Big Penny Social, E17

Huge drinking shed where the barn and kitchen servery look a bit lost, and with only a few customers in, it all felt rather soulless. Further space in other rooms to the side and at first-floor level. With nine of the 16 bar-back taps in use, there was a wide selection of different beer styles and strengths - including my Coppice IPA from Vibrant Forest (£3.80, half) - available, along with more (mostly from Camden, including some less usual Arch Series brews) from several conventional fonts on the counter.

Visited 23/04/26 No cask. Craft keg offering from the taps on the wall behind the bar counter of Existence as a Radical Act a pale from Queer Brewing, the AF Run Wild IPA from Athletic Brewing, the Mountain Mama pale from Howling Hops, the Crush Hour hazy pale from Vocation, the Hazy IPA from 3 Locks Brewing, the Honk if You're Sour fruited sour from Pretty Decent, the Hoxton Stout from the Great Beyond Brewing Co, the Talk of the Town hazy pale from Two Flints, the Crafty Berry cider from the Real AL and Budvar! More standard keg on the taps on the bar counter, namely Camden Stout, Hells, IPA and Pale, then Asahi, Meantime Dial Lager, Caple Rd cider from Weston's and Double Diamond. I didn’t see any of their own brewed beers (as last sampled by me in their outlet airside in City airport in late February this year). Got impression from photos this was a big place, but it really is aircraft hangar size, proper industrial. Concrete flooring and v high ceiling, industrial insulation and giant fans and track lighting keeping the venue way below well illuminated. The glazed ceramic bar counter, itself long, and on the right-hand wall mid venue seems quite small in the enormity of the venue. Loads of bench seating at rows of similarly matched tables with a row of tall tables and tall backed stools directly in front of the bar counter. Some of the seating is inside curious booth like enclosures. There are a couple of traditional table football tables and a table tennis table plus the inevitable Photo Booth. Single screen high on the wall to the left-hand end of the bar counter showing promotional shots of the venue on my visit. A large open kitchen in the rear left-hand corner. There is no seating outside at the front but a good amount out the rear in the Aperol Spritz Garden. There is a large event space with stage area the other side of the wall behind the bar counter called the Big Penny Studio and an upstairs cocktail bar with pool tables (from the promo material) called Flukes but not open at the time of my visit. Really quiet on my visit (although there were quite a number out the back in the sun), can’t say I would return absent an event, but rated above average as a decent craft beer offering (mystery about lack of their own stuff) and that extra point for the novelty value.