I’ve recently started reet getting into my beers, and I’m keen to find the best bar/pub in London for this reason. Nothing else at all, don’t care what it looks like or the clientele, just solely the best based on beer quality and variety.
Tough one. Maybe the Beer Wankers thread would be a better place to ask.
The best places - selection-wise - are usually not really pubs IMO. Last place I went somewhere that had a selection so big I didn’t know where to start was probably Mother Kellys in Vauxhall. Having said that, these places will have a totally different selection every time you visit.
Have to say, I’m still a fan of Craft Beer Co, mostly because they do cask and keg stuff so you can mix it up a bit, and they’re still pretty much actual pubs. But there are good places everywhere - you never have to travel far. Whereabouts do you reside?
Lots of responses here but not just for the beers. London is a big place, mind…
absolutely agree there’s quite often a tradeoff between atmosphere and selection, as chairman_lmao says
There’s taprooms all over the place, from Beavertown, Pressure drop and verdant up in Tottenham, to a dozen or so on the ‘Bermondsey beer mile’. Then there’s kind of bigger bottle shops, like Mother Kelly’s (vauxhall + Bethnal green) and the wonderful Beer Merchants Tap in Hackney Wick.
My favourite “group” of pubs are owned by the Graceland group - they have the Earl of Essex (Angel), The Axe (Stoke Newington), The Kings Arms (Bethnal Green) which are all superb, and actual pubs and not taprooms. Then there’s the people behind The Euston Tap, Waterloo Tap, Raven/tower bridge tap, which are all fine. (They don’t do schooners though, so…)
Otherwise a few other assorted favs of mine, which have both good beer and a good vibe are - Southampton Arms, Kentish Town (best pub in London obviously), Exmouth Arms (Exmouth Market), The Fountain (Old Street), Duke’s Head (Highgate), Rose & Crown (Kentish Town), Brave Sir Robin (Crouch Hill). You can tell I’m in North London eh.
Oh also these Beer+Burger places that have popped up in Kings Cross and Dalston are surprisingly good according to the TV
Thanks to you and @Tuna. I figured the Beer W thread is more for just posting your wares so didn’t want to hijack! I’m East - central line near the end of the line!
I really like these microbreweries that are springing up everywhere. A friend and I spent a lovely afternoon in one in Brixton but it was such a lovely afternoon I can’t remember its name.
OK, don’t know it too well round there. My sister lives in Wanstead and the Wanstead Tap is OK.
I also have a real soft spot for Tap East. Often take my son up to Westfield and love popping in there. Seems so out of place and is always dead (apart from match days).