The Experiment, Hackney, E8

Official site of The Experiment - verdantbrewing.co

Official site of The Experiment - verdantbrewing.co

One of a number of brewery taps and craft beer bars along this short stretch of railway arches close to Hackney Central station, this is a rather unusual collaborative project between Tottenham’s Pressure Drop Brewery and the Verdant Brewery of Falmouth, Cornwall. This particular arch is exceptionally high and wide, making the place feel very spacious when compared to London’s many other such venues, but nevertheless, the place has still been decorated in the cliched manner, with an exposed concrete floor and white metal sheeting around the walls and ceiling. Three rows on canteen tables and benches run from front to back, including one row which is up on a raised platform over to the left. Some of the walls have been decorated with various hip gig posters for events at nearby live music venues, whilst elsewhere blackboards detail a pizza menu and options for private bookings. A couple of old business signs hung high on one wall may well be indicators of the sort of businesses that previously occupied these arches. The servery is at the rear of the room and is also made from the same corrugated metal that lines the walls, as is the front of the tap font. Large boards on the bar back list all of the available brews and these are flanked by a nice keg tap inert collection. The place certainly doesn’t look very welcoming, especially not on a dark Winter’s evening, but there was a good-sized mid-week crowd in which helped create a nice vibe, with chilled music playing quietly in the background. I counter seven Pressure Drop beers, two more from Verdant and a guest from Buxton, all on keg of course. I tried the Pressure Drop Tambourine Mountain – a New England Pale Ale that poured unbelievably hazy to my horror, but actually tasted fantastic, packed full of flavour and nothing like the pint of yeasty slop I’d feared. This is another fairly characterless railway arch taproom that benefits from a larger interior and some interesting beer from two innovative breweries. The place was doing a good trade, unlike other bars I’ve visited on this stretch of track, making for a decent enough atmosphere, but unless you’re keen on experimenting with obscure craft keg beers, a far more satisfying pub experience can be found in places like the Cock Tavern or the Chesham Arms.

Another typical railway arch set up,this time jointly run by Verdant and Pressure Drop Breweries. There were five each of their respective beers on offer, all keg of course. The beer was good but it is just another arch and is what it is.