In praise of…the Jerusalem Tavern

Last year on the BeerCast we highlighted the local gem that is The Wellington in Bennett’s Hill, Birmingham. A real local boozer that values well-kept and varied ales above everything else is a treat wherever you live. On a recent trip to London we ventured to a similarly well-regarded establishment – the Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell. Located down a side street a short walk from Farringdon tube station, the battered narrow front door with peeling paint gives little away as to the interior.

Directly inside is a small boothed area, with the bar halfway up on the right – a glass partition hides it slightly from view. The overall impression though is wood – the Jerusalem is small, quiet, and extremely brown. It almost has the feel of a rustic coach house, with the narrow back room and tiny flight of wooden steps up to a rather cute single elevated table. Apparently the pub takes it’s name from the 12th Century priory of St John of Jerusalem, which used to stand nearby.

But the real treat of course, is the beer. The tavern is the only tied pub in London owned by the St Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk – and as a result gets very busy with loyal followers of the Bungay producer. Only their ales are on offer, served from wooden casks mounted in the back wall of the bar. A well-informed blackboard gives the styles, abv and price, so there’s no excuses here – you really know what you’re in for.

I started off with their classic, St Peter’s Golden Ale (4.1%), which was a very appealing deep orange colour. Dry and hoppy, with a touch of fruit and malt, the hops win out at the end and it becomes a fantastic session bitter. Speaking of which, I then moved on to their Organic Best Bitter (4.7%) – as opposed to their regular Best Bitter – which was darker and more malty, with that lovely Northern-style long bitter finish (to which I am biased, after all…). Finally after having been joined by panellist Andy, we plumped for their Grapefruit Beer (4.7%), which was really quite tremendous – slightly cloudy but with a deep grapefruit smell, the taste was zesty and sharp – this one must be refreshing when drunk in summer, and proves St Peter’s can handle all styles of ale.

‘Glad you could join us’, reads a small sign at the back of the Jeruslam Tavern. I’d be quite happy to re-join them every time I got back to London.