After days of snow, the weather relented and Paul Rayner's East London Ale Trail could go ahead as planned on Saturday 3 March, 2018.
My morning train from Newbury to London Paddington ran on time allowing arrival at Whitechapel tube station rendezvous by 11.30am. Our small group called in for beers at most of the places on the
map Paul had devised.
The White Hart Brewpub, 1 Mile End Road
Mother Kelly's, 251 Paradise Row
Forest Road Brewing Co,
8 Netil Lane
London Fields Brewery Tap Room, 365-366 Warburton St
The Dove, 24/28 Broadway Market
The Cock Tavern, 315 Mare St
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| The Cock Tavern E8 - Brewpub with 24 taps of indy beer & cider |
Paul mentioned that The Cock Tavern was once a Truman's pub with a typical entrance door on a corner. More recently the pub's basement was the original home of Howling Hops Brewery. In January 2018 @TheCockTavernE8 tweeted that 'Tim & his team from @HowlingHops will be brewing at The Cock again soon! They'll use the OG kit for
interesting small batch stuff available exclusively here on the bar.'
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| John, Paul, Jennie & Andy - The Cock Tavern E8 |
Sat around a table away from the door, we decided to skip intermediate stops on the planned trail and catch an Overground train from Hackney Central to Hackney Wick (2 stops towards Stratford).
Meanwhile, Andy Pinkard would leave the ale trail here and catch an Overground train in the opposite direction to Highbury & Islington.
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| new Hackney Wick station construction on left |
Our group alighted at Hackney Wick, where there is evidence of construction work for a new station building.
We walked to Crate Brewery via White Post Lane where large blocks of flats are under construction. The barrier screens around the building site are covered in street art and graffiti.
Howling Hops and Crate Bar both have entrances from an open area. On the far side of the Lee Navigation smoke or steam emerges from a power station chimney.
We headed to Crate Brewery first. A stainless steel extract chimney services the pizza ovens just inside the entrance.
The bar furnishings are industrial style
and appropriate for the warehouse type setting. The open pizzeria kitchen occupies the space behind the bar.
A range of Crate cask and keg beers are served. Pizza menus are available from a cylindrical stand.
My choice here was Crate Session IPA (£2.10 for a half pint). Having enjoyed several good pale ales already today, this Session IPA was somewhat disappointing but this can partly be explained by the low 3.6% ABV and my jaded tastebuds. As there were no free seats at the large tables we stood near the windows overlooking the Lee Navigation where extra outside seating is popular on warmer days. The soundtrack was obscure but distinctive house music style at a medium volume. At one point we were identified as potential brewery tour ticket holders waiting to be inducted but this was a mistake. After a short wait the generous offer of a slice of Paul and Jennie's pizza with a sweet potato topping was delicious and welcome nourishment.
It was only a minute's walk from here to Howling Hops Tank Bar and it was still daylight when we went inside.
The ten tanks, standing immediately behind the long bar, are near the entrance.
My beer choice here was from tank 3. New England Special IPA hopped with Mosaic, Motueka and Citra. It was my favouite beer on this visit to Hackney Wick.
This was 6.9% ABV so the standard 2/3 pint dimpled glass cost £4.10. Beers with ABV of less than 6% cost £3.10.
Nearly all the tables were full but Jennie found a gap where the four of us could squeeze onto opposite bench seats. I generally like New England IPA style beers and the Howling Hops example was no exception. There is no canal view here but the 'beer hall' style room was light and expansive. As the light outside dimmed, the volume of conversation inside rose and the lack of soft furnishing did nothing to absorb this sound.
We emerged into twilight and crossed the Lee Navigation using the White Post Lane bridge. The lights from the Arcelor Mittal Orbit and the London Stadium, now home to West Ham United, were visible in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to the south east.
Heading north along the towpath of the Lee Navigation we passed the white Crate Brewery building and then passed under the railway bridge.
We continued on, past canal boats moored to the banks, underneath a pedestrian bridge and reached the new building partly occupied by Mason & Company, our final destination on the trail.
As we had found earlier at Mother Kelly's, the changing draught beer list was detailed on a printed menu available at the bar.
There were 5 beers from Five Points Brewing Co and many from breweries based in the South West of England including Harbour, Wiper & True, Verdant, Wild Beer Co (2), Eight Arch, Firebrand, Electric Bear. Other beers were from Affinity (Bermondsey), Zapato, UK (Leeds), Brewsters (Grantham) and De La Senne (Brussels) as well as an urban cider from Hawkes Cidery (Bermondsey).
My choice of Five Points XPA (Extra Pale Ale, 4% ABV) was £2.35 1/2 pint. At the end of a day spent drinking pale, hoppy beers, this one did not especially impress as much as it would have done otherwise.
After the well worn surroundings of Howling Hops Tank Bar, the clean lines of Mason & Company were a complete contrast. The pale wood gives a Scandinavian feel. The low tables and benches are slightly spaced apart giving more room and privacy but not much more comfort.
From here it was possible to return to Paddington in less than an hour by Overground and Tube and with train services disrupted it was possible to catch the delayed 20.03 train that would otherwise have left before my arrival.
Thanks go to Paul and Jennie for arranging this ale trail. Keep an eye on Paul's Twitter account and blog for trails in other destinations including an East Bristol Brewery Trail and reports on beer festivals.
