Babel Beerhouse, Kings Cross, N1

A modern barn of a brew pub appealing to the younger demographic who now use this completely remodelled area of Kings Cross as their playground. A decent enough range of keg only ales and I will agree, probably not the variety to be had in Beer and Burger, but I found it more comfortable here. However on the new Friday of a Thursday Evening, both places were packed out and playing loud music tracks meaning you had to shout to be heard over it. On the beer front I’m not sure there is a tie up with Lion Co after their retreat from the UK brewing market and the available brews were very UK centric with Purity and Black sheep featuring heavily and then a couple from Renegade, Big Drop and Brick. I started with the Black Sheep Milk Stout, which was nothing special and then tried the Renegade Hazy Rider NEIPA, which had much more about it. Obviously not one for the 26% of CAMRA members who voted against the 2017 proposal to modernise, but for the rest of us, as a modern keg bar fitting in with the overall vibe of the developments of this area, I thought it was fit for purpose.

This is a recent place, just north of the heart of the newly defined N1C postcode; I walk past here often enough, so thought that I’d pop in to see what on earth attracts people to such establishments. The lofty, mezzanine-endowed interior is highly industrial (see photos) with enough galvanised ductwork to give the Beaubourg a run for its money: grey terrazzo floor, modern normal-height or tall furniture with some opposed bench seating, modern light fittings, substantial unused open kitchen; with the six stainless steel brew tanks behind the bar, the place resembling somewhere a tech billionaire would come to get cryogenically frozen prior to revivification in the next millennium. Décor is minimal, save for some giant mural to the left of the bar which resembles a mashup from the likes of Miró, Mondrian, Picasso and Lichtenstein; customers were few in number – certainly when compared to other similar establishments in the vicinity – at the time of my Tuesday 9.09pm visit, or perhaps the venue is just too large; maybe they are put off by the loud noise generated by the venue’s air handling machinery. For a place this fashionable, there’s obviously no cask beer, with 16 keg taps dispensing things from brewers I’d never heard of, my something called Magic Rock Salty Kiss gooseberry gose coming home at £3.55 and tasting of nothing much more than watered down lemon juice, which I could have made at home for 20p. I’m glad I visited this place; it makes me all the more appreciative of the traditional pub and good old fashioned cask ale.