Coming back from Sheffield via London and even more Steel...

I got back to Victoria, and what a lovely day it turned out to be, anyway, I crossed over Chelsea Bridge to walk through Battersea Park, and up to the mouth of the River Wandle, which, following it upstream, soon brings you to this pub in Wandsworth... 

The Armoury, which used to be called The Crane, in Armoury Way, virtually opposite the back of the old Ram Brewery of Young's, which, sadly, doesn't brew anymore. Indeed, the plan to sell up the real estate has fallen on lean times, it looks like no-one wants to build there in the current financial climate. Anyway, as we all know, Young's ales are now brewed by Charles Wells, Young's now being just a 'pubco'! 

The Crane used to be a Young's pub, of course, and I remember it as a bit of a bikers' pub from my youth, now it appears to be a clean and bright pub, and there was some pretty good music too, for ' bright young things' in still up and coming Wandsworth. There were 2 Young's ales and 2 ales from the new local brewer, Sambrooks (website) Wandle (3.8%) and Junction (4.5%). The Young's ales available were the 3.7% Bitter (or 'Ordinary' to us ex-locals) and the seasonal Winter Warmer, which I had a couple of pints of, a smooth deep dark red beer, full-bodied, with dark fruit in the flavour, still a very nice beer and well worth drinking if you get the chance! 

Anyway, that was it for that day, and I kipped at the old family HQ, still inhabited by my Stepfather. The next day I retraced my steps down the Wandle, then the Thames, to St Mary's Church, Battersea, and headed for the High Street. Just before you reach the Prince's Head, you come upon The Candlemaker, on your right, which used to be called The Greyhound, when I went to school further back up the High Street. This is another pub in the Borough of Wandsworth that has undergone a very good makeover, or having gone upmarket in effect. I had a good chat with a fellow customer, an Irish lad called Steve, and the barman.

There are 5 handpumps on the bar, but only 3 were being used last Monday, including one for their regular ale, brewed by King in Horsham, I do believe, and not at the North Laine brewpub in Brighton, ie the Laine's Best (4%), which I have reviewed before. They also had another Sussex brewed ale, Dark Star Partridge, a 4% 'Best Bitter' not one of their ultra hoppy pale bitters, and Truman's Swift (3.9%). I've had all these before, but wanted to give the Swift another taste, as I hope that the revived Truman's continues to prosper now they're brewing their own ale at their new brewery in East London (website). The Swift is described as a 'golden ale', and it isn't bad at all, maybe not quite the 'gorgeous' it is also branded as though. It's a bit sweet at first, with a slightly bitter dry aftertaste, again, I found it just a wee bit 'sour', and am looking forward to trying more of their ales over the coming years.      

I wanted to get closer to Clapham Junction station, to ensure I didn't miss my train home, but also to visit another couple of pubs I would never have gone into when I was a young man! This is a bit of a theme I hadn't planned to use in this blog, but realised it as soon as I started writing. All 4 of these pubs, discussed in this blog, in Battersea and Wandsworth, are all pubs that I wouldn't have entered in my youth, have all been given a makeover, and are all in the Borough of Wandsworth... and all now are pretty good pubs selling real ales too. The third pub I visited was The Northcote, on the corner of Northcote Road and Battersea Rise... 

There were 4 real ales on sale at The Northcote, including the 2 regulars, Young's Bitter (3.7%) and Sharp's Doom Bar (4%), hardly inspiring, but the guests offered something a bit more interesting. OK, I've had the Adnams Ghost Ship (4.5%) before, and it's certainly one of Adnams' better ales, but they also had an ale from a reasonably local brewery that I hadn't had before. Back to Twickenham Brewery, and this time a 'special' brewed with Australian and New Zealand hops, Galaxy and Pacific Jade, the Summer Down Under. This 3.9% very pale bitter certainly bursts with citrus flavours, I couldn't work out the aroma, but it was very refreshing. 

I decided to get to my fourth pub of this blog with enough time to have another drink before catching my train, so hurried to The Falcon, on the corner at Clapham Junction, diagonally opposite what was the local Department Store, Arding & Hobbs, but which is now a Debenhams. The Falcon is a Nicholsons pub, and, as I have said before, has the longest bar in the country (it is built in a long irregular circular fashion) according to the Guinness Book of Records; my second pub of the long weekend that is listed in that book, including The Dove in Hammersmith from the last blog... and my fourth pub of todays theme, it's all coming together!  

The Falcon has up to 20 real ales on at a time, but I only had time for one pint... so I had to have 2 halves, as seen in the photograph, first the Fullers Steel, a 'blonde ale' as it says on the pumpclip. This has been brewed in collaboration with my old friends, the 2 hop crazy brewers at Steel City Brewing in Sheffield, so my second ale of their's of the long weekend; see 2 blogs ago. This is a nice dry pale bitter, with a sour fruit aftertaste, not your usual Fullers, a few extra hops indeed... 

I also had a half of the Blueberry Ale, a 4.3% beer brewed by Lancaster Brewery, subtitled "Tales from the Brewhouse", which I'm guessing means it's what they term their 'specials'. There are New Zealand hops, and blueberries, unsurprisingly, which provides a very fruity aroma for this slightly darker golden ale. First taste gives you a mouthful of fruit, which is maintained throughout the drinking experience, with a slightly sweet, but drying out aftertaste. Another 2 fine ales from The Falcon...

Cheers!   

Strolling, and drinking, in London. SW15 to SE1 and back to SW11, along the Thames...

So, the Routemeister and I left Putney early-ish, heading for Tower Bridge, a lovely walk along the river, and no rain! The inclement weather was the day before, thankfully...

Our first port of call was The Rake, by Borough Market, 2 ales from Dark Star brewery of Sussex, and, as you'd expect, I had to drink the Revelation (5.7%), loadsa hops, and, well, I've gone on about it enough before, love it... Also Dark Star's Partridge 'best bitter' (4.1%), and Dan went for the Cumbrian brewer, Hardknott's Cool Fusion (4.4%), which he liked a lot, reminding him of his regular visits to Belgium really. This was lambic-like, strong citrus, sour and sharp; we were both happy with our choices, thank you very much!

From there, we wandered up to Tower Bridge, had a sandwich, then headed for Simon the Tanner in Long Lane, close to where the old tannery used to be, where we met the very interesting Julie (the barmaid) of Greenock in Scotland. Apart from interesting bar staff, there were also ales to drink. Of the 4 handpumps, one is dedicated to a real cider, in this instance, Gwynt Y Ddraig's Black Dragon (7.2%), and one was in the middle of being changed, so 2 ales for us. There was Redemption's Trinity, I'm guessing 3 hops, or was it to do with the strength? Anyway, only a 3% ale, bitter, but, not unexpectedly, a bit thin. So we went for the other London brewer, Portobello Pale, a 4% "refreshing golden ale", a very easy to drink, and pleasant pale bitter.

We then headed back to Pimlico and the Cask Pub and Kitchen, with its 10 handpumps, from which we sampled 2. The very easy pale hoppy bitter of Mallinsons, HPA, only 3.7%, but packed with flavour, fruity and bitter, we liked it a lot, but I cannot remember ever being disappointed with an ale from Mallinsons. I also had a half of Blue Monkey Infinity Plus One, a 5.6% deeply bitter pale beer, with plenty of body, a peachy aroma, and yes, very bitter, loved it. I know the brewer, Richard, and can say, "cheers!" to Richard.

I was heading back from Clapham Junction that evening, so our final refreshment was at The Candlemaker, in Battersea High Street, just 10 minutes or so from the station. Only 3 ales from their 4 handpumps that evening, a busy and friendly establishment just down the road from where we went to school. All 3 ales were from East Sussex too, amusingly, though their own Laines Best (4%) is always on, I believe, and 2 from Dark Star, Hophead and American Pale Ale (APA), and you should know by now what I think of Dark Star ales... we went for the Hophead, cheers!

London 6th - 8th March 2013

I arrived at Clapham Junction on the 6th, and departed from Clapham Junction on the 8th, as you can see, a bit wet then, so a trip to The Northcote, Northcote Road, now it's a nice safe pub to visit, and not just for me, but a very woman friendly environment, together with a wide range of customers, young and old, as well as my age, in the middle a bit, haha, and, of course, male and female.  I was served a pint of the ale shown below by the delightful Ruby, who has been present on a previous visit too, and she asked me to mention their having a young Brazilian lad working behind the bar too, presumably, for my female readership?

So, apart from the obvious, other ales included Youngs Bitter (3.7% and called 'Ordinary' by us older Youngs drinkers, or someone like me who worked in a Youngs' pub in my yoof, when their ales were still brewed in Wandsworth) and Sharps Doom Bar (4%). I'm sure I must have drunk this before, anyway, I tried a pint of the Adnams Ghost Ship, a 4.5% reasonably pale coloured bitter, though not quite the "ghostly pale ale" the brewery describes it as, but a decent bitter nonetheless; and, of course, a pint of the local Sambrook's Junction, a 4.5% medium coloured bitter, what I always think of as a typical London bitter colour, I'm sure you know what I mean, and it tastes like a typical London bitter, very nice too, cheers! 

Previously, my brother, The Routemeister, had met me in The Candlemaker, Battersea High Street, on the 6th, where Kathryn appeared shortly after our arrival (I think that's how to spell her name, sorry if I'm wrong, K) and we were served by a very friendly Antipodean, Holly, who also has family links to South East Sussex. We each had a pint of the Sambrook's Pale Ale, a nice pale and hoppy 4.2% bitter from the local brewer.  They also had available the same brewery's Wandle, a 3.8% session bitter, Kings IPA (5.2%), which I'd have loved to try, but a bit strong for the middle of the day, and their own brewery, Laine's Best Bitter (4.1% and reported on before).  

Finally, we had a drink at The Bricklayer's Arms in Putney, where there were still many ales on from their 'Yorkshire Beer Festival', too many to mention now, but have a look at their website (site) for more information. We had a pint each of Great Heck Brewing Dispensible, a 4.5% pale beer, we were a little disappointed with, as, frankly, it needed more hops. Also, I was a wee bit upset I'd missed the Kelham Island Pale Rider, though I was to drink their Easy Rider at my local, the Dolphin, in Hastings, less than a week later (both ales I have brewed when I worked for Kelham Island). 

 

Cheers!

Congratulations to the Dolphin in Hastings for...

Congratulations to the Dolphin in Hastings for winning the local CAMRA Branch Pub of the Year for South East Sussex!

I shall very soon be blogging about pubs in London from my visit last week, and in WEST Sussex too, cheers for now!

Monday 11th February, up the Junction and on to West London

So, back to London, via Clapham Junction, a bit dark and dismal, with a little snow too, however… My original plan was to be accompanied, but, sadly, alone again, consequently, rather than go straight through to Victoria, I decided to walk to Hammersmith from the Junction, via Battersea High Street, The Thames Path, and Parsons Green, first stopping at the Candlemakers in Battersea High Street.  My having gone to school in Battersea High Street, and now living on the coast of East Sussex, a pub in that road, that is linked to a Brighton brewpub, well, it had to be a stop for me, yet again, and, yet again, Freddie was working there, good to see a friendly face. 

5 handpumps on the bar, usually serving 4 real ales and a real cider, which on Monday yielded their regular ale, from their own brewery, The Laine Brewery Laine’s Best, a 4% bitter described before here. Also, 3 guest ales, Sambrook’s Pumphouse Pale Ale, a 4.2%, slightly sweet ale with a bitter aftertaste, and 2 from Dark Star, the excellent Hophead (3.8%), so often mentioned here, and, as only very recently mentioned on this blog, their excellent 3.5% The Art of Darkness, which, despite being near the end of the firkin, was still fresh, easy drinking, though maybe a touch more bitter than my last pint of it, very nice, thank you.

Next, I wandered along the Thames, over Wandsworth Bridge, past an old flame’s home to the White Horse at Parsons Green, and served by the enthusiastic and very friendly Australian barmaid, Brook.  They had 8 ales on, as usual, including their regular, Harveys Sussex Best (4%), and… Milk Street Mermaid, a 3.8% “malty nut brown beer” and Zig Zag, a 4.5% “dark chocolaty stout”; Adnams Broadside (4.7%); Moorhouses Black Cat (3.4%), a very well known dark mild; Windsor & Eton Conqueror, a 5% “black IPA”; the always excellent Oakham JHB, 3.8%, pale and hoppy, another favourite bitter of mine; and Hopfuzz Veteran, a 4.2% very pale and refreshing ale. Oh yes, and they also have about 30 Belgian beers, and a good number of ‘craft’ beers on keg too…

Then? Well along to the Dove, another favourite pub of mine (NB the close proximity to William Morris’s 19^th century home) which nestles by the Thames, just to the west of Hammersmith Bridge on the north side of the river. Served by Lisa, who has been here for well over a year, though I seem to have missed her on my more recent visits, and I had a good chat to Matt, the manager here, the lucky lad having the opportunity to live above the pub!

So, a Fullers pub of great history and reputation, serving, ahem, Gales Seafarers, Fullers London Pride, Honeydew, and a new Fullers ale for me, the 4.2% Black Cab Stout.  I was very disappointed I had missed their London Porter, only recently available here, and probably my favourite regular porter, but the Black Cab was a very nice drinkable new beer for me, dark and quite light to drink, so not too disappointed! Oh yes, a Guinness Book of Records noted “smallest bar”, by the way, see above.

 

From here, it was a walk up to Stamford Brook station, and the Raven, which had 6 ales on, that regularly change, but usually from a short list of brewers. Monday, there was Sambrook’s Wandle and Junction, Marstons EPA and Pedigree, and Ringwood Best Bitter and Fortyniner, all in good form.  I also found out the Pope was resigning at the end of the month, whilst drinking here (it was on the tv), I thought it was a first, but my brother has since assured me it isn’t (pope to resign).

 

Before leaving West London for Putney, I had to drop into the Bree Louise’s sister pub, at the Stamford Brook end of Goldhawk Road, the Duchess of Cornwall, where they gladly offer a 50p a pint discount to us CAMRA members, nice one, thank you muchly! I also met up with Simon, the landlord, again, and had a great first chat to the landlady too, Ruth, who has plans, though not yet fixed, to start brewing on the premises herself, which has to be looked forward to.   

 

As mentioned before, there are 6 handpumps and the potential for 9 ales straight from the cask, though, being a Monday and early in the week, just the 5 gravity fed beers available, plus those delivered from handpumps. There were a number of rugby union inspired beers, including Milestone Luck of the Irish (4.8%) and Scotland the Brave (4.1%), but I settled for a pint of Plain Ales, a brewery I’d first experienced beer from at the Bricklayers in Putney, Arty Farty Firkin, a good 3.9% pale hoppy bitter.  As usual, I look forward to returning to these pubs in West London very soon…

 

However, I then finished drinking at the Bricklayers in Putney, and this day’s and last Thursday’s visits there, will have a blog all of their own, very shortly… cheers!

12th December - A new pub for me in Battersea!

On my way back from London, I left Putney and walked along the Thames Path again to Battersea, and made my way down Battersea High Street to a new pub for me, The Candlemaker, which I'd seen about in CAMRA's latest editon of London Drinker, and which had only opened at the beginning of November.  I ventured alone this time, as the Routemeister had caught an early Eurostar to Brussels, and was probably in Brussels by the time I got to the top of Battersea High Street.  

The Candlemaker (website) is one of 4 pubs recently opened in London by a Brighton company, this one re-opened in what used to be The Greyhound at 136 Battersea High Street.  Their opening times are 12-12 on weekdays, and 10-1 and 10-10 on Saturdays and Sundays respectively, consequently, as it was only 11.00, I made a detour to Clapham Junction (where I would be shortly catching my train from) and back.

So, only 10 minutes walk away at Clapham Junction is an old 'friend' The Falcon (website), what can I say to add to previous comments about the pub with the Guinness Book of Records label of having 'the longest bar in the country', and hence 22 handpumps?  Well, they have up to 20 ales at any one time and, remarkably, for so many ales, they do keep up a good quality of ale too!  They also had Renata, an efficient and friendly young Polish woman working behind the bar when I was there; many thanks for your advice on the day, Renata, a pleasure. 

Ales? I shan't mention every one of them, just the two especially brewed for Nicholson's, yes, this is a Nicholson's pub, if you weren't aware already, and the 'seasonal' ales.  The 2 brewed for the company were Brentwood The Only Way is Santa (5.2%) and Petersfield (London Style) Porter (5%), which I had a pint of, which was a smooth, sweet even, creamy dark porter. I liked it very much.  Other seasonal ales were Vale 5 Gold Rings (4.8%); Andwell Ding Dong (4.2%); Brains Captain Cat (4.2% and something to do with Dylan Thomas, a character from Under Milk Wood, I believe) a winter ale; plus many many more!  

So, back at The Candlemaker, where I was waiting on the doorstep of for them to open, and they kindly let me in a little early, feeling sorry for me.  There were 5 ales on, including their own (I do believe, or at least it's an associated brewery from Brighton), Laine's Best, see below, a 4% malty best bitter, not bad, but not particularly to my taste. They had 2 old favourites from Sussex brewery, Dark Star, ie the Hophead and APA, crackin' ales! They also had the very local Sambrooks Wandle bitter, more about which is written in previous blogs, and my favourite ale of the day, Buxton Target (3.8%), a 'single hop' ale.  Target is a good hop, and this was a very drinkable pale and quite bitter ale, very enjoyable!  

At The Candlemaker, I met Kathryn (two friendly barmaids in one day cannot be bad) and Freddie, two very likeable young characters who had both moved up from Brighton in connection with this new venture, and who were enjoying their time in Battersea, well, it's certainly changed a lot since my youth, Battersea, that is! 

I'll be back, cheers! 

The Junction to Wandsworth

The Woodman, Battersea High St, SW11 3HX (www.woodman-battersea.co.uk) has reopened, after a refurbishment, on 30th March. This used to be a smaller pub when I was a youngster, togther with the 'Original Woodman', and was where us school lads used to sneak our early years ale, it being very close to school ;-)

It has recently been taken over by a chef, James Rogers, and his partner, Annie Broom, consequently, some interesting food options here, and not too expensive either. But it remains a pub too, with 3 ales usually on offer, but with handpumps for 4, should their trade increase in that area, and I hope it does.

We visited on Thursday afternoon, quite early, so it was fairly quiet, it's clean and very neat, a pleasure to visit. Friendly barman, and with 2 ales on offer, we tried the Badger First Gold at 4.0% (nice easy to drink bitter); they also had King & Barnes Sussex (3.5%). I loved sitting on a stool at a barrel turned on its end. I will re-visit when they've had a bit more time to settle in.

The Hope Pole, Wandsworth, is a Shepherd Neame pub, the first of their pubs I ever drank at following drinking at the Bishop's Finger in Smithfield Market, many years ago! It's a real pub, sells Shepherd Neame ales, and Bishop's Finger is a crackin' pint...