Craft Beer Co, EC1

My first and definitely not my last trip to this beer emporium,which is fast becoming one of the best in the capital.The exterior is smaller than I expected and is situated in an interesting neighbourhood,while the interior has been largely stripped out but still includes interesting features like the mirrored ceiling and chandelier.The raised bench seating around the perimeter walls with high tables and stools is not the most comfortable ,but understandable given the popularity and the need to drink vertically at busy times.I really liked the polite but firm instruction to two potential bar blockers when they moved stools to sit in front of the handpumps,the staff explaining the error of their selfish ways and asking them to keep the bar clear.If only other pubs would adopt this kind of policy at a peak time such as 6pm Friday.If you don't like crowded pubs ,you may want to carefully schedule any visit here or check out the first floor seating. The ale selection was outstanding ,featuring micros with a reputation for excellence such as Dark Star,Redemption,Magic Rock and Durham on my trip.Prices vary with ABV,and some of the strong stuff I sampled was closing in on £4pp but worth it.Quality was very high on all pints sunk by the team. The keg beers appeared much more expensive than the ale,although many were rare and imported.I missed the opportunity to have a drink off between the cask and keg varieties of Dark Star Revelation as a result of the cask running out quickly.Maybe that was the answer to that particular question. I felt that this was even better than the sister pub Cask in Pimlico,and to describe it as a must visit is a gross understatement.

I have visited this establishment 3 times in the past couple of months, each time on a Sunday lunch. It never gets busy, just 4 or 5 guys drinking and reading the papers. Excellent selection of real ales and Keg but at a price. Some of the unusual foreign Keg stuff is very expensive, Having seen a Rogue Ale from Oregon USA and having been to the brewery on my travels I was going to give it a go, but at £6 a half, I decided on 2 pints of somthing from this side of the Atlantic. Still, don't be put off, excellent pub, superbly knowledgable staff and good bar snacks makes this a london destination boozer. I will definatly be in there again, but not over the Christmas break as they are closed for most of it!

“What today’s Ale drinker wants is choice” is a line increasingly peddled by the growing number of micro breweries, including the head brewer of Wibblers Brewery in Essex, who was propping up the bar with his good lady wife after trying to influence the Craft Beer Co to take some of their wares. And if that is the case then this place delivers it in spades. And evidence on this visit would infer that they may well be correct. Six months into this venture the pub was jammed when I arrived early midweek evening and whereas most city pubs will empty out as the after office crowd venture home, this remained full throughout the evening as others arrived at a steady rate. The interior and impressive array of beer pumps has been well covered by previous reviewers and I will concur that this is more of a proper pub experience than the location in Pimlico. But its current popularity means standing room only, so not likely to be a comfortable or quiet experience, unless there is enough of you to book the upstairs lounge. . The service is very sharp and the beer quality of all the ones we tried was top notch, but it will not be a low cost experience, as mentioned by others below. The Cask Ale tariff of £3.40 to £4.50 depending on gravity is not too outrageous for central London prices, but it does ratchet up significantly for the very high ABV brews and bottles as mentioned There’s no food on offer except for ‘high quality bar snacks’ in the shape of handmade scotch eggs and pork pies. But here again, the local cash point will be busy at £5.00 for half a 4inch Pork Pie and £3.50 for a Scotch egg. And as much as I adore real scotch eggs, the hard boiled egg would need to have been shelled using the thighs of a virgin during the manufacturing process for me to fork out £3.50. But all in all, this is already a must visit location for the ale drinker and one I am sure is destined for future success. And the company pub web site is requesting suggestions to where they can open other locations this format looks likely to grow. However the Nimby in me hopes that no-one suggests my backstreet local in N21 as that would spell the end of me getting a seat or being able to afford to drink there with regularity.

Cought a number 55 bus to this pub as I had read reviews and wanted to try it. I have been to Cask Pub & Kitchen before and agree this one feels more of a pub. Great choice of beers and quality of those we had was good. A bit pricey, but will be a welcome pub for those wanting to experiment with beers from around the world. We were quite happy with the real ales on tap, and although I fancied trying one from the fonts, I'm afraid the prices of around £4 a half put me off. Thornbridge Seaforth and Fyne Hurricane Jack were our beers of choice, and others available on tap were the house beer from Kent brewery, a few from Dark Star, Thornbridge, and Fyne plus Crouch Vale, Arbor and Raw.

If like me you drink mainly real ale then this is the pub for you.A very plain pub that serves up to 15 real ales and the Curious from Magic Rock that I tried yesterday was one of the best beers I have ever tried but then again that could change tomorrow as the beers always seem to change day by day.There is one cider on tap plus a large range of keg beers for those who dont want to try real ales or those who want to try something different.The only food seems to be the good old pub standard of pork pies and scotch eggs which is a very welcome change from the pubs that put food before beer.This pub is for beer drinkers.Go and enjoy.Now at last I have a new local.