ReviewThis is a clean and tidy railway arch brewery taproom, just a two-minute walk from Hoxton station. The premises occupies the full arch from front to back, but can only be accessed from the front entrance on the corner of Union Walk/Nazrul Street. Inside, a concrete screed floored room echoes just about every other railway arch brewery across the capital, but interestingly, they’d not bothered with the metal cladding that most of these taprooms plump for, opting instead to just whitewash the brick walls and vaulted ceiling. This not only looked a lot better, but also helped ensure this otherwise quite gloomy space remained bright during the dying light of the day. Some sofas are arranged in the front right corner, with the makeshift toilet block opposite to the left, but as the room opens out further back, the furniture switches to canteen tables and benches, with a few small tables and chairs here and there and hard fixed bench seating down the left-hand wall. The walls are still quite bare – perhaps something that will be addressed over time, but there are plenty of potted plants dotted around, including one that was by the servery and acted as a bit of a bar blocker, whilst most tables had an empty bottle on them with a few ears of corn, wheat, barley or whatever, in them. The servery is in the rear right corner and has a fancy modern counter, with blackboards across the bar back, listing the full draught range, upcoming beers and a series of events due to take place in the pub. Large beer tanks to the right are perhaps the only hint that there’ an onsite brewery – I presume the kit is all hidden away in a neighbouring arch.
Eleven of the twelve keg lines were in operation on my first visit here, all from the in house brewery, and I tried the Nitro Porter, which clocked in at £6.30 a pint and was okay – nothing to write home about. I’ve since visited a couple more times and had better luck with my beer selection, but I have noticed that the range is often weighted towards stronger, and therefore more expensive, brews which means that prices can sometimes be northwards of a tenner per pint. The staff are always friendly enough and every time I’ve visited, it has been busier than the last, suggesting it has built up a good customer base.
It's easy to get a bit jaded visiting these brewery taprooms, as there are so many of them churning out such similar beers in identikit arches or factory units, but this place stuck out from the crowd a little, thanks to a few above par beers and a well-presented drinking environment. There’s nothing here for the traditionalist, but this is Hoxton where craft beer dominates, and this is about as good as anywhere I’ve found in the area for a reliable pint.
Date of visit – 11th May 2023
