William the Fourth, E10

First visit to the impressive building forming the Brodies brewery tap. It was dark when we arrived so it was hard to see much of the exterior detail, but there is a fair amount to see once inside. Apart from the curiously-shaped bar in the main room, there are plenty of traditional pub features such as darts, bar billards, brewery mirrors, etc. Some 13 of the 20 handpumps scattered around the counter were in operation, with a vast array of beers ranging in strength from Summer Stout (very light at 2.8%) to Romanov Empress Stout (a whopping 12.1%). There are also five more (unused) handpumps in the smaller rear room. My pint was fine, and very cheap at £1.99, but there were issues with some of the beers tried by others - hopefully a one-off experience, or perhaps they are just trying to offer too big a range at any one time?

Since we were in the area, I was understandably keen to pop in to the Brodies brewery tap. And with a choice of a dozen or more of their beers at £1.99 a pint, I thought I couldn't go wrong. Oh dear! My pint came out the consistency of mud. On pointing this out, I was advised to 'let it settle'. Further enquiry indicated a replacement would not be available. On returning later, I had a better pint of a wheat beer, but this could itself be described as 'tired'. Those who have been more often than I say that this sort of quality is unusual. I do hope so: a reputation is far more easily lost than gained and I would like to think that James & Lizzie are on top of quality issues in their flagship pub. When I next find myself in E10, I will pop in and I really would like to find a few Brodies beers that have travelled from the back of the pub (where the brewery is) to the front (where the bar is) in rather better condition than on this visit.

I decided to give this place a long overdue look prior to watching a game at Leyton Orient and found my high expectations met, if not exceeded by this excellent pub. It's not the easiest place to get to - I found my plan to get a bus from Leyton tube station scuppered by gridlocked traffic and ended up making the 20 minute walk instead. The traditional interior comprises of two large rooms, the first of which is dominated by an unusual, curved bar counter. The pub was showing Arsenal vs. Spurs on two plasma TVs and a large screen, so all of the seating was set up to face the screens and the pub was packed as a result. Unfortunately the staffing didn't reflect this, as one lone barman struggled to serve everyone, causing long delays at the bar. This was the only real downside, but even then, the barman remained cheerful and helpful, offering tasters and enjoying banter with his customers. A wide range of Brodies beers were available, including English Best, Mild, Special, Red, Citra, IPA and Kiwi, with Porter and Kosher Rye clips turned. A fridge clearly displayed the breweries entire range in bottled form as well and I also spotted at least one guest ale on the pumps. All of the Brodies beers are priced at just £1.99 which, judging by my pint of Red, is great value. I also had a well kept pint of the Citra, which wasn't quite to my taste. There are plenty of things in the pub to keep punters entertained including a dartboard, bar billiards table, beer patio, book swap and lots of interesting items such as a petrol pump, various stuffed animals, some large brewery mirrors and plenty of old paintings. The fireplace in the rear room was lit, which only helped to enhance the warm and comfortable environment and made it more of a wrench to leave. I found the place to be very welcoming and the sort of pub I could imagine spending the best part of the day in. One local advised me to come back in the week so that they could give me a tour of the brewery, which is in a building out the back. Were the pub somewhat easier for me to get to, I would certainly take this offer up and I hope to make it back here sooner rather than later.