Real Beer In London
Introduction
London pubs can probably boast that they serve the most diverse selection of beers between them - even after all the brewery shakeups in the past few years.
However more and more of them seem to be becoming part of chains and losing their individuality. An example of this is the destruction of the Firkin chain, but look at the number of All Bar One's, Slug & Lettuce's and the pretend Irish bars like O'Neills that have appeared. Now I'm not saying they're all bad, I mean I do drink in them sometimes myself but it does feel that they're taking over at the expense of pubs with a bit of character.
However, luckily there are pubs that do care more about their customers and also serve a varied range of fine beers that are well looked after. Most pubs in the Wetherspoons chain also offer a good selection of beers and their prices are very reasonable. But sometimes the Wetherspoons pubs are criticised for their lack of soul. The Hogshead chain used to have a good reputation for selling good beer, and like Wetherspoon's were quite happy to let you try unfamiliar beers before buying a pint. Unfortunately their focus has moved on from real beer
Well-Known Breweries
London is served by a number of excellent breweries - mostly small concerns but the largest is Fuller's of Chiswick.
Up until recently Young's were based in Wandsworth, but they have now merged with Charles Wells and the beers are brewed in Bedford. Both breweries produce an excellent variety of real ales including seasonal beers as well as the regulars. Unfortunately Young's no longer produces it's own prizewinning lagers - although the bottle-conditioned 'Champion' is still made. Both have large numbers of tied pubs in the capital - especially on the western and southern side of the city.
 Fuller's of Chiswick |
 Young's of Wandsworth Bedford |
I have been on trips round both the Fuller's brewery and the old Young's brewery in Wandsworth - interesting and refreshing experiences!
Other Breweries
The Firkin Pubs
When I first put this site together in 1999 my third entry here was going to be about the Firkin Brewpubs - a chain that started out in London in the late 70's and brewed their own unique beers mostly on-site in each of the pubs.
But the chain was bought by Bass in late 1999 and they ceased production of the Firkin beers and sacked all the brewing staff. Many of the pubs lost their individuality after the takeover and some struggled since the Firkin brews were a unique selling point. After a while most of them were converted to O'Neills pubs - plastic Irish theme pubs.
Dogbolter was one of the stronger Firkin brews and my favourite - a dark, rich, heady pint. It was best not to have too many of them though...
Click here for more information about the Firkin pubs..
Smaller Breweries
- Meantime Brewery - Located in Charlton, SE7
- Freedom Brewery - Located in Hammersmith
- Horshoe Brewery - Located in Hampstead
- Grand Union Brewery - Located in Hayes (Middlesex)
- Brew Wharf Brewery - Located in Southwark
- Twickenham Fine Ales - Located in Twickenham