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Mason & Company, Hackney Wick, E20
E20
E20 3BS
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Mason & Company
Some excellent and detailed reviews below, I'll keep it brief.
It's minimalist in the trendy style with plenty of light, plywood furniture and the bar and adjacent shelving constructed from sanded, angular concrete.
Service was friendly with advice on the twenty keg ales freely given and tasters offered. The taps are along the back wall of the bar with the beers listed on a menu as seems to be popular now.
The eye-watering prices are well-documented below and given that the cask versions of all of these beers would be both preferable and cheaper, in my opinion, I'd struggle to justify a return unless there was a specific beer on which I desperately wanted to try.
Breweries represented included Wild Beer, Five Points, Cloudwater, Weird Beard and Kernel as well as one or two more unusual overseas offers. The Cloudwater DIPA v6 was the highlight of my visit. I hadn't tried it before, it was ferociously expensive, very good indeed and I'd happily pay the same for another.
Worth a visit for a look if you're feeling flush.
On 22nd September 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Mason & Company
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?
On 8th September 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Mason & Company
You need to be well wedged if you are coming here for a session.A new build square space ,fitted out with a lot of plywood furniture,a polished concrete bar and a very hip vibe.In one corner there is an open kitchen called Capish shelling out expensive American diner style food.The bi fold doors and windows at the front are great in good weather and give access to a pleasant terrace which has it's own drinking shelf.Deck chairs are arranged on the grass verge giving views of the boat traffic on the River Lee Navigation.However what this place would feel like on a wet Wednesday in November is an open question,the minimalist interior could feel sterile.
There are 20 wall mounted keg taps and a beer menu offering a selection of craft brewers from around the world,with the cheapest options from Five Points Brewery (Pale £4.50 and IPA),all the way up to a third of La Luna Rossa (Wild/sour style) brewed by Birrificio del Ducota Italiano offered at an eye watering £5 ,£15 per pint WTF !!
I sampled a few keg products and although not heavily carbonated ,they were certainly pretty cold and had a consequent chill haze.The real ale versions of these keg products are so much better ,and at a much more reasonable price which left me thinking that the hipsters are being taken advantage of at this kind of keg bar.I can't see any reason to rush back,and my wallet would agree.
On 4th September 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about Mason & Company
Brand new built one room bar.Lots of blonde wood with a kitchen in the corner.Outside seating and some deck chairs to watch the Olympics on a jumbo screen.Murrey semi -final tennis was awesome.Food plays a big part but also 20 craft keg beers. American style prices depending on the pour size makes it a bit confusing but with my degree in Maths I was able to work out the most reasonable priced new beer for me was Left Hand Giant -mannekin ipa which was very good.They do 1/3-2/3 -1/2 and also pints.Expensive prices but owned by Five Points Brewery so they had a couple of their beers on at reasonable prices.Liked this a lot but not for traditionalists.
On 20th August 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]