The Old Doctor Butlers Head, Moorgate, EC2

Was primarily in the passageway to take a look at the new pub opened next door but had to pop in to reacquaint myself with this lovely old pub and found it completely unchanged from my last visit three years ago. In an area now largely dominated by newbuild bars and pubs its good to have this and the nearby Globe surviving to educate future generations what pubs used to be like in this part of the City. Almost the full range of Shep Neame Cask available across the hand pumps and quite a lot of their keg offerings on the chrome taps as well. But I fortunately spotted a sign promoting some of their bottled products, including their 1698 Kentish Strong Ale and the Christmas Ale. I went for the latter and it was a great drop on a cold wet December night. The only quibble I have with this place is that there is not a great deal of seating and virtually impossible to get one during the after-work hours. But hopefully the new shiny bar opening next door may deflect a few and reserve this one for the ale drinkers.

A dark-wooded Shepherd Neame pub located up an alley off Moorgate, I initially thought this was a Nicholson's pub; them being so beloved of such decor. It's a single room on two levels with two front entrances; the bar is to your left on entry and there's a raised area in the second half of the room beyond the bar. According to 'writing' printed onto a ceiling beam, this was founded in 1610 by Dr William Butler, Court Physician to James I. A victim of the Great Fire of London, it was rebuilt in the same year (1666) and "re-opened" by Shepherd Neame in 2002. Six handpumps offered 4 x SN brews (with one pump clip reversed and another pump unclipped) in the form of Spitfire, Whitstable Bay, Citra Smack and Master Brew. I managed to select an untried (to me) SN brew in the Citra Smack for £5.80, only be presented with a pint of vinegar. Exchanged without fuss, a replacement Master Brew was only so-so and a cursory glance around the busy, afterwork-crowded room saw no-one else on the ale. Sorry, but brewery-owned pubs should pride themselves on their beer quality: especially a smallish one like this boasting six handpumps. Me having to explain why my pint might not have been right to the four staff present made me feel like Homer Simpson talking to the two other guys guarding the bee in the glass jar.