Wednesday 28 March 2012

Craft Beer Co



This is the Cask Pub & Kitchen’s second pub and as such I was expecting great things, on the whole it does deliver. Great beer, knowledgeable and friendly staff and it’s easy to get to on the central line. All the beers we tried in there were tip top condition. From our first visit on a heaving Friday night for Arrogant Bastard which proved to be a stunningly hoppy yet sweet beer and a rather superb Thornbridge pint.

This place can get very busy especially on Friday nights where it appears that every office worker from the surrounding Hatton Gardens and City have turned up for an after work drink or evening session. Despite the fact that the Craft Beer Co has a generously large upstairs area and a big well designed bar in the main bar it gets so crowded that people are found outside perching on the market stalls which are left out in Leather Lane for the next day and drinking their beer. Guess that gets around the smoking ban without the need for a pub garden…..

It was due to the busy conditions we decided to head back on a Sunday afternoon for another chance to try some more beers and relax in a sunny room chatting. The bottle selection at the Craft Beer Co is not as wide as the Casks; it has a few more unusual items though. The Black Magic stout we tried from the US was wonderful, it claimed to be inspired from Irish Dry Stouts... we wish that Guinness had even one quarter of this taste!

The mirrored ceiling in the main bar is fantastic, especially the rather fab clock face. It is nice to see such a wide range of beers on the bar of any place. I often thought we were spoilt at the Cask with their range of pumps and kegs but here I think most people are catered for on the bar even without looking at the fridges behind the bar.

The Craft Beer Co still has a couple of squeaks when it turns around too quickly but on the whole it is a great addition to the Cask’s new range of pubs. It is just a shame it doesn’t do food, with craft beer places a lot of the beer percentages hit over the 7% abv mark and this in mind you do want food and not to be awkward but one thing we heard a lot on the Friday was folks trying to figure out places to eat in this area when the chippy over the road shut early and you don’t really know the area. Only a small point to an otherwise charming place.


4 comments:

  1. Haven't got one :)

    Keep meaning to join but alwsys forget to until I see another leaflet in a pub.

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  2. Not that far to the Sir John Oldcastle for cheap JDW eats or just across the main road to Jeff Bell's place for expensive eats.

    ReplyDelete