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.

These were the second and third Nicholsons Pubs we visited on our day out. Both followed the same theme of the Nicholsons brand, a traditional style pub with a good range of real ales on offer. The format is the same up and down the country as we can see in Leeds’ own Victoria and Commercial and Scarborough Hotels.

I’ll cut straight to the chase…..the beers on offer were…

The White Lion, Covent Garden –

Black Sheep Brewery – Golden Sheep – darker in appearance than I expected from the ‘golden’ cousin of the Black Sheep. The beer was remarkably smooth, not in a London Pride ‘I could drink this all day’ manner, but a fuller more satisfying way.

Shepherd Neame – Late red – a promising fruity nose is borne out in the initial flavour. This fruitiness falls away to a nutty aftertaste that lingers in the mouth.

Morrisey Fox – Brunette – slightly acidic and sharp in the first instance, there is some fruity flirtation but ultimately it fails to deliver in full.

Timothy Taylor Landlord

Fullers London Pride

The Three Greyhounds, Soho(ish) –

Daleside – Autumn Leaves – the flavour delivers what the name promises with a smoky, dark fruit flavour lingering through to a distinct note of Raspberry.

Abbot Ale – a strong punchy English wake-up call to the taste buds. Darker and stronger than anything else I’d tasted on the day

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!