All about the Beer 53
New Beginnings. Happy New Year
Welcome to 2025 in a city of good pubs. I still have 665 pubs that I know of but have yet to visit. I have been to 775 but only told you, dear reader, about 260 before today, so there is a big adventure ahead. I hope your year proves as good as I believe mine will be, at work, at home and in a pub.
The Adelaide, Teddington (Rating 8.5) TW11 0AU
This is a pleasant two bar pub. It serves three Shepherd Neame ales. I chose Spitfire (4.2% ABV). It was a decent temperature at 15.2 degrees. It was tasty and refreshing. The pub is notable for being close to Teddington Station, though not as close as The Railway. The Railway is my absolute favourite in Teddington. The Abercorn Arms and Red Lion are also excellent. This is, in my view, the fourth best but in a town of many pubs, that is an accolade.
Burlington Arms, Piccadilly Circus (Rating 9.4) W1S 2JL
This pub has a more refined clientele than others I visited today (mostly in Soho) but there are a million of them here today and getting to the bar is a challenge. I am enjoying Twickenham Winter Sun. I had it a year ago in The Norbiton and enjoyed it. I'm enjoying it again now. 4.4% and 16 Celsius are the vital statistics. The pub is small but well adorned and I am tempted to come in a month not beginning with December. That said, I discover that, in my database, this is the best pub I have visited in W1. The next two are Lore of the Land (English Lore) and The Coachmakers (Allsopp’s IPA).
Jam Circus, Deptford (Rating 8.8) SE8 4NS
This is an Antic pub. We like Antic pubs. This is like a double fronted retail unit or former Snooker Hall on the High St within metres of the station. It has four working hand pumps serving house (Volden) beer, Sharp’s Sea Fury, Exmoor Ale and Wadsworth 6X. I'm a West Countryman but not from Devon or Cornwall, so I chose 6X. It is 16 Celsius and very, very tasty. It must be the Deptford Vibe because this is the second pub I have visited and both are seriously dark. I'm not complaining. I'm half blind, so it doesn't help but hey, George Harrison is singing Here comes the sun. That makes all the difference.
Rising Sun, Edmonton Green (Rating 8.7) N9 9EF
There are no Animals singing, but this is a Public House called the Rising Sun. I am drinking a seasonal Vale Red ale called Scarecrow. I had it three days ago in The Antelope. It is 13.4 Celsius and it is fiercely tasty. The ABV is 4.5%. The pub has classic public and saloon bars. The interior is mock tudor. The landlord apparently doesn't like ale but serves it well and knows what he is talking about. My longstanding friend from Winchmore Hill joined me and we had a pint of Courage Directors. Of the four pubs in N9 that I have visited, this is my second favourite. The Beehive wins on beer temperature.
The North Star, Leytonstone (Rating 8.7) E11 3AR
The pub is in a minor residential street, five minutes from the station. It offers five ales and I am having my second pint of Oakham JHB (John Hudson Bitter). I am liking it just as well as I did in Plumstead two weeks ago. It is 3.8% and 12.9 Celsius, neither of which is perfect but I like the taste so that's what I am imbibing. I am breaking my own rule and am having a second drink. It is Burning Sky Inclination (4.8% ABV) which is a brown ale and even tastier. I had a different Burning Sky beer last Saturday but I didn't notice this before I had ordered the JHB. This is even better. I rate this as the second best pub in E11. My other favourites are Duke and Cuckfield.
Pint of the Week: Vocation and Friends by Floc Brewery. It is 5%. It was served very well at The Trafalgar in South Wimbledon. It is an Amber Ale. It looks darker than many and has the density of Guinness but, to my palate, a superior taste.