Craft Beers In London

[.DJ.]

The inlaws are off to europe and will be in London and they have kindly offered to bring back some beers for me.. Now, who can suggest some to try that are available over here? (I'm not looking for Old Speckled Hen or Newcastle Brown..)

any style is fine (except lager, but dont assume they make much of it over there....)

thanks in advance! :beerbang:

 

[Muggus]

I'd also be interested to know where to go for Craft Pommy beer in London. I'll also be there later this year.

I was there a couple of years back, and whilst most pubs will generally have at least a couple of real ales, chances are they were the usual suspects... Fullers London Pride, Greene King IPA, Sheapard Neame varieties, Old Speckled Hen, TT Landlord...and not that I minded any of them (especially the latter! :icon_drool2: ), it seemed hard to find lesser known ales.
Having said that, compared to your regular pub over here, there's something a bit more satisfying about getting a pint of 'regular' beer in the UK.

 

[sinkas]

www.ratebeer.com

 

[eamonnfoley]

I'd also be interested to know where to go for Craft Pommy beer in London. I'll also be there later this year.

I was there a couple of years back, and whilst most pubs will generally have at least a couple of real ales, chances are they were the usual suspects... Fullers London Pride, Greene King IPA, Sheapard Neame varieties, Old Speckled Hen, TT Landlord...and not that I minded any of them (especially the latter! :icon_drool2: ), it seemed hard to find lesser known ales.
Having said that, compared to your regular pub over here, there's something a bit more satisfying about getting a pint of 'regular' beer in the UK.

Just go into a well sized Tesco or Sainsburys and go the beer section. They have a lot of fresh European beers, as well as american micros. But you'll have plenty of english ales to choose from.

Lived there for a few years - just seek out the good real ale pubs and youll be right.

Utobeer stall at borough market is fantastic also

 

[eamonnfoley]

by the way, you wont find craft beer pubs in london (ones that have beer styles from other countries). You will only find places that are good for real ale, or regular ordinary pubs with all the usual suspects.

Mind you, there is nothing wrong with a good Fullers, Sam Smiths or Youngs pub. They are everywhere.

 

[Bribie G]

The best UK beer experience is real ale (cask conditioned ales) but unfortunately they do not translate too well to bottle or can, as they need to be filtered and pasteurised and end up like a feisty tom cat that has been shaved then deprived of its family jewels. Thus, to give one example, Wells Bombardier in bottle over here is not a bad drop but can't hold a candle to the real version on draught out of the handpump.

However some beers have always been intended for bottling and those are probably the best to look for. Stouts and old ales are a good bet, along the lines of Theakston Old Peculier. Newcastle Brown is available in Australia, but Double Maxim is a similar but subtly different brew. Depending on where they go they will encounter different regional breweries and craft breweries, but they should be on the lookout for beers that are bottled but not necessarily on draught as well.

And nowadays there are some nice lagers from micros as well. Well worth looking into.

 

[bradsbrew]

Maybe ask the boys at http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/ for a heads up or maybe flick Wes a PM.

Cheers Brad

 

[kevo]

Thornbridge Brewing featured on the BN a few weeks back and while I haven't tried their brews they sounded interesting in terms of style and ingredients.

The brewer is a Kiwi and uses some NZ hop varieties with a nod to US craft brewing.

Might be worth a look.

http://www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk/

Jaipur, Kipling and Halcyon were a few which sounded good - not sure what their availability is like in bottles/cans.

Kev

 

[pbrosnan]

Hi there,

I was in London a weeks for ago and found that the Princess Louise near Holborn station was a Samuel Smiths pub. Cheap and excellent beers, may have been colder than a lot of the other cask ales which I thought was a good thing.

 

[THBF Wez]

The advice about going to one of the large supermarkets is probably best for a wide variety (although that's a shame!) the big four are Sainsbury's, ASDA, Tesco & Morrisons, all have a wide range of beers my local ASDA & Tesco have all started stocking beers from licol micro's which is a good move.

I'm not from London but ask the question on www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk we have lots of members who can give you more London-local information.

 

[DennisKing]

The best bottles are the bottle conditioned ones, the big supermarkets normally run a few. As for visitors to London I always recomend Ye old Cheshire Cheese [built just after the fire in 1666], just off fleet st. Decent pint of Sam Smiths last time I was in there.

 

[glennheinzel]

Just go into a well sized Tesco or Sainsburys and go the beer section. They have a lot of fresh European beers, as well as american micros. But you'll have plenty of english ales to choose from.

Lived there for a few years - just seek out the good real ale pubs and youll be right.

Utobeer stall at borough market is fantastic also

+1.

The supermarkets have a great selection of beers and are generally quite accessible.

Utobeer stall at the London Borough Markets (just near London Bridge Station) have an AMAZING selection of mostly top notch world beers.

 

[WildebeestAttack]

Thornbridge Brewing featured on the BN a few weeks back and while I haven't tried their brews they sounded interesting in terms of style and ingredients.

The brewer is a Kiwi and uses some NZ hop varieties with a nod to US craft brewing.

Might be worth a look.

http://www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk/

Jaipur, Kipling and Halcyon were a few which sounded good - not sure what their availability is like in bottles/cans.

Kev

Thornbridge Jaipur is one of the best beers in the UK. Hands down. Crouch Vale is another brewery that is top notch. (Both would kick the pants out of Landlord). Also try out Harveys. St Peters has the best looking bottles I've ever seen beer packaged in as well, if you're into that.

One of the best places to get beers in London is Real Ale (www.realale.com - 371 Richmond Road, Twickenham, TW1 2EF - just across the river from Richmond). Good selection of English ales, and a few other UK ones. For a quiet pint the White Horse in Parsons Green (SW16) is pretty good, look out for their beer festivals.