Bricklayer's Arms, Putney

A late addition to our Top 25 pubs tour, the Bricklayer's Arms in Putney was quiet on a Sunday night: literally the kind of atmosphere were the locals look up at you and go quiet when you walk in. Which for a multiple award-winning, often recommended pub that must get a lot of visitors, is kind of strange, no?

They don't seem to serve food, and only two ales appeared to be on offer at the bar. (But a dozen pumps, the rest of them empty, may be promising for a better selection on busier nights?) The bar itself is not very comfortable, but classic, dry wood-floored pub style, with vintage but not terribly imaginative decor. They don't take credit card, or make much effort at friendly service (again, maybe unless you're a local?), and I kind of get the feeling it will be busy, too loud and understaffed on a Friday night. I hope the normal beer selection is what caused Des De Moor to rate this so highly.

St George's Beerfest, Old Mitre

Ye Olde Mitre, near Chancery Lane (which we visited a couple years ago as part of the 25 London pubs tour), held a St George's Day beer festival this week, serving up at least half a dozen patriotically themed ales for the occasion. By the time we attended on Thursday night, there were only three beers left, but we dutifully tried them all. (Unfortunately, a table for four in the already-crowded upstairs bar had been booked for a party of 30+ city shirts, so after our beers we moved on to a more pleasant environment.)

Everards, Ascalon: a dark amber/fruity brown ale, which was pretty much odorless (although the smell of burning bread from the cheese toasties which are the Mitre's only food offering made it pretty hard to smell anything). On the tip of the tongue it was watery, almost bready, and only slightly more smoky and malty in the mouth; maybe a hint of overripe fruit (apple or pine rather than citrus). Then it was woody, yeasty, maybe almost a hint of mushroom earthiness and loam in the swallow. The aftertaste barely lingered, but maybe held a little spice, liquorice and soy. Overall this was more interesting than the insipid first taste suggested, but still meh. (**/5)

County Durham LocAles

Last week I had the opportunity to spend several days in Durham (the north of England one, not North Carolina, where I've spent a fair bit more time), and I resolved to keep my eye out for locally brewed real ales in the pubs there. Disappointingly, the first pub we visited, on the recommendation of locals and students alike (The Shakespeare), served beers from Kent, Cornwall, and Edinburgh, but nothing with even a shouting acquaintance to local.

By the end of my stay, I did come across four beers that were vaguely local (if you count North Yorkshire and Tyne & Weir as well as County Durham itself: I haven't looked up and measured to see if these truly qualify as CAMRA LocAle in that part of the country):

1. We found Jarrow Brewery's Rivet Catcher on the first night, which was a bright, amber-gold colored ale with quite a coarse, gritty aroma and a bitter, fruity taste with a good balance of hops. A little tart on the finish, but overall a pretty satisfying quaff; one to come back to. (tweeted here)
2. Later I had a couple of pints of Stable's Silver Buckles IPA, which was a light-colored ale with a sweet odor, and a very mild first taste; honey, hops and malt were present in perfect balance, and there was a hint of herbs on the swallow. Beautiful. (tweeted)
3. I was only able to manage one pint of Hambleton's Nightmare, described as an Extra Stout Porter, which was a really interesting blend of two dark beer styles. Not quite black in color, with red and brown light coming through when you hold up the glass, but quite a sharp smoky aroma, suggesting the coarseness of a stout. On first taste, however, it's fruity and slightly tart, but then disappointingly watery; it has a very smoky bitter finish. Not bad, but not a keeper. (tweeted)
4. In a popular town-center pub on the last night, we had a pint of Consett Ale Works's Red Dust (served chilled, to my dismay). This was a dull, dark russet in color, with a creamy head and very little odor; I'm not convinced it wasn't from a hydro-keg, to be honest. There was some subtle sweetness in the first sip, a cloying hint of overripe fruit, and some berry on the swallow. It's unfair to judge this beer given how badly it was served, but I wasn't impressed. (tweeted)

On the whole, I like the way they drink their beer in Co. Durham. I'll be back. (And I'll be taking notes.)

Best Pub in London? - 2

This is a follow up to our previous post, about the Bree Louise, that surprised us with the selection of real ale and ciders on offer. Even though we only had some chips to eat, others have also praised their homemade pies and I will probably go back to try them.

Despite being very busy (it was a Friday night), we had good service and managed to get hold of a table while we were still drinking our first pint. Great conversation, office gossip, news sharing and many cheers followed and here are my thoughts on some of the ales and cider I tried.

Brew Dog Punk IPA, clear orange pale ale with fresh, gently citrusy head; dry golden, a bit tingly first taste; bitter and mild on the tongue with a good mix of hops and bitterness on the swallow. And is this mix that made it my favourite of the night. As GB suggested, Punk must be a reference to the cheeky foretaste, an uncompromisingly in-your-face beer.

Tempted by the selection of ciders and because I am in a Perry-liking phase (usually Perry is too sweet for my taste), I tried Weston Country Perry. Very light, extremely sweet but eminently quaffable; like a juice you could have drunk the whole pint down at once. Not much pear in the taste, but much less harsh than an apple cider. Good, but not impressive.

Towards the end of the night, I had a dark ale with a christmasy name: Downton Chocolate Orange. Quite dark golden/brown, creamy porter aroma; shocking hit of chocolate and sweet citrus straightaway, but a bit artificial and it doesn't last, and is replaced by a very palatable bitterness; not too dark-tasting at all, but the noticeable chocolate orange hit is a pleasant surprise.