The Draft House - Northcote

Thanks to the new shiny pub guide book I was given we decided to try out this one which neither myself or my partner actually knew about. Usually when we are in the area we head to the Falcon near Clapham Junction station for a drink, fantastic pub with well kept and regularly changing beers. But the temptation of a different bottle range of beers plus American & Belgium beers on tap proved quite a draw for us to wander further up Northcote Road than we would normally.

According to the blurb in the book The Draft House opened back in 2009, it is one of a small chain of three bars. It is a small place, if you know the Harp in Charing Cross then think along those lines but without the upstairs part. Luckily we arrived early enough on Saturday evening to bag a table in the window and after adjusting the curtain so cut out the cold December wind when the door opened it was a snug warm seat.

The staff are friendly and knowledgeable on their beer range and also will point out prices to you so you don’t get a surprise when you come to pay. The bottle range is good although small; it doesn’t have anything particularly unusual or rare. Well, not if you are used to hunting out the weird and unusual from the Rake or Cask. I tried Left Hand’s Milk Stout which was a lovely sweet beer whilst my partner tried a Ginger Tom which was good although I couldn’t tell the difference between it and Fentiman’s Ginger Beer which is one of the ingredients to this beer. The milk stout was a new style for me and I enjoyed it, Left Hand beers are really worth trying if you see them.

The beers on cask and keg do tend towards the pale, IPA and lagerly beers with a couple of porters. All are very well kept; indeed the selection seemed to sell very well as the place soon became packed with lots of people after varying beers. Sadly the only dark beers on the bar were Porterhouse’s Plain Porter, which I found to be bland; by bland I mean it was exactly like Guinness and Meantime’s London which is ok, better than the other but still not one I would willingly go for. But given at least they had two dark beers on its better than what a lot of other pubs do.

We didn’t eat here but the food from the kitchen did smell gorgeous, this is definitely a place I would come back to for a drink with friends or with my husband for a quiet drink and chat.

The pub guide did us proud for this trip and I have talked (badgered) the husband to trying a few trips out to other parts of London in search of the others held within this book. It’s a doable task to tick off all the pubs held in this book I am sure!

The Draft House
94 Northcote Road
Clapham
SW11 6QW

London's Best Pubs

By Peter Haydon &Tim Hampson

As a surprise pressie I received a copy of this book from my husband this weekend. Strangely despite my drinking habits and enjoyment of pubs I don't buy beer or pub guides although I do have a copy of the Good Beer Guide on my iPad but again that was the other half loading it on before giving me the thing. However it is a very very good book to get a bit of history of the pub you are currently sitting in or thinking of getting to. The maps that head each section are clear and useful, which should make the process of finding some of them easier.

For each pub there are a couple of pictures, a brief mention of typical beers served and it's history. No critical remarks on beer quality though, one of the pubs mentioned I know from trying it a couple of times that it serves beer in appalling state knowing that people head to it because it is a historic pub not for a drink. Local office workers drink wine rather than beers so why bother keeping the beer in a good state is the attitude. Oh well.

If you are beer drinker and you know London you may differ in opinion to the writers on the best pubs in each area, I was surprised that the Falcon near Clapham Junction wasn't there for example but we all have our own favourites in places. Good book, not pocket sized but definitely handbag sized.

Only ONE To Say.....

Alan Moore and I'm at the London talk........

Squeek!

Cask's Norwegian Fest

In my first ( maybe last ) live blogging attempt we have headed to the Cask Pub & Kitchen for their Norwegian beer festival. Before now I haven' t really tried that many foreign beers, there was the Japanese sweepstake beers and mainly American beers but not many from elsewhere, so the Cask provides an excellent opportunity to correct this glaring missed phase in my beer drinking.

First up is Aegir's Sumbel Porter, and this almost wants to make me weep. A light full flavoured dark beer that whilst lively when pours drinks like a dream and I know that I have almost no chance of seeing this again on a bar in this country. Unlike most porters in this country there are no red flashes glistening in the glass when lifted to the light but chocolate ones instead. The flavours of chocolate are similar to Saltaire's chocolatic beer but follow though with a light sherry note instead. Served cold from keg it is delightful but even better when the beer warms slightly and the Christmassy boozy taste comes though in spades. Beautiful beer and one I will remember with great fondness.

So far the Norwegians are proving to be as good as UK brewers.

Second round and now I have my partner in on the game so he has one of these beers too allowing more beer trying. Hubby opts for Rallar Amber ale it is a very pleasant bitter with a sour mashed banana note to it for me although he says "I'm getting fruity notes with a tart chocolate undertone" channelling his inner food and drink critic. I actually opt for a lager namely the Brime Red wish more lagers were like this. Malty carmelly goodness in a glass! These two conclude our delve in Aegir's beers as I don't fancy the IPA but still have Haand beers to try. :)

We decide to only go for two mainly due to percentage and also because I have to get up at 5am tomorrow for a run. Hubby's tipple is the Menno &Jens which is a wheat beer. Judging from excited squeaks it is a good wheat beer for me I dislike it as I do all wheat beers. Mine is the sublime Bestefar a dark barley wine affair of a beer, again another beer I will think of with a fond tear in my eye. Smooth, sweet with an alcoholic kick of a mule yet dangerously drinkable.

I'm glad we headed here today for these beers, truly not something to miss. The prices for these beers are not cheap but given this is a rare chance to try such unusual beers in this country it is a price well worth paying. Also it is worth noting that these beers wouldn't be much cheaper in their own country. Money aside these beers have influenced my taste buds to look for the qualities I tasted in here in beers from both this country and others. Excellent stuff.

Typical Happenings in My World

My husband took great glee in yesterday, he had in my all his loveliness brought me an iPad after numerous hints from me on how much I wanted one. I was presented with my new toy with lots of laughter on how I could do live beer blogging with it due to it's lightweight nature and being able to fit into my handbag.

Of course I promptly went out without it as I didn't want to damage it and stumbled onto a beer festival at the Falcon in Clapham Junction. Oh how he laughed.

Typical.

Tap East At Westfields Stratford

Sunday shopping, what other thing could cause fear and dread to leap into my heart? Well, Christmas shopping but that's changing the subject. The husband wanted to have a look at the Apple store so we also got the chance to go to the new Tap East as my treat for actually walking though the shopping centre doors.

It is in the markety bit of the centre so it feels calmer than the main drag of Westfields which is full of people taking their offspring around GAP and Boots. The neighbours of the Tap are some rather nice eateries, Lebanese cuisine instead of McDonalds, Indian instead of Pizza Hut so all good. The Tap itself is rather nicely designed open format bar, with a clear wall section to allow you to see the microbrewery set-up.

For those of us who have been to the Rake in Borough Market, imagine that but bigger and you have it. It is a good well run bar with lots of staff for when it gets busy and also importantly knowledgeable staff that aren't afraid to say 'I don't know but bare with me whilst I ask for you'. Thumbs up for these guys. The beer is well kept and the prices are very reasonable for this part of London.

We enjoyed a couple of good pints before and after shopping, Thornbridge's Seaforth being very quaffable indeed and so was Windsor & Eton's Conqueror. Whilst I still dislike shopping at least the husband has a place he can leave me when shopping in this neck of the woods.

According to the upcoming events the tapping of the first Tap East Microbrewery beer will be on the 9Th November at 4pm for those in the area. :)

Badger Brewery's First Gold

This was the beer that I got as part of my goody bag from the Half Marathon on Sunday. I do rather like the new labels for the Badger beers although I'm sure that the Blandford Flyer was just Blandford Fly before.

The beer itself is a nice light bitter with a smooth citrus finish, at 4% it would make a nice session bitter. It pours quite lively with a fluffy white head which does last until the end, very attractive drink indeed. This would have been a nice bottle to open on that hot Sunday after the race had I not been so knocked about. Maybe next year.

For more information: http://www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk