Real Ale Reviews

The Greenwich Union, SE10 8RT

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The Greenwich Union is the brewery pub of the Meantime Brewery…

www.meantimebrewing.com

Located less than 5 minutes walk away from Cutty Sark Station on the DLR this pub is really easy to get to but is located up a quaint side street. The exterior makes it appear as one of those dark traditional pubs. Opening the door you see a strange collision of modern and traditional as the large, light interior contrasts with the atmosphere projected from the street.

We arrived at 3.00pm on a Saturday afternoon and the place was full, we got one of only two or three free tables in the garden and all of the tables inside were occupied. The reason for the full tables soon became apparent as the food being served looked and smelt fantastic. The burgers were massive and were priced at under a tenner.

The round I bought was two pints of London Pale Ale (reviewed on here), a diet coke and two bags of nuts which came to £8.80 altogether. This is cheap enough in the middle of London I thought.

The range of beers on tap were as follows…

Adnams Bitter

Meantime LPA

Meantime Kolner

Meantime Helles

Meantime Wheat

Meantime  High Saison

Meantime London Stout

Aspall Suffolk Cider

As well as this they had a wide range of bottled ales and lagers that any respectable ale house would be proud to boast. For anyone who was unable to decide there were free samples offered and the staff were pleasant and approachable and I’m sure that they will have been happy to offer a helping word. In addition to this I note that the menus offered tasting notes on all of the drinks, dedicating 5 pages to beers and only 2 to food!!!

I certainly recommend this watering hole to anyone in London. Meantime make some cracking beers and they have hit the perfect mix of old and new, traditional and modern, in order to create the perfect environment to drink them in.

Tags: Food, Greenwich, London, Meantime, The Greenwich Union, Watering Hole

London Pale Ale

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Meantime Brewery – London Pale Ale, 4.3% abv, on tap from The Greenwich Union

This is quite a clear pale ale and immedately I could tell that it was well kept which was no surprise given that there was at least one pint on every table. I would imagine that thry fire through hundreds of pints of this a day.

To be honest I was quite worried about getting back on the ale today given that last night was a bit of a blockbuster but, as I sat in the pub garden taking my furst si, this was certainly no chore. The beer was quite flat, I think more so than the bottled version that I have had before, which give it a smoothness that meant it went down really well.

In terms of flavour this beer is tangy, with a citrus bitterness that is far from overpowering. This modest flavour, coupled with the smooth texture, make this what I would call a real session ale.

Tags: 4-5% ABV, citrus, London, London Pale Ale, Meantime, Smooth, smoothness, The Greenwich Union