Craft Beer Co, WC1

Official site of Craft Beer Co - www.thecraftbeerco.com

Dating from at least 1926, this was originally the Oporto Stores, which closed in September 1959, to be rebuilt in 1961 for Charrington’s on the ground floor of this municipal tower block, later known as Rudy’s Revenge, to become a CBeebies in 2014. The interior is plain and modern, the least pub-like branch I’ve visited. It’s cramped and crowded with very poor acoustics; the downstairs bar was empty though not out of bounds, so I suppose people don’t fancy subterranean drinking; as mentioned, this isn’t a place to meet up or include on a crawl, due to the limited space. There were four ciders on with one clip reversed, then just the five ales with five pumps unused. Because of the crush at the bar, it was very hard to read the pumps, so I went for the only one I could read, being just to my right, 360° Tacoma APA at £2.60 a half and fine, though a little dry for my tastes. I can’t really enthuse about this place as much as some, as I want a far better all-round pub experience which this place doesn’t offer. The Harp down the road offers a real pub experience and with greater ale choice, so I don’t envisage a return visit, but the minimum 00.00 closing time is a benefit.

Official site of Craft Beer Co - www.thecraftbeerco.com

What a place this is! Not large on the ground floor but probably the best selection of cask and keg ales I've ever seen. Currently sitting at a window seat drinking Dark Star Revelation @ 5.7%. Ale paradise.