Beer Guide London
A guide to London’s best pubs, bars & brewery taps + all breweries.
- Deletion from the Guide : The Stag, Belsize Park - Beer range no longer merits Guide entry, Jan 2026
- A 25 minute walk to the days final stop, Cask Pub & Kitchen. The original and best. 22 taps, 10 handpumps and an aged bottle list to die for!
- Bus, tube and walk south to The Star Tavern. Classic Fuller's mews pub. 7 taps and 4 handpumps of their own beers. The cask Pride is in fantastic condition.
- Another walk brings us to The Southampton Arms. Second visit in a week but that is no bad thing!
- Ten minutes walk down to the Magdala which is closed for maintenance... Onwards another 5 minutes to the Stag which is now a Young's pub with a very mainstream list.
- Fourth stop is one off the to-do list The Tipsy Dog in Hampstead. A bottle shop with c120 packaged beers and up to 4 beers on tap.
- A couple of stops back on the tube to Bohemia House. Czech bar and restaurant with 8 beers on tap.
- Just been told that the new furniture in Beer + Burger came from The Stag in Belsize Park which is now closed. It was on my list for later so I'll still swing by to double check.
- Short journey on the Jubilee Line to Willesden Green and the branch of Beer + Burger. They've changed the interior seating to individual tables rather than the long benches. Still offering a great range across 20 taps plus the extensive packaged selection.
- Short bus ride up to the South Bank where the food market has reopened after its winter break. Stop 2, therefore, is Hop Locker. 10 taps of great beer, today offering the full @elusivebrewing.com Oregon Trail range.
- Good morning! Another early start on what may be a wide ranging day. First up is The Hercules in Lambeth. A Fuller's pub with a good guest list across 20 taps and 5 handpumps.
- A short bus ride to my 12th, and final, stop of the day, Ghost Whale (Putney). 8 taps plus 10 fridges.
- A very slow bus journey that terminated short saw me eventually get to stop 11, Sambrook's Brewery Tap. 15 taps and 4 handpumps featuring their own beers plus guests.
- Headed south and stop 10 is Mother Kelly's (Vauxhall). 30 taps in this railway arch branch of the family. Range of beer as good as you would expect.
- Another 10 minute walk to stop 9, The Black Heart. Another Graceland venue with 16 taps. One of my absolute favourites. I love the vibe here, but then I'm a big rock and metal fan!
- A stroll along the canal to get to stop 8, Werewolf Tap Room. Brewery and tap room in a railway arch. 8 taps, mostly their own but with some well chosen guests.
- Just over ten minutes walk down towards Camden where stop 7 is 3 Locks Brewery Tap. 10 of their own beers on tap, plus packaged, in this canal side tap room.
- Less than five minutes to stop 6, Camden Beer Hall, taproom for Camden Brewery and still home to their smaller kit. Used my Beer Passport for bogof, but pricing here still penalises those going for smaller measures.
- A bus and walk in to the back streets of Kentish Town and Tapping The Admiral. Popular locals pub that offers a good choice across its 10 taps and up to 10 will kept cask ales.
- A ten minute walk to stop 4, and one of the greats, The Southampton Arms. Proper boozer that offers a fantastic choice of beers across 8 taps and 8 superbly kept cask.
- A short walk up the road brings me to stop 3, Caps and Taps. Another great bottle shop that also has 5 beers on tap. Imagine that! 3 stops! Before 12:00!
- A short bus ride and I'm in stop two as soon as it opens, Clapton Craft (Kentish Town). 4 beers on tap plus an extensive packaged selection.
- Good morning! And it is a glorious morning with clear blue skies. Bonus is not one but three early openers! First up is The Duke of St Albans, a Graceland pub on Parliament Hill. 16 taps and 6 handpumps including a really good red IPA from the house brewery Saint Monday.
- Deletions from the Guide : Fountain Tap, Shoreditch - Closed in Autumn 2025 The Royal Oak (Marylebone), Marylebone - Beer range no longer merits Guide entry, Jan 2026
- Due to road closures and bus changes it is a 25 minute walk to my final stop of the day, The Clement Attlee. Formerly known as Craft Beer Co (Limehouse) the only changes are the name and a smart new exterior. Inside you'll find the usual great Craft Beer Co range across 21 taps and 7 handpumps.
- A walk and bus brings me down to The Angel of Bow. Classic locals pub with a better than average range of beers across the 16 taps and up to 3 cask.
- Short bus ride down to stop 5, the Victoria Park branch of Pretty Decent. Housed in the former East London Distillery. A dozen taps of their own beers.
- Next door to Crate Brewery. They no longer brew on site here but there are a dozen of their beers plus some guests available. Busy, but not as busy as in the summer!
- Short walk to White Post Yard where stop three is Howling Hops Tank Bar. 10 of their beers served directly from tanks behind the bar
- Finally I'm in stop 2! The Lord Napier Star. Reopened after a long closure and now offering some good beers across the 16 taps. They have 2 handpumps but I've yet to see them in use.
- And we're off! Starting today and, given the beers available, potentially finishing at Beer Merchants Tap. 20 taps and 1 cask ale available. I'm trying to stick to just 4 x 1/3 but they include Stille Nacht, Pohjala Baltic Porter and Cantillon Nath... What could possibly...
- Apologies to those of you who missed the details of my Guide visits yesterday. I forgot to switch accounts and so they were posted on @musinganorak.bsky.social instead. Normal service will resume here in an hour or so!
- Another short walk to today's last visit, the Masons Arms in Teddington. Classic locals back street pub. 8 taps and 4 well kept cask. Bring cash!
- Short bus ride to Teddington where stop 9 is another Big Smoke venue, The Abercorn Arms. 12 taps and 4 cask. A mix of their own beers plus guests.
- A walk to the centre of Kingston and the always excellent 7000 Jars Of Beer. Bottle shop that also offers 6 on tap.
- Bus and walk to the Park Brewery Tap, but all closed up. Presumably the same temporary cold weather closure as last year. I continued walking to the new stop 6, and second Big Smoke pub of the day, The Albion. 15 handpumps, some cider, and 20 taps. A few guests available.
- Bus, tram and train brings me to stop 5, The Antelope in Surbiton. Birthplace of Big Smoke and still will plenty of their beers across the 14 taps and 10 handpumps.
- Bus out to stop 4, The Dog House in Beddington. Cosy micro pub with up to 6 gravity ales available.
- A couple of minutes walk to stop 3, Green Dragon. Large corner bar with a good selection of interesting beers across its 26 taps and up to 8 cask.
- Bus back in to Croydon where the second stop is Art & Craft CR0. Great little bar in the market area with 10 taps and a well stocked fridge.