Long Arm, Shoreditch, EC2

This is a large modern brewpub in an unusual old commercial property with a great central London location, easily reached from trendy hotspots like Old Street and Shoreditch. The bar occupies a number of units in this large office block-style building, but these have all been knocked through to create a long, single room with a large servery running along the rear wall. The bar has a patched up traditional dark wood counter, bare brick bar back and metal framed gantry and shelving units. This adds to the rather industrial feel they have created throughout the pub through the exposure of the concrete floor, , bare brick walls and all manner of pipes and cable trays around the ceiling. The latter is a shame, as the ceiling appears to have some very interesting decorative patterning, but this is lost beneath the aforementioned utilities. Large front windows opposite the bar have a row of high tables and bar stools beneath them which would make for good people-watching spots if you can bag one. Meanwhile, over to the left there is a selection of comfier seating options under a large pub-scene mural with a pint of Long Arm as the centrepiece. I also spotted a shuffleboard table here in the front corner, surrounded by low stools, which I'm sure the hipsters enjoy having a few 'ironic' games on. The brew-plant is mostly housed over to the right, with numerous brewing vessels visible along the back wall here, whilst a tiled end wall has a detailed brewing process diagram drawn on it. Other items of interest spotted whilst mooching around included a retro arcade machine, giant Connect 4 game and a wheel which you can spin to determine which beer to try. Music was playing on my early evening visit, but the general chatter in a room devoid of soft furnishings was sufficient to drown it out most of the time. Long Arms dominate the bar and these are promoted as 'tank fresh', which I found a little confusing, but I found this seems to mean that the beer is served at the correct temperature and with no discernible carbonation, although the one I tried was also devoid of much flavour. The options on this occasion were Juice Box IPA, Lab Unfiltered Lager, Hopwood Orange Lager, Pas Punch APA, Beerly Legal Session and Hazed and Confused, with all priced at £5.50 a pint. I quite enjoyed visiting a London microbrewery in a proper premises rather than the usual industrial estate/railway arch locations, but found the obvious drawback to be the associated cost of a pint. It's definitely worth a look given the often underwhelming ale options in this neck of the woods, but I fear this might end up being added to that list if all their beer turns out to be as bland as the one I sampled on this visit.

Modern industrial style bar with brewery attached. High tables made from what seemed to me railway sleepers and the smell of creosote was overpowering.(only opened 2 days ago so forgivable)All beer served straight from the tanks so possibly cask rather than keg.I thought it was expensive and the beers need to improve.It is part of a hotel so the toilets are through a door and into the hotel.Plush.

Flat room with bar to middle. Pool table and pinball to left. Brewing equipment to right side. No hand pumps but various craft type ales on off, although expensive.