The End of a Beera

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I really like The Jolly Butchers. It's one of my favourite pubs in London. It is a happy, friendly and welcoming place where some fantastic beer is served.

It's become my 'local' when I'm down watching Spurs and have enjoyed every minute I spend there.

It's only been open for a couple of years and this relatively short space of time it's managed to secure heaps of awards, it's most recent being the Beard Friendly Pub of the Year from Keith Flett's, Beard Liberation Front. It's also gained a substantial reputation and an affectionate place in the beery hearts of drinkers from North London and beyond.

Did I mention the beers?

The beer choice never fails to disappoint and The Jolly Butchers has done it's bit to showcase and promote the best London's thriving microbreweries have got to offer and it's played an important role in attracting a lot of new drinkers to the wonderful world of gorgeous, well made and very tasty beer.

Many things have made this pub the success that it is but, undoubtedly, much credit must go to the person that has been at epicentre of overseeing operations, sourcing the great beers and sating the beery wishes of it's thirsty customers. The person I'm referring to is Emma Cole, bar manager of The Jolly Butchers.

She's been running the Butchers for a bit now and her knowledge and enthusiasm for beer has made the pub what it is - a hub for excellent beer and all round cracking pub.

However, all good things must come to an end and Emma is leaves The Jolly Butchers today for pastures new and a fresh, exciting challenge. She's taking up residency and will be working her beery magic in one of Brighton's oldest pubs, The Spotted Dog. The pub which dates back to 1790, formerly known as the Hop Poles, has just reopened under it's original name and Emma has been given a free hand to choose some fantastic beers for the pub. Brighton's drinkers are in for a treat.

It's the end of a beera for The Jolly Butchers but the start of a great adventure for Emma. Her farewell shindig takes place at the Butchers tonight and it says a lot for the regard that Emma is held in by London's Brewers that several of them have produced one off beers for Emma's big send off. One, appropriately enough, is called the 'Queen of Stoke Newington'.

I wish Emma all the very best in her new role.

The Jolly Butchers loss is The Spotted Dog's substantial gain.

Good Luck, Emma.
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A taste of Kernel Brewery

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As a regular visitor down to that there London, one of the pleasures I always look forward to is a visit to Stoke Newington's, The Jolly Butchers. Not just because it's a cracking place to while away the afternoon but also because I know that I'm guaranteed a nice selection of lovely, refreshing bottled beers from The Kernel, one of London's finest and best regarded breweries.


One of their stand out beers for me last year was S.C.A.NS IPA. It was a juicy cornucopia of hoppy loveliness in aroma and taste that got it's name from the Simcoe, Citra, Apollo and Nelson Sauvin hops used in creating the beer. So, when I heard that they had just produced a beer called S.C.C.A.NS IPA, I knew immediately that I just had to get my hands on a bottle or two and give it a try.


The hoppy acronym of the beer moniker has been changed to include the addition of Columbus hops to the brew and as I opened the bottle, I hoped that it would be as good as the other Kernel beers that I had previously had the pleasure of tasting.


It poured with a big seductive glug and in my haste to get stuck into it I got a little bit of the yeast sediment into the glass which meant that it was a little bit hazy but was still a vivid amber colour. A quick smell revealed a fresh, vibrant, resinous aroma of tangerine, mango and chewy fruit salad. It smelled fantastic.

lovely, refreshing beer

The taste was even better. It was an explosive and aromatic orgy of new world hoppiness that danced promiscously around my mouth like a Scottish Socialist in a swingers club.  It was punchy, bitter and, as expected, deliciously hopped with strong citrus flavour of sweet grapefruit, orange and Kiwi fruit and even a tickle of toffee.


It finished with a lingering sweet fruity hoppiness and a slight alcohol burn. It is 7.5% after all but the alcohol is very well hidden by the handful of hop varieties used in producing this gorgeous beer.


It reminded me of a gentler, tastier version of BrewDog's Hardcore IPA or Mikkeller's I Beat You. Not as pungent and aggresively robust as the Hardcore or Mikkeller but more drinkable.


So, hats off to The Kernel Brewery for producing another excellent beer. I can't wait to open the bottles of their Black IPA which I've got sitting. I hear that, too, is rather special.





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London Pubs Lead the Revolution

Lovely, London Beer

Pssst! Yeah, You!

Come over here.

I've got something to tell you but you had better keep this just between us.

Closer, so no one can hear a word.

Ssshhh! Don't tell a soul but there is something rather deliciously exciting happening in the world of tasty beer and lovely pubs down that there London.

The Jolly Butchers

In the past few months, there have been the first initial tremors of a potentially seismic beer earthquake in the Capital City. Following on from the success of The Rake Bar and The Cask, two new pubs have opened that are leading the way in changing attitudes to how beer is perceived and consumed. These two pubs are the The Jolly Butchers in Stoke Newington and The Euston Tap just down from Euston station.


One proves conclusively that a pub can be an ale success regardless of the unfashionable postcode provided you are giving the punters what they want, a sublime selection of quality beers from innovative and exciting local and national brewers. The other confirms that there is clearly an untapped market for cutting edge U.S. Craft, eclectic European and diverse U.K. cask, draft and bottles.

London Beer Week

The Jolly Butchers on Stoke Newington High St has been up and running in its latest incarnation since May and in a short space of time has earned a reputation as the place to go in North London to find some of the finest beers around. Particularly, if, in the Jolly Butchers case, the beers are knowledgeably sourced not only from the finest Breweries in London and the Home Counties but also some of the best regarded UK brewers such as Thornbridge and Brewdog.



When I was in it was coming to the end of their London Beer Week showcase that highlighted the depth, quality and brewing pedigree of the Capital's micro's such as The Kernal, Meantime, Brodie's, Redemption and the Camden Town Brewery. Also available were regular's such as Thornbridge's Jaipur and Brewdog's 5a.m. Saint, Punk IPA and 77 lager. The food is rather good too.


What has struck me the times I have been in the Jolly Butchers was the range and ages of people enjoying the superb selection of beers. Not the usual Camra suspects on a day trip from the Bree Louise but a mixture of a young, edgy, left field crowd and well heeled couples going through the various beers with an infectious enthusiasm. Significantly, the beers were being downed by not just men but also a healthy proportion of women.



All around you could hear variations of the same phrases, "What's that you're having?", "You want a taste?" and "What will I have next?". The excitement and curiousity in their questions were almost tangible and an absolute delight to hear.

Havin' a  Butchers

The second pub has only been open since Guy Fawkes Night and has created fireworks ever since. The Euston Tap sits in the Stunning Grade II West Lodge in Euston Square just in front of the Station and it's mission is to "bring London the best draught real ale and craft beer available" and on the evidence of my visit, it doesn't fail in it's mission.

Tip Top Tap

It really is a beer drinkers nirvana with 11 Beers on Cask and 19 Draft Craft Beers (see pics)but that description doesn't do the Euston Tap justice as the beer fridges have to be seen to be believed. These truly are Magic and Enchanted fridges containing the finest selection of bottled beers I have seen in any pub in the UK. The choice is truly a beer perverts paradise. Bottles from brewers near and far include The Lost Abbey, Titan, Left Hand, Founders, Victory, Cantillon, Tegernseer, St Georgen Brau and Magnums of Mikkeller Festival 09 and 10 among many others.

The Bar at Tap

The choice blew me away and left me trapped, frozen like a rabbit in the beer head lights and it took me a few minutes to make up my mind as to what I would have first. I was jumping between the fridges and craning my neck to see the boards above the bar as I tried to narrow down my options. It was almost impossible but I went for lovely Manchester Bitter, followed by a Sierra Nevada Torpedo.

Behind Bars

One was Cask, the other Draft but both were beer and to be honest, I don't care about the method of dispense. If it tastes lovely then get it in your mouth and down your neck. Both were superb and again, temptation got the better of me and I decided to have one more before I made my journey back to the frozen North. I wanted something Big and Hoppy so I went for a half of Great Divide Hercules Double IPA.  It was reminiscent of Brewdog's/Mikkellers I Hardcore You summer collaboration and was full of meaty loveliness.

A Magic Fridge

The Euston Tap really is a special place offering the beer drinker an unrivalled choice in the city. It opens during a very exciting and optimistic time for beer and pubs not just in London but also across the country in pubs such as Brewdog Aberdeen, The Marble Arch, The Grove and the Tap's sister pub in Sheffield. Hopefully, pubs like these, The Euston Tap and The Jolly Butchers are merely the forerunners of a beer and pubs revolution that might just spread to other Cities across the country.

Another Magic Fridge

Did I say ssshhh, don't tell a soul?

Forget that, go to the nearest rooftop and proclaim from the top of your voice that the beer and pub revolution has begun and could soon be coming to a city near you.

The quicker the beer revolution spreads, the better.

Get to it, Comrades.