Crate Brewery, Hackney Wick
The sprawling industrial estate that stretches along the Lee Navigation canal at Hackney Wick has, in recent years, been infiltrated by artists, creatives and, most recently, brewers in search of affordable space. For instance, Crate, a tap room for the brewery next door, is a stark, exposed concrete box decked-out with rugged upcycled furniture. It also has plenty of outdoor, canalside seating for summer. Naturally, its own beers dominate the bar (try the sparky, mango-tinged pale or the terrific imperial coffee stout), but Crate also carries some A1 guest beers and a truly excellent range of bottles and cans. Its fridges include selections from key craft brewers such as Kernel, Wild Beer and Evil Twin, some real connoisseur’s classics (Old Chimney’s Good King Henry stout), and several rare imports and one-offs from bottles of Oregon-based Hop Valley’s Alpha Centauri imperial IPA to Thornbridge’s 10th anniversary special, Jaipur X. Such stock is evidence of how dedicated hop-heads are travelling to this burgeoning beer enclave in increasing numbers. Howling Hops also brews in Queen’s Yard (see entry), while, a short walk along the canal, the Plough at Swan Wharf – a cafe-bar with a huge, grungy courtyard terrace – serves a compact range of craft ales, including beers by another Hackney Wick brewery, Truman’s (pint from £4, 60 Dace Road, 020-8525 9541, hackneyplough.co.uk).
• Pint at the Crate from £3.80, Unit 7, Queens Yard, 07834 275687, cratebrewery.com
Old Fountain, Shoreditch
This freehouse by Old Street tube station has been run by the Durrant family for the past 51 years, but no one could accuse of them of letting the grass grow. You can still get a pint of Fuller’s London Pride here, but the Fountain’s fridges and 17 cask and keg pumps otherwise offer a sterling array of contemporary craft goodies. About half the pumps are given over to London breweries, such as Five Points, Partizan and Camden Town, but, perhaps more interesting is the regularity with which less obvious brewers from across the UK are given a run out on the taps. This fly-past was notable for the appearance of a couple of beers from Macclesfield’s Red Willow, while you can expect to see beers from such remote craft stars as Argyll’s Fyne, Cornwall’s Harbour or Cumbria’s Hawkeshead, to name but a few. If your tastes are more transatlantic, the fridges contain plenty of US bottled beers too.
• Pint from £3.80, 3 Baldwin Street, 020-7253 2970, oldfountain.co.uk
Howling Hops, Hackney Wick
Small brewpub chain Zerodegrees would probably take issue with Howling Hops’ claim to be “The UK’s first dedicated tank bar.” But, that point of order aside, there is a lot to like about this venue where you can drink fresh beer, direct and unfiltered, from 10 huge steel tanks. This rough-edged warehouse space is very much a working brewery. If you nip to the loo, you might see the bottling line in action and there are pallets of malt and torrified wheat stacked by the entrance. What it lacks in creature comforts, however, this place certainly makes up for in tasty beer. Its pale XX uses citra, cascade, centennial, simcoe and cascade hops, to create a firecracker of a brew, one florid with sherbet, gooseberry and lime flavours.
• Pint from £4.30, Queens Yard, White Post Lane, 020-3583 8262, howlinghops.co.uk
Mother Kelly’s, Bethnal Green
If your idea of a good time is not just drinking beer, but simultaneously choosing more beer to take home to drink later, then you will love Mother Kelly’s. This railway arch bar and bottle shop is home to several huge fridges stacked with superb beers to drink-in or takeaway, many of them lesser-known, highly-rated imports, such as Natt imperial porter from Norwegians Ægir or the US Tunnel Vision IPA. That quality and global perspective continues at the bar where influential UK brewers (Magic Rock, Northern Monk) rub shoulders, across 19 keg taps, with new names such as Estonian micro, Põhjala. At just 2.8%, the Siren Half Mast IPA I sampled here was one of the most layered and complex sub-3% beers I have ever tasted. Friendly staff and a warm feel mean Mother Kelly’s is somewhere you will happily linger, too. Although, if you want to keep moving, it is worth noting that Redchurch Brewery’s nearby tap room is open Thurs-Sat (schooners from £2.30, 275-276 Poyser Street, 020-3487 0255; theredchurchbrewery.com). Where better to drink its Great Eastern? Arguably, the best British IPA.
• Pint from £4, 251 Paradise Row, 020-7012 1244, motherkellys.co.uk
Kings Arms, Bethnal Green
The Kings Arms’ owner, Barworks (in east London, see also the Well & Bucket and the Singer Tavern), is on a mission to prove how, if you put great beer front and centre, pubs can thrive, even at a time when some 30 are closing every week. The Kings Arms is militant in that regard. It’s on a residential side-street, and is an unprepossessing space – a simple dark green, wood-panelled room – that serves minimal food, but which has astounding beer to spare. Two fridges are packed with imports from iconic craft brewers such as Mikkeller, Crooked Stave and 3 Floyds, while 12 keg and four cask pumps dispense a mix of on-point UK beers (Mondo, Red Cat, Big Smoke) and further exotica from foreign climes (Bronx Brewery’s rye pale ale, Brekeriet’s sour barrel-aged wheat beer from Sweden). A sample half of One Mile End’s Snakecharmer IPA, given an interesting creamy, peachy note from its use of the Sorachi Ace hop, was very good. If you find yourself in Whitechapel, One Mile End is based at the White Hart brewpub.
• Pint from £3.40, 11A Buckfast Street, 020-7729 2627, thekingsarmspub.com
The Sebright Arms, Bethnal Green
This pub and gig venue may, in many ways, be the last word in east London cool (craft beers, street food, hip music), but, to a large extent, its charm lies in how it evokes a lost, very different era. A dimly lit cocoon of carved wood panelling and red velour banquettes, it looks – but for the lack of fag smoke – like the kind of vintage East End boozer that used to feature in old episodes of Minder. Beer-wise, thankfully, things are far more up to date. The Sebright’s three cask and five keg lines, as well as its compact bottled selection, have a notable London focus, with breweries such as Brick, Gipsy Hill, Mondo, Five Points, Weird Beard and Hammerton to the fore. Truman’s impressive Zephyr, a zesty, hop-forward pale ale, was in perfect condition.
• Pint from £3.90, 31-35 Coate Street, 020-7729 0937, sebrightarms.co.uk
The Fox, Haggerston
The Fox looks like a typically gussied-up, gastrofied London pub: lots of wood and bare brick, some mismatched antique-y furniture and a smattering of trendy art. The clientele of young professionals seemed curiously unfazed by the background music, which veered, distressingly, from lachrymose Radio2 indie-rock to Elton John. One thing that the Fox cannot be faulted on is its beer. Whoever is buying it in, clearly knows their hops, with such stellar names as Siren, Wild Beer, Burning Sky (arguably, Britain’s best new brewer; its Aurora was, as ever, a pleasure), Four Pure and Brew By Numbers jumping out across its cask, keg and bottled menus. Talking of bottles, the Fox has famously installed a craft beer vending machine that, sadly, appeared to be turned off on this visit.
• Pint from £4. 372 Kingsland Road, 07807 217734, thefoxe8.com
Duke’s Brew and Cue, Haggerston
Duke’s is primarily a restaurant serving slow’n’low BBQ, but, as the birthplace of Beavertown Brewery – both businesses are owned by Logan Plant – its small bar area is something of a pilgrimage for beer fans. If you are happy to hover or are lucky enough to grab one of a handful of seats, you can work your way through four dedicated Beavertown keg lines (including one that showcases its experimental Alpha Series beers), as well as a comprehensive range of its cans – the dry, citrusy Quelle Saison is a particular highlight. Elsewhere on the bar, there are five other keg lines and one cask to go at, as well as a couple of fridges stocked with a very discerning selection of beers. From Moor’s new “live” conditioned cans (yes, like bottle conditioning, but in a can), to beers from California’s revered Firestone Walker, there is top quality on every shelf.
• Pint from £4.50, 33 Downham Road, 020-3006 0795, dukesbrewandque.com
King William IV, Leyton
This huge, handsome Victorian boozer – a period piece decorated with some fascinating historic bric-a-brac – is, in many ways, the perfect high street pub. It is still a lively, unpretentious community hub (complete with dartboard, fruit machines and big screen football at the weekend), but one that has superb craft beer at its heart. It is owned by Brodie’s, whose brewery is next door, and you will usually find about 11 of its cask beers on, priced at an inclusive £2.75 a pint. Things become more exotic across eight keg lines, which showcase Brodie’s edgier ales, such as its Belgian coffee brown ale, its evolving London sours (cherry, this visit), or the barrel-aged versions of its pale ales and stouts. The 7.4% Soho Superior IPA was everything you would hope: thick’n’sweet, loaded with tropical fruit flavours and, yet, bracingly bitter. It certainly made the diversion up into Leyton worthwhile. Try to use Leyton Midland Road train station, which is only a few minutes’ walk away; the nearest tubes are a significant walk/bus ride away.
• Pint from £2.75, 816 High Road, 020-8556 2460, brodiesbeers.com
The Cock Tavern, Hackney
With its dark, plain interior and vintage beer pumps, the Cock Tavern is one of those modern pubs that longs to be a no-nonsense Edwardian beer house. A quick scan across its 16 cask and keg lines confirms how seriously it takes all things ale. The best contemporary London breweries are well-represented: Anspach & Hobday, Brixton Brewery, Pressure Drop and Big Smoke, whose Electric Eye pale was all honeyed melon with a fine, almost paracetamol-sharp bitterness to it. Meanwhile, high-quality additions from around the UK, beers from Liverpool’s Mad Hatter (never pass up a chance to drink its Toxteth IPA), Manchester’s Cloudwater, Berkshire’s Siren and Bristol’s Wiper & True, add variety to the mix. The Cock is also something of a brewing hub. Someone was busy making a house perry and a bit of a mess on one of the adjacent tables (cider is big here, too); Howling Hops started brewing in the Cock’s basement – its beers still feature heavily at the bar – and that cellar space is now occupied by new brewery, Maregade. Apparently, it is a Danish word, pronounced mar-a-gella.
• Pint from £3.40, 315 Mare Street, thecocktavern.co.uk
Rail travel between Manchester and London was provided by Virgin Trains, journey time normally 2hrs 9min, single fares from £20. Book online at virgintrains.co.uk
