D ON ON L Special Summer issue 2012 LONDON , C ITY OF BEER - A V ISITORS ’ G UIDE EST 1721 23-25 NEW END • HAMPSTEAD VILLAGE • NW3 1JD A proper British pub • Immaculately kept local beers and microbrews • Hearty home cooked food and snacks • Sun trapped beer garden • 250 ales served in our first year Best Tel: 020 7794 0258 London Pub of the Year 2011 twitter: @dukeofhamilton Fancy a Pint Reviewers www.thedukeofhamilton.com Awards 5 PINT RATED PUB All ales £2.70 a pint Mondays and Tuesdays. See website for ales on tap. Welcome to London London Drinker is published by Mike Hammersley on behalf of the London Branches of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale Limited, and edited jointly by NDON Sarah Bleksley and Mark Davies. O Tel: 07747 494840. L Material for publication should preferably be sent by e-mail to [email protected]. Correspondents unable to send letters to the editors electronically may post them to Brian Sheridan at 4, Arundel House, Heathfield Road, Croydon CR0 1EZ. Press releases should be sent by email to [email protected] Changes to pubs or beers should be reported to Capital Pubcheck, 2 Sandtoft Road, London SE7 7LR or by e-mail to [email protected]. For publication in August 2012, please send electronic documents to the editors no later than or over 500 years, London has more about them and there is no Monday 9 July. Fbeen producing modern style doubt that, alongside Fuller’s, all SUBSCRIPTIONS: £7.00 for mailing of six hopped beers. During King Henry these new breweries are making editions should be sent to Stan Tompkins, 52 Rabbs Mill House, Chiltern View Road, VIII’s reign, his warships stopped in London a centre for excellent beer Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 2PD 1512 at Wandsworth to pick up once again. (cheques payable to CAMRA London). beer. At that time, the water in the Some pubs that date back to the ADVERTISING: John Galpin Tel: 020 3287 2966. city was not safe to drink and so beer first recorded modern beers still Printed by Cliffe Enterprise, was drunk instead. It is not surpris- stand and many, despite moderniza - Eastbourne, BN22 8TR ing that London was a centre for beer tion, still retain some original details. Views expressed in this publication are those production since it is very close to The odd mixture of the old and the of their individual authors and are not Kent where the hops used to flavour new makes many pubs special. In her necessarily endorsed by the Editor or the Campaign for Real Ale Limited. beer and make it bitter are grown. article on heritage pubs, Jane Jeph - British beer was brewed to trav- cote describes some of the best pre - Advertise in the next LONDON DRINKER el all over the world and during colo- served historic pubs to visit. A lot of Our advertising rates are as follows: nial times was shipped to India and London’s pubs are from the period Whole page £325 (colour) £260 (mono) the Americas. The names of some of Queen Victoria’s reign (1837- Half page £195 (colour), £145 (mono) beers such as IPA (India Pale Ale) re- 1901) and have typical features of the Quarter page £105 (colour), £80 (mono) flect this. IPA was a strong, highly time such as horseshoe (U) shaped Phone John Galpin now on 020 3287 2966, Mobile 07508 036835 hopped beer made to survive long sea bars, dark wood panelling and etched [email protected] journeys, such as the journey to In- mirrors with the name of the origi - dia. London beers are mentioned in nal brewery owner. Many pubs Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Shake- continue to be split into small In this issue speare’s plays, Charles Dickens’s ‘booths’ by wooden partitions. Some novels, and too many other old Eng- of the quietest and most private British beer styles 6 lish books to list. places in London are inside these In recent times, pubs and brew- booths. London breweries 10 eries came under more pressure With pubs being a big part of from takeovers and 20 years ago, British life there are many customs Heritage pubs 18 there were only five breweries in and traditions that have become Pubs for food 22 London. After Young’s moved their part of the experience. Many British production to Bedford in 2006, people have a ‘local’. This is not al - CAMRA Membership Fuller’s were the only large scale ways the closest pub to where they brewer of cask beer (‘real ale’) left in live or work, but is the pub where form 35 London. But over the last 5 years they spend most of their time. The many new breweries have appeared landlord (or manager) of the pub and Pubs for imported beer 40 and there are now 26 brewers in the many of the staff will know their reg - Theatreland pubs 48 Greater London area. Most of these ulars well and normally call them by are very small ‘microbreweries’. name. At first it may seem rude that Award winning pubs 52 Their beers can be hard to find in staff will talk to their regulars while most pubs but they are generally very serving, but this is another custom. Cider in London 56 interesting and of good quality. Pubs Then there is the ritual of closing with several handpumps on the bar time (usually 23:00 on weekdays) Richmond pubs 57 are likely to stock at least one of when a bell is rung first to declare ‘last these. Des de Moor’s article explains orders’, for customers to buy their last 3 Welcome to London drink, and second to indicate that the staff have The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) runs a na - stopped serving. tional Pub of the Year competition and the London The handpumps on the bar have shaped signs pubs that have competed in recent years are described (called ‘pumpclips’) which, when facing you, mean in Geoff Strawbridge’s article. For more information that the beer is available. If the staff have turned the on CAMRA activities in London, visit www.camralon - pumpclip around to face the bar this means that the don.org.uk where you will find the regular London beer has finished. Beer, being a living product, has a Drinker magazine, also available in many pubs. For limited life. Sometimes you will receive a pint where all kinds of events in London pubs this summer, vis - the white foam (‘head’) at the top is very large and it www.londoncityofbeer.org.uk or follow twitter @LD - the staff will offer to ‘top it up’, which means fill up NCityOfBeer . I hope that you enjoy your beer ex - the lost space due to the head. They will usually do periences in London and try as many of our amazing this after the beer has ‘settled’, when the foaming has and historic pubs as possible. stopped. Christine Cryne writes in more detail about beer styles. A wide range of flavours is possible from us - ing just malted barley, hops, water, and yeast – far wider and more interesting in my opinion than even wine flavours. The range goes from light, sour lemon at one end (where a lot of hops have been used) to deep hot chocolate, when the barley is malted (roasted) to a black colour. In summer it is more traditional to drink light, hoppy beers that are more cooling and refresh - Now in case you were wondering, my local is… ing. London is, however, home to a number of styles. I have three: the Antelope in Tooting, the Hand in The most interesting of these is the dark ‘porter’ or Hand, Wimbledon Common (see page 34) and the ‘London porter’ style that was used to keep the porters Harp near Charing Cross (page 53). Currently (bag carriers) at London’s markets warm in the win - my favourite beer is Sambrook’s Pumphouse Pale. ter. I hope you will find some of these to try this sum - Cheers! LD mer. Mark Davies 4 Real ale and British beer styles eer sold through a handpump is usually ‘real tones tend to dominate the flavour but there may Bale’. It can also be called ‘cask-conditioned beer’ be a light hop flavour or aroma. Light milds may be and the best place to drink real ale is in a British slightly fruity and dark milds can have roast and pub! caramel notes. Milds are not very bitter and are Real ale is unpasteurised, unfiltered and is a liv - typically less than 4.3% ABV (alcohol by volume). ing product. Once brewed, it is put into a cask where it Bitters: There are all sorts of continues to ferment (sec - beers under this term from ondary fermentation). This ‘session’ bitters, which are develops the flavour and the quite low in alcohol (below natural carbonation and so it 4% ABV), to ‘Best Bitters’, is served without added car - which are a bit stronger up to bon dioxide. Real ale is ‘Strong Bitters’ that can be as brewed from traditional in - strong as 6.5% ABV. All gredients: malt (malted bar - these beers have a hop and ley), hops, water and yeast. malt character with some In Britain, the Campaign fruitiness. As a bitter gets for Real Ale (CAMRA) has stronger, the mouth feel be - campaigned to keep this comes richer and caramelised rather unique beer style and helped to lead to a world - fruit notes can be picked up. The stronger beer can wide revival of beer appreciation – there is a whole often be sweeter.