Are there a handful of special beers that are very hard to find (or impossible) in the western states that I might want to look for in London? If there are any great pub reccos, special credit for being near pimlico/Westminster.
Thanks!
Begins and ends with…
Brian G can fill in the rest
My list definitely begins and ends with The Kernel
also:
Partizan (right down the street from The Kernel)
Beavertown
Siren
Weird Beard
Five Points
others not from the London area, but you should check them out if you see them:
Magic Rock
Rooster’s
Buxton
Craft Brew Co. is my favorite London pub – strictly for their awesome keg, cask, and bottle selection. They have two or three locations.
The Harp is an awesome old/classic pub that shouldn’t be missed, provided you want a bit of old-school classicism with your pints
I’d also recommend going to Wine Pages – the main British wine forum – and check out the Beer subforum there — do a search for London pubs, and you’ll see lots of old threads populated with the opinions of the locals.
[quote=“Brian G r a f s t r o m”]My list definitely begins and ends with The Kernel
also:
Partizan (right down the street from The Kernel)
Beavertown
Siren
Weird Beard
Five Points
others not from the London area, but you should check them out if you see them:
Magic Rock
Rooster’s
Buxton
Craft Brew Co. is my favorite London pub – strictly for their awesome keg, cask, and bottle selection. They have two or three locations.
The Harp is an awesome old/classic pub that shouldn’t be missed, provided you want a bit of old-school classicism with your pints
I’d also recommend going to Wine Pages – the main British wine forum – and check out the Beer subforum there — do a search for London pubs, and you’ll see lots of old threads populated with the opinions of the locals.[/quote
As Brian says, it begins and ends with The Kernel, we spent a boozy afternoon there last year with Brian and Ashley and fell in love with their brews,
Cheers,
Bud
I can attest to the Kernel (thanks to BG) . If these made their way across the pond they would be huge.
Agreed Joe, after we met Brian and Ashley we bought a case for the rest of out trip, great brews and a really fun place to hang out. I loved their IPAs and Pale Ales, very west coast in style.
Cheers,
Bud
and their Porters and Stouts are nothing to sneeze at, either!
In fact, I think most of the best beers I’ve had from The Kernel have been stouts. I have one lonesome bottle of that incredible 10.0% Stout still sitting at my offsite … it will be a bittersweet day when that cap is pulled …
We took two of the stouts with us too, great stuff, we enjoyed one after a very cold damp day back in our cozy room at our B&B after a cold day a Stonehedge. It was a memorable bottle to say the least.
Cheers,
Bud
You’re in luck. Cask (6 Charlwood Street, SW1V 2EE) is in Pimlico and part of The Craft Beer Co. chain.
Best places to buy beer in London:
The Bottle Shop (Bermondsey, SE1) - open to the public Saturdays and by appointment other days. Check their website for beer list; probably the best selection in the UK but heavily US-focussed
Kris Wines (Camden, N7) - most bases covered but particularly good for Belgian beers (including Cantillon, Tilquin, Girardin…)
BottleDog - (Holborn, WC1X) BrewDog’s bottle shop
Utobeer (Borough Market, SE1) - stall within Borough market; same owners as The Rake
Best places to drink beer in London:
Mother Kelly’s (Bethnal Green, E2) - this is the only US-style tap room in London
The Queen’s Head (Kings Cross, WC1) - good option if you’re near Kings Cross
The Craft Beer Co. - they have several pubs across the city
BrewDog - several pubs across the city
The Rake (Borough Market, SE1) - good option if you visit Borough Market; one of London’s first craft beer pubs
The Lyric - the best option if you’re in Central London (Soho, W1)
King’s Arms (Bethnal Green, E2)
Earl of Essex (Islington, N1)
Southampton Arms (Gospel Oak, NW5) - personal favourite and the only ‘proper pub’ in this list
Best UK breweries:
Burning Sky - 4th on Ratebeer’s recent ‘10 best new breweries in the world’ list
Wild Beer Co
Siren
Buxton - personal favourite - been making great beers for a while but have stepped things up a bit recently - still underrated
Magic Rock
Beavertown - London-based. They have a tap room (open Saturdays) but it’s quite long way out of a town
Partizan - London-based and open to the public on Saturdays
Kernel - London-based and open to the public on Saturdays
If you’re in London on a Saturday, the following are all open and close to one another (in Bermondsey): Kernel, Partizan, The Bottle Shop (who also have draught beer) and The Rake. There’s another brewery in that part of town that didn’t make my list above but is still worth checking if you’re local: Brew By Numbers
Thanks all! This is great=. Much appreciated!
FYI- The advice to get thee to kernel is dead on the money. They are making some fine fine beers. I smuggled as many home as I could get in my suitcase. Loved the whole line-up from the Pale Ales to the sours.
I thought the Buxton beers were OK. BrewDog was pretty good for a more widely available line-up. If I could have shed the wife and kids more often, I would have tried a lot more. 
I think about the last time I was in London drinking beer and I was hitting the Whitehorse and others pouring real ales. A lot seems to have changed since then.