Mason & Company, Hackney Wick, E20

This part of Hackney Wick has gradually established itself as an outpost for some of the capital's top microbreweries, so it was perhaps inevitable that a beer exhibition pub wouldn't be far behind. Mason & Company, a successor of sorts to Shoreditch's Mason and Taylor (now long departed and converted to a Brewdog bar), is housed in part of the former media centre for the London 2012 Olympics, not that there's much here to suggest that. It's a bright, modern and fresh looking bar, made all the more so by opening out the front doors on a scorching Saturday afternoon prior to West Ham's first game in the former Olympic Stadium. Customers had quite rightly decamped to the large front patio, with its views across to the canal, and out onto the surrounding grass area which had a large TV screen showing, rather appropriately, action from the final day of the Rio 2016 Olympics. The interior is all done out in light wood, which makes it look lovely and light but also a little cheap in places. The parquet flooring is great and there are long canteen tables through the centre of the room, encouraging you to mix with others, whilst some banquette booths along the right hand wall and to the rear are available for those wanting a bit more privacy. In the rear right corner there is an open kitchen, operated by 'Capish?', whose staff were very friendly, although I didn't get the chance to see their menu. The servery is located down the left hand side of the room and has a simple counter and a very effective geometric-patterned tile bar back, from which the beer taps appear in true craft beer bar fashion. A long row of shelving runs above and beyond the bar but is mostly empty, suggesting the place still needs a bit of time to bed in and build up some character. I counted twenty keg beers in total from the long menu provided on most tables. Breweries represented on draught included Magic Rock, Five Points, Kernel, Cloudwater, Birraficcio Del Ducato, Birraficcio Italiano, Mad Hatter, Beavertown, Brew by Numbers, LBC, One Mile End and a cider from Hawkes. A fine range covering a lot of in-vogue producers. I tried Magic Rock's High Wire Grapefruit, which was so good after a hot walk in the sun from Bromley-by-Bow that I almost forgot it was keg dispense. 54 bottled beers from similar micros, including some from European and American brewers were also available, priced between £4.00 - £20.00 based, I assume, on their difficulty to source. For me, the problem here is around the pricing of the keg beers. Not only were the beers confusingly priced due to some being available in pints, others in halves and still more in third and two third measures, but everything seemed excessively expensive in general - my two thirds of Magic Rock cost a fiver and I have absolutely no idea why. The cheapest options were pints from Five Points which were priced at £4.50 - still very expensive for a session beer brewed ten minutes away in Hackney Central. I know this criticism can be levelled against most craft beer venues, but this place seemed to be really pushing the boundaries and I wonder how long hipsters will be prepared to put up with being ripped off. Anyway, this gripe aside, I really liked this bar and would've liked to try a couple more from their range before having to head off to the match. I imagine this place will follow in the successful footsteps of the nearby Crate Brewery and Howling Hops Tank Bar, but the pricing means that I really can't justify using this place for anything other than an occasional treat, which is a real shame. I wonder what all the old-school West Ham fans make of their new pre-match watering hole?

Official site of Mason & Company - www.masonandcompany.co.uk

Official site of Mason & Company - www.masonandcompany.co.uk