Nice big Chevy...

As seen on Green Lanes yesterday evening...

Blaaaaaaagh!!!!

Why does Wetherspons new pub N8 have to be so bad?

@jdwtweet

Bad selection of beers, bad beer kept on after complaint, cellarman 24 yrs last 5 in good beer guide

hmmmmm

fun times at Brodies Brewery

Last Friday I went to Brodies Brewery to give a hand at a fermentation-tank change around...

Nobody said they'd be these big buggers...

So then, the three beersketeers got stuck into moving casks, Maddy was racking, and then after a little bit of a struggle (laughs wryly) both FVs were in place(ish)

Up West

Went up West to give blood but blood tech messed up so we ended up in the Champion drinking Sam Smith's wheat beer. Sometimes it's hard to justify beer without donating, but, hey, what the heck....

Seen on the River Lea

Seen near the Anchor and Hope June 2009, aimed at cyclists who tend to try and pass this area far too fast. There are always kids outside the pub, most of whom are not aware of their surroundings, so all cyclists should slow right down.

Rant over.

Spoons beer festival

The Tollgate on Turnpike Lane has been quite a revelation over the past while. The beer quality has been consistently good and the clientele has improved too. Managed to get 20 or so festival beers here in the past few weeks, all were in very good condition with the exception of the"Flying Dutchman" which must have been a mislabelled cask, nothing intrinsically wrong with it but it wasn't a wit bier by any stretch of the imagination. I hope that the new management keep up the good work that Stacey has down in the past few months.

Scene on the River Lea

The River Lea is one of my favourite parts of London. Stretching up from Leamouth at the Thames, up through Bow, passing the rapidly rising Olympic Park,Walthamstow Marshes, Tottenham, Enfield and on to Hertford where our cycle trip normally finishes.
The sad thing about this journey is the way that the pubs have been disappearing over the years. Since we started taking this route we've seen the following pubs disappear:
The Kings Head, The Ship Aground, The Blue Anchor, The Waterside, The Old English Gentleman, The Dolphin, Rifles and probably many more that may not have been visible from the tow-path. All that are left on the river between the Thames and Ware are The Princess of Wales, The Anchor and Hope and The Greyhound.

The Princess of Wales, formerly The Prince of Wales, renamed after Di died, was a regular entrant in the GBG, but sadly having been taken over several years ago, is no longer worth visiting. The beer quality dropped dramatically and we ended up drinking bottled Erdinger. The fact that it is a Youngs pub does it no favours either, as their beers, since they moved to Bedford have not been that good.
The Anchor and Hope was a decent Fullers house, run by an in-law of the Fuller family. Len was ex-army and ran the pub like a military operation. Sadly he died about five or six years ago and all the scrotes that were barred from the Council Estate behind started coming back in, lots of weed being smoked outside and the beer quality was very variable. Over the past year it seems to have improved, so come spring we'll give it another go.
We've never stopped at The Greyhound in Enfield, a McMullen's house as those drinking outside didn't seem to be the most welcoming crew.
On to Hertford and the Woolpack, another Mc Mullen's pub, but a very different class of establishment. By a tributary of the Lea, in the center of town with a pleasant beer garden,well kept Mc's beers and a changing monthly guest. I know that a lot of people aren't fond of McMullen's beers but I think that a well kept pint of AK is a thing of beauty..
Also well worth visiting in town is the Old Cross Tavern, which now brews on-site,two beers of their's I've tried were OXTale and Laugh'n'Titter both of which were excellent.
So there you go, the River Lea and its dwindling number of pubs....