Beer Guide London Visits – 20/04/2024

Upminster Tap Room (1 / 73)

Micropub a short walk from Upminster station. Cask beers are served on gravity from the glass fronted cold room. There are usually half a dozen cask ales on offer alongside 4 draft beers and a small packaged selection. There is an emphasis on showcasing local breweries, but beers from all over the country may be encountered. Guaranteed a friendly welcome here.

Vault City – Pink Guava Lemonade – 4.4% (Draft) – £3.50 1/2 pint

Hop Inn (2 / 74)

Smart micropub in a former shop. 4 gravity cask ales and 5 draft beers alongside an above average cider selection – something it is known for. This bar is only a couple of minutes from Emerson Park station on the Upminster to Romford line which conveniently links the three East London micropubs in the Guide.

Siren – Leapling – 6.5% (Draft) – £4.18 1/2 pint

Gidea Park Micropub (3 / 75)

Micropub in a former shop on the main road. Usually 6 cask beers on gravity with a further half dozen on draft alongside ciders. Cosy with plenty of seating and popular with locals. The third of the East London outlying micropubs which are all conveniently connected by the Upminster to Romford rail line.

Disruption – Tepu – Motueka & Citra – 2.8% (Draft) – £1.99 1/3 pint

Wanstead Tap (4 / 76)

One room venue in a railway arch. This place is the very much a community space hosting cultural events at least once a week. Usually half a dozen beers available on tap with a conscious decision to try and stock beers that you won’t find elsewhere locally.

Loud Shirt – Beach Blonde – 5.1% (Draft) – £2.95 1/2 pint

Pretty Decent Taproom (Forest Gate) (5 / 77)

Original home of the brewery that has now relocated to the Blackhorse Beer Mile in Walthamstow. The original taproom is retained serving 10 taps of their own beers. There is now a Japanese kitchen on site now with food as important as the beer. Good to see them retaining a presence where their roots lie.

Pretty Decent – Macc Loves A NEIPA – 5.5% (Draft) – £3.70 2/3 pint

Mammoth Tap Room (6 / 78)

Smart brewery and tap room in an arch underneath Leytonstone High Road station. 12 taps, half of which serve their own beers and the rest serve well chosen guests. They also have a couple of fridges offering about 30 packaged lines to drink in or take away.

Mammoth – Priam Lager – 4.4% (Draft) – £1.75 1/3 pint

Stone Mini Market (7 / 79)

Pass by on the street and this looks like any other food shop, but step inside and the truth reveals itself. With 4 beers on tap and well over 100 packaged beers this is definitely a place worth visiting. Once through the shop there is a seating area, beyond that a garden. They also now have a pop up kitchen serving a variety of foods, Malaysian and Vietnamese currently on the rotation. An absolute hidden gem!

Pretty Decent – I Could Get Better At T*sco For A Quid – 4.5% (Draft) – £3.50 1/2 pint

North Star (8 / 80)

A couple of steps off the High Road and you are in a rural English village, complete with village pub. This local’s pub has a dozen beers on tap and up to 5 on hand pump, all in excellent condition. This place provides an absolute oasis of calm despite it’s proximity to the main thoroughfare. Plenty of seating inside and out. This is possibly the closest you will get to rural drinking without leaving London.

Mighty Oak – Celestial – 4.4% (Cask) – £2.25 1/2 pint

Filly Brook (9 / 81)

Housed in an old scout hut this restaurant hosts a changing cuisine. The beer list, however, remains above average with 16 on tap to choose from, with some of the best UK brewers represented, there is plenty for all. They are more than happy for you to just sit and enjoy the beers, but I’m not sure if this would be the case should the restaurant be full. A short walk from the tube station this is definitely worth checking out.

Drop Project – Crush – 4.2% (Draft) – £2.15 1/3 pint

Gravity Well Tap Room (10 / 82)

The brewery has now moved to Tottenham, taking over the old One Mile End space, but they have maintained a tap room close to their roots. A split level space under Leyton Midland Road station, with additional seating outside, offering up to 10 of their beers on tap.

Gravity Well – Spacetime Foam – 4.4% (Draft) – £1.75 1/3 pint

Libertalia Brewery Taproom (11 / 83)

Occupying the space formerly used by Gravity Well is this new brewery. Up and running on new kit the tap room has around 5 of their beers available. The saison I sampled on my visit was of good quality. Another venue to add in to the Leyton / Leytonstone area.

Libertalia – Dinosaurs Will Die – 4.0% (Draft) – £2.75 1/2 pint

Mother Kelly’s E20 (12 / 84)

Branch of this excellent group adjacent to the Olympic Park. Airy venue with plenty of seating inside and out. 21 taps serving the range of beers that you expect from Mother Kelly’s. Close to Tap East and not too far from the breweries in Hackney Wick.

Polly’s – Leaf Green – 5.9% (Draft) – £3.30 1/3 pint

Tap East (13 / 85)

Brewery and taproom that is part of the Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford. Luckily it is accessible without having to brave the shopping centre! 10 taps and 3 hand pumps serving their own beers and guests. They also have a couple of fridges offering plenty of packaged beers.

Tap East – Inklin – 6.0% (Draft) – £2.30 1/3 pint

Crate Brewery (14 / 86)

Crate no longer brew here but they have maintained this impressive canal side tap room. Despite the large space, including extensive external space, it regularly gets very busy. As well as the range of their own beers they also do occasional guests and excellent pizzas.

Crate – Apricot & Fig Leaf Sour – 3.4% (Draft) – £2.30 1/3 pint

Howling Hops Brewery & Tank Bar (15 / 87)

Howling Hops claimed to have the first tank bar in the UK with the beers in this spacious tap bar being served directly from massive tanks behind the bar. 10 tanks showcase the diversity of beers brewed on site. Plenty of seating both indoors and outdoors, it can get very busy. There is food available.

Howling Hops – Another Matter – 4.5% (Draft) – £2.06 1/3 pint

Lord Napier Star (16 / 88)

After being closed for more than 20 years this pub has been sympathetically restored and reopened. In a nod to it’s former life the graffitied exterior has been retained, adding to it’s character. A good range of beers on offer, both cask and keg, with a particular emphasis on London breweries. This highlights what can be done with derelict pubs if the will is there.

Pressure Drop – Silent Disco – 4.5% (Draft) – £3.90 1/2 pint

Beer Merchants Tap (17 / 89)

Showcase outlet for the online beer store, and very impressively done. Huge space in an old warehouse with 20 taps and a couple of hand pumps offering quality beers from all over the world. There is also a massive selection of packaged beers in numerous fridges. Screens show sporting events, but don’t dominate. With cheese and charcuterie on offer as well this is one of the great beer destinations in London.

Cantillon – Zwanze 2024 – MMXXIV – (5.5% Draft)
Tilquin – Rhubarbe Tilquin – Draft Version – 4.6% (Draft)