Beer Steer

[The Clown]

Clearly there are a lot of beer lovers on this forum.

I confess I am a little ignorant to beer (I used to be a real ale drinker in my teens but now only have the odd lager in the summer).

Last summer I was reminded of the joy of a decent beer and wondered whether other local beer lovers would help me with some beer buying tips (probably starting with some crowd pleasers)

What is good and available from our local shops (Bob's / Bottlecave) ?

What is good and available from our local pubs (draught and bottled) ?

Do any of the local brews stand up to a global standard and to what extent ?

Intrigued, and I thought beer testing sounded like a fun game to play in the run up to Spring....

....In the meantime, whilst I await your kind assistance, I'll be drinking Stout

[JRobinson]

'beer' covers many options!
it all depends on what you like.
I used to like stouts and porters, but recently I've been drinking lambics, saisons, Goze, Gueze, etc, and sour beers.
There's plenty to choose from, and almost everything you can buy in Bobs or Bottle cave will be above average.
Belgian beers tend to be higher ABV so watch out for that.

personally I'd suggest setting some time free to go in and discuss with a shop assistant, what you like, what you don't like, any preferences for country of origin, or as local as possible, and see what they recommend.

[JMLF]

Alongside getting a load of tins/bottles from the shops, tho not cheap, a visit to The Alex would be well worthwhile - can have 1/3 pints and fill your boots across the board and most of the regular taps (about 8 - behind the bar rather than on the bar) have a glass above each to show the colour of the brew. May help decide how light/dark/red etc you prefer perhaps as can’t see through bottles and cans!

Personally, I love a stout (Blackshore at the Alex is mighty tasty), been getting into fruity beers, like almost anything coming out of local breweries Southey (Penge), Brockley and Gypsy Hill Brewing Company (Gypsy Hill!), not tried ignition brew yet (Lewisham based including our own Sydenham Centre) and most Young’s brews (although they aren’t local and wouldn’t be stocked typically in specialist shops).

Hope that helps somewhat! Enjoy!

[PEHDTSCKJMBA]

Hi there,

I think the important thing is to get out there and try new things. The staff in BOB, Bottlecave and The Alexandra know their stuff so can guide you. Also, in pubs in particular don't be worried about asking for a sample of a few things. If you want to jump in at the deep end then Chandos in Honor Oak Park, and The Douglas Fir in Anerly have a huge range of draught beer where you could sample a range of styles.

If you're looking to buy some cans or bottles for home then Gypsy Hill, Villages, and Canopy are probably amongst the best SE London breweries. If you want to expand things to the whole of London then I would say Beavertown, Kernal, and Brew by Numbers are all well respected globally (Beavertown and Kernal are rated in the top 100 breweries in the world by the website ratebeer - https://www.ratebeer.com/ratebeerbest/).

If you're wanting the best that the UK has to offer right now then invest in a few cans from Cloudwater, who are ranked #2 in the world at the moment. Although they're from Manchester I know Bottlecave and Clapton Craft (Forrest Hill) stock some of their beers.

Or if you just want to dip your toe in the water Tesco on the High Street have a perfectly acceptable range priced at 3 for £5. Any M&S foodhall is also a good place to get some good mid range beers.

[The Clown]

Thanks for all of the encouragement guys

Love that the Alex does 1/3 pints. I didn't know that. I confess I have been possibly distracted by their cocktail menu.

I'm very seasonal in my drinking tastes, so likely to go for ale & stout in winter. I'll definitely give the Blackshore a go before the end of season.

"lambics, saisons, Goze, Gueze, etc, and sour" - a whole unknown landscape to explore !

Is there anything you would swap out if you were in charge of one of our fine local establishments?

I'll start with some of the specific recommendations and go from there (Gypsy Hill, Villages, and Canopy).
I am hopeful of finding something relatively local to "support".

[Bovine Juice]

The Alex doesn't do 1/3rd pints but it does do 2/3rds (plus 1/2s and pints)

[JMLF]

The Alex doesn't do 1/3rd pints but it does do 2/3rds (plus 1/2s and pints)

Apologies! Was either slip of the finger or slip of the brain! You can always have a cheeky taster of anything if/before taking on a half or more.

Also very much enjoy canopy also which slipped my mind!

Happy hump day all!

[PEHDTSCKJMBA]

Good shout on Canopy, definitely one of the better SE London brewers and with the Bullfinch taproom virtually next door you can try a lot of beer without going far.

It's possibly a little out of date now but the SE London Beer Hunt map is still a good resource for people wanting to find out what's on our doorstep:

https://goo.gl/images/VZHR6A

[PEHDTSCKJMBA]

Worth updating this to say that The Greyhound has an above average selection of local beers to try. On draught they have Kernal Pale Ale, Beavertown Gamma Ray and Gypsy Hill Hepcat, which are all very good. The Darkstar ales are also worth trying too.