Leyton’s gem
A few hours after I enjoyed the fantastic Craft Beer Co (see yesterday’s post), I was across town in a very different establishment – but one that was just as good. An east London institution, the King William IV in Leyton is home to the prolific and slightly unhinged* Brodie’s Brewery. A short stroll from Walthamstow (where my brother lives), and we were inside the King William – from top to bottom a classic British boozer. Quiet drinking areas at the rear (deserted), large projector in the front showing the football (quite busy), microbrewery round the back (padlocked).
*In a good way, of course – sadly neither their peanut butter mild or mint choc chip stout were on
People like myself bang on about the amount of choice at the new wave of craft bars, but the King William proves there’s nothing new in this – it has about twenty cask fonts. Each looks resplendent with the ceramic clip, and each – as you’d expect – pours forth the product of the on-site brewery. There may be other beers on offer, but the many-sided bar displayed only Brodie’s beers from where we were sitting (like the hidden rocks of the Ryōan-ji zen garden in Kyoto, no matter where you stand in the pub, you can’t see every tap). **
**I’ve been trying to get that metaphor in a post for three years
So together with my brother, we worked our way through as many Brodie’s beers as we could, as ManU carved their way through the Leeds defence. Two beers I wanted to try, but couldn’t, were the Steel City collaboration Mental Hop Bastard (which was off), and Brodie’s Elizabethan, their 22% epic (which I couldn’t see on sale). But despite that, we sampled nine of the selection – the pick being Hackney Red IPA, Kiwi, and the Mile End Mild. The red in particular was fantastic – packed with Amarillo, Columbus and Citra zing.
As befits a quiet, rainy Wednesday in September, the pub was muted but extremely welcoming. People came and went, regulars took their spots at the bar, and everyone was drinking the local product. The lone barman fired out the halves and pints without trouble, and if time had allowed we’d have stayed even longer – there were plenty of their beers we didn’t managed to get through. Some we tried weren’t in great condition, which was a shame, but most were spot on. At 95p for a half and £1.99 a pint, you can’t be churlish.
The King William is a great pub, a classic. The décor is a touch battered, but it’s a hundred years old – everything feels comfortable. You can find it on Leyton High Road, E10. The nearest tube is Walthamstow Central, at the end of the Victoria Line, and if you see my brother there, say hello. Tomorrow in our best of London series, we visit a brand new brewery in Hackney, looking to make a splash in the capital’s rapidly growing microbrewing scene…
