Beer Rebellion, Gipsy Hill
One of the original ‘pop-up’ brew pubs of the past decade, BR grew from humble temporary lodgings in a derelict café selling local brews alongside its own (sadly defunct) Late Knight cask beers. Now with a sister pub in Peckham, BR retains much of that ad-hoc, friendly atmosphere, but with an expanded offering of local and regional ales in cask and keg, an impressive selection of imported American beers, and now a fair selection of spirits and wines. It has a laidback café feel with a mixed local clientele – the sort of place where you’d be as comfortable tucked in the corner with a book as you would in a crowd.
Address: Beer Rebellion, 126 Gipsy Hill, London SE19 1PL
Telephone:+44 20 8670 9034
Website: beerrebellion.org
The Westow House, Crystal Palace
A sizeable restored Victorian Antic pub with trademark bookshelves and distressed leather sofas. There’s a really good selection of craft cask and keg ales on rotation, all in good condition, mostly thanks to the constant footfall. The Westow is a lively venue with a youngish clientele – weekends are particularly effervescent – but it’s quieter on weekdays. There are around eight cask ales on tap, including house beer Volden, and just as many international keg regulars.
Address: The Westow House 79 Westow Hill, London SE19 1TX
Telephone:+44 20 8670 0654
Website: westowhouse.com
St John at Hackney Brewery, Hackney
Underneath the arches opposite Hackney Central station, this is a new craft-ale champion, set up by Luke Scanlon (with the help of St John’s Church), who asked American obsessive Ryan Robbins to brew some interesting beers. The results are still being tweaked, but current favourites from the ones made on the premises are the citrussy IPA No 2, which Ryan describes as having a ‘smooth mouth feel’, and the lager, a crisp, Munich-style creation with an American spin. Aficionados should also try a third of a pint of the Imperial stout, which is fragrant with toasty, chocolatey, coffee flavours. The warehouse-sized space has real character, with smoke-blackened brickwork, steel-framed windows, a lovely lattice of bare timber in the architrave above, and reclaimed church pews along the walls. At the back is a sprawling beer garden with long tables from where you can watch trains spark and rumble on the tracks above the brewery.
Address: St John at Hackney Brewery, 16-17 Bohemia Place, London E8 1DU
Website: stjohnathackneybrewery.com
Beavertown Brewery Taproom, Tottenham
Founded by the son of Led Zeppelin rock god Robert Plant, this North London brewery has the best designed labels and names in town (surprisingly, not one references a single song by the legendary band): take a look at Heavy Water, Humuloid or Tropigamma. There was some consternation in the craft-ale community when it was announced that Heineken had bought a stake in the brewery, but they’re still very much their own players. Head here on Saturday from 2pm to find out what all the fuss is about: there’s a mini-festival vibe, with a marquee tent and street food, as well as the chance to taste mash-ups such as Beavertown Tempus Project x Brouwerij Alvinne, aged in wine barrels (but be careful, it’s 9.3%).
Address: Beavertown Brewery Taproom, Unit 17, Lockwood Industrial Park, Mill Mead Rd, London N17 9QP
Telephone:+44 20 8525 9884
Website: beavertownbrewery.co.uk/tap-room
Euston Tap, Euston
Think of the perfect country pub, the village-green, log-fire variety that might have stepped out the pages of The Darling Buds of May. Then think of the exact opposite. This is set on honking, parping, screechy-sirened Euston Road, in a pair of neoclassical station lodges built in 1839 – the only survivors of the original Euston station, demolished in the 1960s. The railway’s Victorian destinations are chiselled in stone on the walls inside – on the boards inside are beers such as Weird Beard coffee stout, a punchy Clouded Minds IPA. You can hop between the two lodges for different beers, but do mind the buses.
**Address:**Euston Tap, 190 Euston Road, Kings Cross, London NW1 2EF
Telephone:+44 20 3137 8837
Website: eustontap.com
Brave Sir Robin, Finsbury Park
Just up from Max’s Sandwich Shop, a local Finsbury Park institution, this is a shining example of the new-wave beer bar with around 20 keg and cask ales on the board, a few appearing just for a week or so. It opened last year, from the team behind Kentish Town’s Rose & Crown, and with a name plucked from Monty Python. From the keg, try Electric Bear from Bath and When It Rains from Peckham; from the cask perhaps a glass of crisp, hoppy Mary Jane from Ilkley. There’s a decent Scandi food menu, too, from Kjot + Elder.
Address: Brave Sir Robin, 29 Crouch Hill, London N4 4AP
Telephone: +44 20 7018 3830
Website: bravesirrobin.co.uk
London Beer House, St James’s
Something of a central London secret. Who’d have thought there’d be a small craft-ale bar just off Haymarket, within a few brushstrokes of the National Gallery? It opened about three years ago, and is handy for a post-work snifter, with taps set into wood behind the counter pouring such foamy delights as Hop Fiction APA, Hoxton Stout and Wild Weather lager.
Address: London Beer House, 17 Royal Opera Arcade, St. James's, London SW1Y 4UY
Telephone: +44 7944 252028
Website: londonbeerhouse.com
We asked Dan Sylvester and Greg Well, the team behind this weekend’s London Craft Beer Festival, for their recommendations:
The Gun, Hackney
‘A lovely little pub with a list that gets better and better each time I visit. Really unpretentious but with good food. It’s run by Nick, who used to be at the legendary Lock Tavern in Camden, so you often chance upon a big name DJ spinning a few tunes. Always a good conversation to be had.’
Address: The Gun, 235 Well Street, Homerton, London E9 6RG
Telephone: +44 20 8985 6296
Website: thegunwellstreet.com
The Harp, Covent Garden
‘This part of town is a bit of nightmare for good pubs and restaurants as it’s tourist central, but this place has retained a proper old boozer feel to it but with some really great beers on. They’ve always got a tap pouring Kernel Pale Ale so I’m always happy to pop in.’
Address: The Harp, 47 Chandos Place, London WC2N 4HS
Telephone: +44 20 7836 0291
Website: harpcoventgarden.com
Kings Arms, Bethnal Green
‘A pub I frequent most when looking for the latest and greatest in craft beer. The team are super knowledgeable but not in a pretentious or off-putting way. So whether it’s a crisp lager or a big bottle of something very special there’s always something pretty interesting to drink.’
Address: Kings Arms, 11A Buckfast Street, Bethnal Green, London E2 6EY
Telephone: +44 20 7729 2627
Website: thekingsarmspub.com
Exmouth Arms, Exmouth Market Clerkenwell
‘Right on the market, and bang in the middle of the food and drink heaven that is Farringdon and Clerkenwell. After work, everyone spills out on to the street, so there's always a good atmosphere. The vibe is great, with a mix of hipsters and suits, and there's good food – it's the kind of place to meet pre-dinner or get in stuck in on an afternoon.’
Address: Exmouth Arms, 23 Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 4QL
Telephone: +44 20 3551 4772
Website: exmoutharms.com
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