, coupled with the regular stock offered us enough tasting opportunities to complete a full review.

The White Lion, Covent Garden & The Three Greyhounds, Soho (ish) -the other two Nicholson Pubs and the beers on offer again justified their own posts.

The Crown & Two Chairmen, Soho – this pub was probably the jewel in the crown for the day and will certainly be getting its own review in due course.

The Duke of Argyll, Soho – this was the last stop of the day (although the whole point of the midweek trip was to get to The Jerusalem which fell through due to our unproductive rambling around Clapham). We were both feeling the effects of a long, tiring day by this time so tasting notes are limited! What did stand out was the fact that I ordered two pints of bitter and was charged only £3.58…..IN THE CENTRE OF LONDON!!!!!! They were not individual bottles of craft beer but they were good honest pints and absolute value at that price!!!

Needless to say that the hops were kicking in and, I headed back for my train, I made sure I set my alarm so that I didn’t miss my stop!

Tags: Clapham, Covent Garden, London, London Pride, Soho, The Coal House, The Crown & Two Chairmen, The Duke of Argyll, The Eagle Ale House, The Kings Head, The Porterhouse, The Prince of Wales, The Three Greyhounds, The White Lion, Tooting

The Beehive Bar, 60 Carter St, London

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I found this bar recommended in a review of places to go for real ales in London – I would be more than willing to pass the recommendation on to anyone else.

My guide for the day assured me that this wasn’t the best of areas in the capital and that he would be massively surprised if we found the sort of pub we were looking for, if I’m honest, as we walked from the tube, I began to believe him more and more. Keeping the faith I made him bash on and it wasn’t long before I was sat with my ale thinking ‘I wish I’d bet him a fiver’.

The pub, set back from the road, is smart, well kept and would surely grace any area of town. What it does have, and what I feel escapes many pubs as tidy as this, was a local atmosphere. There were a good number of locals drinking and chats at the urinal, what else do you need to feel immediately at home?

Turning to the beer I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with the fact that there was only London Pride and one guest ale available on draft. ‘When in Rome……’ I had a London Pride and I have to say it was a belting pint. At the worst of times London Pride is a smooth, easy drinking, beer and on this hot afternoon, after the walk from the tube, that effect was definitely accentuated.

Credit to the landlord because the beer was poured with patience, allowed to settle, and then topped up after payment had been taken. My cynical companion, who was already lucky not to be a fiver lighter by this stage, thought this was only because it was the landlord and because the bar was quiet. Repeat visits proved him wrong again as the other staff carried on in exactly the same way.

I’m not really sure about the surroundings, or whether this place is accessible enough to drop in on a night out, but, all in all, I would have to say I’d be chuffed to bits with having The Beehive as my local.

Website – www.thebeehivebar.co.uk

Tags: Beehive, Garden, Local, London, London Pride, Patience