The Divine, N16

Quite a compact Brewdog.You know what you are getting with Brewdog pubs and you dont go for the decor.Loads of keg beers on and the 3 x 1/3 rds of guest beers i tried were decent .Some outside seating at the front and great view of the passing flotsam and jetsam that Dalston attracts

Dalston seems tailor-made for a company like Brewdog, such is the prevalence of their target market in this area, so I was a bit surprised to find their outlet here was notably smaller than many others around the capital. They’ve not strayed too far from their basic formula, opening a compact room with rough flooring, exposed utilities across the ceiling and the ubiquitous grey paint scheme, admittedly offset in a few places by some wood panelling. High tables and stools can be found to the front of the room, opposite large folding windows which can be opened out to a roped off pavement seating area should the weather permit. The servery is over on the right-hand wall and has a tiled counter front with the usual cinema-style beer board on the bar back, above the row of keg taps. A neon sign here suggests that you can ask for tasters should the decision-making process prove too much. Some very nice-looking banquette booths run along the rear wall, with more neon signage above, eventually giving way to a long button backed banquette to the far left, under some plain mirrors. A staircase to the left takes you down to a basement room, passing a large colourful mural on the way, where plenty more seats can be found and where art was being displayed on the walls, all of which was available to purchase. Some old-school rock tunes were blasting out on my Saturday night visit and there was a decent crowd in without it feeling uncomfortably busy. I counted a total of twenty-four keg lines which were dispensing fifteen Brewdog beers, with nine guest beers alongside them. The boards also listed a couple of cider options, but with no more spare taps, I can only assume these were poured from boxes in the fridges. I tried a Brewdog beer I’d not heard of before (I forget the name now), which was so-so, but the barman was very thoughtful, bringing the beer over to my table once he’d established that it was very lively and might take some time to pour properly. I quite liked the intimacy of this bar, especially the nice banquette booths to the rear of the room but found it to be a bit too by-the-numbers to really stick in the memory. The good customer service aside, I’m not sure there’s much else that made me take notice of this place and whilst it’s a decent, and somewhat obvious, addition to the local beer scene, there remain plenty of other options nearby that I’d pick over this place.