Fountain Tap, Shoreditch, EC2

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This is a craft beer off-shoot of the nearby Old Fountain pub, set in a small shop unit at the Old Street end of Shoreditch. The pub is set in a very simple, bare boarded room with walls painted in a neutral colour scheme and a small servery to the rear right. A couple of drinking ledges beneath the front windows have high stools in support on either side of the front door, which has a pub logo branded circular window pane. Seating runs down both sides of the room, in the form of more high stools serving small square tables, and with a couple of comfier chairs in the far-left corner under some mirrors, which help make the room feel a bit bigger than it really is. A couple more mirrors dotted elsewhere around the place, plus some small plant pots affixed to the walls, act as a kind of visual distraction but otherwise the room is quite bare and featureless. The servery has a tile fronted counter and a long row of keg taps along the simple bar back, whilst a large beer board to one side lists the full draught range and a chalkboard on the other side details some bottled alternatives. Music was playing quietly in the background but quickly got lost under the sound of around twenty customers, whose every word and move was amplified by the lack of soft furnishings.
There were something in the region of eleven of twelve craft keg lines working, plus one more set aside for a cider. Some taps had dedicated craft lager/pilsner options but the rest were dispensing a strong craft selection from the likes of Siren, Wylam, Azrex and Lost & Grounded. I tried the Pressue Drop Ja!, which clocked in at £6.60 a pint and was served by a friendly barman. It was a decent enough pint, from a brewery whose beers I usually enjoy, and the price, whilst still pretty prohibitive, is par for the course in this part of London.
It would never really have occurred to me that a successful pub like the Old Fountasin, might need its own craft beer offshoot, but I suppose it offers something different to a more traditional pub and perhaps caters to a different demographic, if the female-dominated crowd on my visit is anything to go by. I found it to be yet another fairly unmemorable craft beer bar, or which there are plenty all over the city, but it’s a good option to have in mind if you’re looking for some unusual beer.

Date of visit - 14th November 2024

On 21^st February 2025 - rating: 6
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