B is for the Bull

Having spent too much time over the past couple of weeks playing football rather than drinking beer, Friday evening was finally the time to reach 'B' in our ramble around the alphabetic pubs of London.

The Pub

View A to Z of London Pubs in a larger map
The Bull is a tremendous brew-pub nestling slightly off the beaten track in leafy Highgate. On the Friday evening of our visit, it was comfortably populated, resulting in a pleasant atmosphere, a choice of seating and quick, friendly and informative service at the bar. The football was being shown on a screen in the corner for those that were interested, but sans sound so as not to be intrusive to footballaphobes. The evening was accompanied by a good indie music selection being played at a volume that still allowed conversation. The prices, especially for the Bull's own, were reasonable, to the extent that I even got change for a tenner for a three-pint round, which is definitely a London rarity.

The Beer
Several beers brewed on the premises, which is a definite positive for us. A couple of strong guest beers on offer too.

• Cornish Orchards Cider - consumed outside and solo by Lager Boy, before the arrival of the rest of the team. Still, sweet and dangerously appley, only experienced men of apples would dare take on too much of this potent brew.
• Hops and Mops - this 3.9% pale ale very much split opinion. Lager Boy said it was very much not his cup of tea, the dominant taste was of fairy liquid: more fail than pale. I however enjoyed the hoppiness that made the Hops and Mops the most refreshing of the ales sampled.
• Beer Street was described by our guest as 'a bit thin', to the complete disappointment of the staff. It's fair to say that our guest and I did both enjoy this one, and mine disappeared remarkably quickly, which speaks volumes about my enjoyment of it.
• Routemaster red ale was next on board. Bustling with flavour, it marked a significant departure from Lager Boy's usual route. We both enjoyed this one, which was full-bodied and well accompanied by a couple of bowls of the excellent house chips, which were almost on a par to the legendary Moysey family chips. High praise indeed.
• Veltins (website in German) had previously been sampled at the Crown and Vic in Tintinhull, back in the Somerset homeland. Lager Boy finds this very much to his taste, and knew what to expect from this classy number that he feels should be more prevalent in our pubs.
• Dark Star Festival was the heaviest of the beers sampled this time, and was maybe a touch too 'meaty' for my tastes. That said, it grew on me as I drank it, so the initial response may have been tainted by following the much lighter Hops and Mops.
• When Lager Boy asked for a surprise, I went to the bar to investigate the lagers on offer, and the barmaid very helpfully suggested the Anchor Summer Beer that wasn't yet even advertised. We all agreed that this was a fantastic suggestion, as the Anchor was crisp, refreshing and delightfully drinkable. Lager Boy suggested that this alone could be reason enough to return to The Bull.
• A half of the Raspberry Wheat Beer was provided 'sur la maison', and was chosen as the only one of those brewed on the premises that we hadn't sampled. Surprisingly beery, with more than a hint of Raspberry. Certainly not really to the taste of any of us, but not at all unpleasant. We did, however, end up playing coins to decide who should finish it off.

The Verdict
So, all in all a very successful evening. Our guest, Tim, said, "what a bloody enjoyable experience this has been!" The pub ticked a lot of boxes, the beer was generally enjoyable, and the staff were very good. We also got some assistance from another punter regarding possibilities for that awkward 'X', although there are 21 more letters to get through before we reach that.

A is for the Albany

So, after an evening spent at the London Zoo lates (Kozel, served a bit warm, and overpriced; Sambrook Wandle, much better kept and more sensibly priced), we walked around the edge of Regent's Park and found ourselves at The Albany, which was clearly an ideal starting point for an A to Z of London pubs. Having some guests with us meant that a number of beers were sampled, both ale and lager.

The Pub

View A to Z of London Pubs in a larger map
The consensus amongst the group was that the Albany was a pretty decent boozer. We managed to find a table for 7 of us to sit at, but it certainly wasn't quiet, and there was some sort of event going on in the basement. The range of beers was pretty good, and generally seemed to be well kept. The prices were reasonable, for this part of town at least, and service was good throughout the time we were there.

The Beer
Several beers sampled here, the responses to which were varied:

• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - An increasingly well-recognised tipple from across the pond, almost acting as a bridge between lager and ale. Described as hearty and robust by our guest taster, who was happy with his choice.
• Meantime Pale Ale - As a fan of this Greenwich brewery, I thought I'd give this a go. I was happy with it, and found it very refreshing, although one of the guests didn't enjoy it at all, citing the 'over-flowery' aftertaste.
• Vedett Extra White - So similar that it was referred to as a gentleman's Hoegaarden, and appreciated by those who like that sort of thing. Not served with a slice of fruit in it, but enjoyed regardless of the lack of novelty St. Clements touch.
• Elbow's build a rocket boys, brewed by Robinsons - it's difficult to say how much the Mercury-winning mancunians really had to do with 'designing' this beer, rather than choosing the one they liked the most, and in any case it seems that they have plumped for something delightfully standard, as our guest taster had very little to say about this one.
• Adnams Diamond Ale - A fan of the Adnams brewery generally, I couldn't resist having a pint of this special celebratory ale, and I wasn't disappointed. While much sweeter than I would normally care for, due to the Suffolk honey used, I still enjoyed this one, although I couldn't have gone back for a second pint.
• Camden Hells Lager - Lager Boy enjoyed this one, in a fairly standard lager sort of way.
• Adnams Broadside - Another Adnams choice, and much more of a 'real beer'. Well kept and enjoyed as expected, which led to ponderings regarding whether blind tasting would have produced a more realistic (less favourable) review.
• Grolsch Blond - Lager Boy suggested that this one wasn't much different to a normal Grolsch, and was fairly standard.

The Verdict

Beer well kept, wide selection, service good, prices reasonable, punters happy.

Welcome

We will be drinking our way around London's Pubs, from A to Z. Watch this space!