I'm going to London which pub should I visit?

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (duke) wrote in news:b6228159.0401301040.69088630 @posting.google.com:

None, save that for your trip the Czech Republic or Germany.

I'm hoping to try a good bitter

Many choices. Most pubs are "tied" to one brewery, but you often have a choice of several bitters from one brewer. There are some "free houses" which will give you the ability to drink beers from many different brewers, hopefully some not often found in London.

Try to get a copy of CAMRA's GOOD BEER GUIDE before you go. It's available in many good US book stores (used to be published here, as well, under a different name).

When in March? How about a CAMRA beer festival:

London Drinker Beer & Cider Festival 2004

MAR 17-19 (Wednesday-Friday): LONDON DRINKER BEER & CIDER FESTIVAL at the Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London, WC1 (Close to Kings Cross / St Pancras). Open Wednesday & Thursday noon-3pm & 5-10.30pm; Friday noon-10.30pm. Last admission 10pm. CAMRA members admitted free Wednesday & Thursday lunchtime, at £1.50 all other times (non-members £2.50). Charles Wells sponsored beer tasting Thursday lunch, early arrivers qualify for free draw to enter. A range of beers, ciders, perries & imported beers (draught & bottled). Details as they become available at

If you haven't heard of CAMRA, go look at

Lots of them, in spite of what non-Londoners might tell you. Best bet is to pick up a copy of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide, 2004 edition.

Or maybe look on the web. One guide that ain't half bad:

As few as possible. Most British-made lagers are unexceptional. You might sometimes find a good imported lager, like Budvar, on tap. But you're there to support Traditional Cask Ale, right? (Yes, you are.)

That aforementioned Good Beer Guide will tell you many good things. Most London pubs are 'tied' houses or part of pub chains, and beer selection is limited. If the house is tied to the likes of Young's or Fuller's, that's generally not a bad thing. And some pubs with brewery ties still have great selections of ales on, like the White Horse (a regular entry in the GBG).

You might see some familiar British beer names in London, but if you're ordering them in cask-conditioned form, it's rather unlikely you can get them in America. British cask ales occasionally show up on the western edge of the Atlantic, but nothing like in the abundance they have in their own country. However, maybe you've not tried, say, Hall & Woodhouse's Badger ale, in which case you might want to visit the somewhat unique Ship and Shovell pub, hard by Charing Cross station. Just for starters, anyway.

Under thirty, theyd have night clubs with dancing (well, long long ago they had - the pubs, go to any well known one)

The best beer I had in London last time I was there was the Oyster Stout from the Porterhouse (of Dublin) at their London pub in Maiden Lane.

Beleive it or not I found some good, reasonably prices beers at various Wetherspoons pubs. Anyplace that charges a premium for Stella and the like over Real Ale gets a "atta-boy" from me.

I would recommend the CAMRA Good Beer Guide -- even if you only find and older copy, its still worthwhile.

Fred.

Agreed!

Wetherspoons pubs can be found at

They always have a good selection of real beer, and have regular guest ales on tap.

dgs wrote on 30 Jan 2004:

Went to that festival last year. I'd recommend going earlier in the week rather than later; by Friday early afternoon, several casks were empty, including all the perries and most of the cider (the wife was less than pleased). But the hundred-plus casks weren't just bitters and milds; several anniversary-type beers in the mix alongside a few stouts, even. Beers ranged from about 90p to 1.50 for a half-pint, double that for the full pint, naturally.

But then he won't get as much alcohol as possible with every pint! Oh, the humanity.

Otherwise, the usual free houses are well worth visiting, of course: the aforementioned White Horse, Parsons Green, Market Porter, Head of Steam...

Witzel

It surprised the piss out of me to learn this, but the White Horse, in spite of its exemplary selection of cask ales, is a "Mitchells and Butlers" (read: Bass) house, not a free house. The place has simply had the good fortune to employ the most assertive, astute, and forthcoming cellarmaster in the UK.

The Head of Steam, of course, is a great reason to arrive early to wait for one's train to elsewhere.

Tack on the Wenlock Arms to that list of free houses, but don't forget classic tied houses like the Lamb or the Calthorpe Arms in Bloomsbury, serving Young's beers, or Fuller's superb Star Tavern in Belgrave Mews West, or Fuller's delightful little Victoria, a street-corner pub in Bayswater, not far from Lancaster Gate tube at 10a Streathern Place.

Shh! This one is a secret ;-).

Well slap my ass and call me Shirley. It's most certainly not tied, by any stretch of the imagination, that's fer sher. Even had a couple Belgians on tap the day I visited.

Yes, but I (thought I) was talking about free houses. Star Tavern looked very posh when we stopped in, but it wasn't food hours so it was mostly empty. Decent pint of ESB, a little more diacetyl than I would have hoped, but the surroundings were lovely. Churchill Arms in the Notting Hill area?, is a fine Fuller's tied house as well, with Thai food to boot.

But I can't really get into the Best London Pubs as I've been there but once. I need to go at least a second time to be considered a local.

Witzel

Technically Kensington, but the Notting Hill Gate Tube stop is closer than Kensington High Street. (It's Notting Hill north of whatever that street is there, and Kensington south.)

And, yes, the place is an excellent Fuller's house. And very good Thai food. Ate/drank there during the heat wave of 2003. There were fans in the restaurant. Like most places, they had trouble keeping the cellar cool, so the beer was a bit off. Pity. Fuller's ESB is one of those rare beers that is better than the hype.

Damn you, you stole my joke even before I had the chance.

Anyway, I've been there twice. Well, three times if you want to be technical. You can get decent Young's and Fuller's pretty much anywhere in the city. Which is one of the reasons I prefer the White Horse. All sorts of non-London stuff. Westminster Arms or somesuch (located along Whithall between Trafalger Square and, well, Westminster) is also good for that sort of thing, although the beer's not quite as well-kept. Well, now that I look at my GBG, it could be Lord Moon of the Mall that I was thinking of, since it's actually on Whitehall.

-Steve

Yeah, that. Funny how we didn't share notes prior to your going to London yet wound up in many of the same pubs.

If you want the brain, I won't be using it tomorrow.

Lord Moon (the Weatherspoons pub) was a short walk from our hotel, and had about eight casks (six were on, two had "kicked", or whatever the term is in England). Excellent, and while the food was unexceptional, it was ridiculously cheap. Lots of youngsters swilling lager around dinnertime though, leaving the Harviestoun, Caledonian, Shepherd's Neame, and some other casks to me.

The Westminster Arms was also quite close, and featured a couple of good casks - Gales HSB, for starters, and the only Young's I drank the whole trip - and a playful lesbian couple in our little corner of the pub.

Nice choices. Remind me to go again.

Witzel

Not to this Yank ... nor to the GBG. But don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Mum's the word. Wouldn't mind a drop of that Golden Pride, though...

The brewery tie shows in a rather unexpected way: Staropramen, which was owned by Bass, and now owned by Interbrew. There were at least two tall Staropramen tap towers when I was there in August 2003.

Sure, but there are some brilliant tied houses, even in overpriced Londinium, and some tied houses can have fairly good 'guest' beers on at times. And I liked Hall & Woodhouse's Badger ales, served at the Ship and Shovell pub, very close to Charing Cross station.

But you've been there once, so you're already nearly a local.

I like the Grange on Ealing Common. Old Peculier on draft, among others.

A couple of recommendations for exceptionally good British lager (which many CAMRA types willfully ignore) - Zero Degrees microbrewery

Conveniently close to each other and lots of touristy historical stuff.

Jeff P

Get your hands on a copy of Time Out magazine's Pubs and Bars Guide.

. Try any