London’s shortest pub crawl?
London’s Borough Market has long been a popular attraction for food-loving locals and tourists alike, with plenty of stalls offering choice items from around the world. It can also be a worthy destination for the beer lover, with three fantastic – and very different – drinking experiences within thirty seconds of each other. Inside the market itself is another – Utobeer (pictured above), a beer stall with an outstanding selection of bottled beers – including a regular selection of rare US craft brews. For example, I picked up a bottle of Stone’s fantastic Supremely Self-Righteous Ale (8.7%) – not cheap at £8.20 for 22oz, but absolutely worth it.
Anyway, to begin this mini pub crawl, stand where this photo was taken from – and instead of looking into Utobeer, turn right and the Market Porter will be right in front of you.
Market Porter 9 Stoney Street, London SE1 9AA
Open: 6am-8:30am, 11am-11pm (Mon-Fri); 12pm-11pm (Sat);
12pm-10:30pm (Sun)
Link: Official Website
The first thing that strikes you about the Market Porter is that it looks like a proper pub. Green wooden frontage, colourful hanging baskets, a crowd of drinkers spilled out onto the pavement. There must have been about fifty people outside, getting a quick lunchtime drink in the sun. Inside, every conceivable space on the wall and ceiling is adorned with old pump clips, and the bar serves around ten cask ales. They always have at least one beer on from Harvey’s (when I was there it was their 4.0% flagship Sussex Best). The pub is named after the workers from the wholesale market (which opens from 2am to 8am every weekday), and to cater for the end of their shifts it opens in the early morning – 6am to 9am (last orders at 8:30am).
Beer choice – when I was there I wanted something summery and that I had never heard of before, ending up with a Summer Sizzler (4.2%) from the Coach House Brewery in Warrington, Cheshire. It had a dark gold colour with a thin head, but unfortunately for me was too thick and sweet, with an aftertaste of honey that rode over the session strength to make it pretty unappealing.
The Brew Wharf 14-16 Stoney Street, London SE1 9AD
Open: 11:30am-11pm (Mon-Sat)
Link: Official Website
A short stroll along Stoney Street brings you to the entrance of Brew Wharf, with the iron sign spanning the entrance, set back from the street. As the name suggests, it’s a functioning micro-brewery – but one with an emphasis on food rather than just beer. As a result, it’s probably not for the cask lovers – but they have an incredible range of beers from all over the world. When I was there, on tap were such delights as Straffe Hendrik’s Brugse zot Blonde (6.0%), Meantime Pale Ale (4.7%), and De Koninck (5.0%). The range of bottles was even better, with Mikkeller GIPA (6.6%), Kernel IPA C.S.C (7.1%), Founders Centennial IPA (7.2%), and Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale (6.4%). Admittedly, Brew Wharf isn’t cheap – the latter will set you back £7.50, and a pint of Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted is £4.50 – but there’s a great choice of beer there, and they brew their own after all.
Beer choice – as tempting as those beers above were, I had to go for something produced on site. The day before I’d visited the Kernel Brewery (stay tuned for a Kernel BeerCast special as a future podcast), and Evin had recommended Brew Wharf’s Military Intelligence Black IPA (6.8%). I’m glad he did, it was outstanding – an aroma of sweet malt with a trace of hops, totally black pour with a thin coating of bubbles on top. The taste was some hop and then all roasty malt – it doesn’t taste 6.8% at all, until halfway down when the punch hits. Very drinkable stuff – I had no idea the name was a pun (even though Evin hinted at it) – military intelligence, otherwise known as Black Ops. Black hops. It’s easy when you know…
The Rake 14a Winchester Walk, London SE1 9AG
Open: 12pm-11pm (Tue-Fri), 9am-11pm (Sat), 12pm-10:30pm (Sun)
Link: Utobeer (who own The Rake)
If you leave Brew Wharf and turn left, a few seconds meander will put you at the junction of Winchester Walk (where Brew Wharf morphs into Vinopolis). A small blueish building on the right is one of the smallest pubs in London – the Rake. This tiny room (I judged it to be about 15ft x 10ft) has a small bar at the back, with a couple of large fridges, and a patio outside underneath a jumbrella – which pretty much doubles the size of the establishment. The staff are really friendly, and the right-hand wall is emblazoned with signatures of the many brewers who have stopped by over the years. Being owned by the same people as Utobeer certainly means a fair number of beers (around 120) find their way into the fridges, with a decent selection on tap as well. I can imagine the Rake would get incredibly busy (i.e. if there were more than ten people there), but a trip to Borough Market isn’t complete without trying to squeeze in.
Beer choice – I’d been to Utobeer earlier and had bought a bottle of the BrewDog/Mikkeller collaboration I Hardcore You (9.5%), being the first time I’d seen it on sale. As it happened, the second time was when I entered the Rake and found it on tap – so had to order one (I’ve kept the bottle for a rainy day). A blend of Brewdog’s Hardcore IPA and Mikkeller’s I Beat You, and at £2.60 for a half – it was too much to pass up. Outside under the jumbrella, thick, dark amber with no head to speak of. There’s a massive hop aroma, and a dark, sweet hop flavour with a resinous bitterness. Rich, punchy mouthfeel and that US craft-esque long piney aftertaste, I Hardcore You is outstanding. It reminded me a little of Stone’s Ruination IPA – and you can see how highly we think of that from our BeerCast rankings. A great way to finish London’s shortest pub crawl.
