Taking a Butcher's at Bitterne

The Butcher's Hook Alehouse

The craft beer vanguard in Southampton is led by the Butcher's Hook Alehouse. This micro-pub is barely a year old and yet already has a loyal following. Beyond the bottle shop, Bitter Virtue, it is one of a very small handful of places in Southampton to sample the output of smaller breweries, such as London-based Partizan, the Kernel, Pressure Drop, as well as locals Vibrant Forest. 

The Butcher's Hook is on Bitterne Triangle, but the frontage to the Alehouse is so inconspicuous that you would be forgiven for walking right by. With the door open, there remains only a solitary '7' to guide you in. On entering, you are likely to be welcomed by a friendly smile, perhaps even from the waistcoat-sporting owner, and a floor-to-ceiling Blackboard of Choice. With four keg, four cask and a slew of bottles, dithering in the doorway is inevitable. 

There is an impressive range for such small premises, due partly perhaps to the lack of any kind of recognisable bar. Eschewing a tap-strewn bar set-up for racks of kegs, the limited floor space can be given over to two large wooden tables and some comfortable corner benches in the window surrounding a circular table. This lends a convivial atmosphere to the bar and ensures that even lone drinkers will soon find themselves in conversation with their neighbours.

On the Saturday that we visited, the bar caught the afternoon sun and bathed ourselves and our glasses in a golden glow. The late-summer sun was a perfect accompaniment to our selection, which included a surprisingly tasty Raptor IPA from Czech-based Pivovar Matuška, an excellently complex and fruity wheat beer from Pressure Drop (Wallbanger), and a superb use of herbs in Partizan's Lemon and Thyme Saison. 

Although slightly off the beaten track for those not resident in Southampton, the Butcher's Hook is well worth a detour during a visit. I hope to see more such establishments popping up around Southampton, especially around Portswood and Bedford Place.

Special mention must also go to Portswood-based burger joint 7 Bone, which offers the Kernel's IPA and pale ale. Owing to the constantly rotating hop selection by this particular brewery, this can mean a different (albeit predictably excellent) drink on each visit. This restaurant makes a convenient stop-off point on a walk to Bitterne for some tasty sustenance. 

Brighton Bibulosity

Brighton Beer Dispensary + Craft Beer Co. Brighton

Brighton Beer Dispensary

After a wonderful cycle ride along the south coast to Brighton, some liquid refreshment was required. My first stop was the Brighton Beer Dispensary, jointly owned by Brighton Bier and London's Late Knights: a small but friendly bar a mere 10 minutes' walk from Brighton station. A warm welcome was had from the manager, Theresa, who introduced the draught offerings. The pumps on the bar are, perhaps unusually, split between cask beer and cider, with a few keg taps and four more ales in their 'coats' in the corner for direct dispensing.

On draught, the bar showcases those beers from the two owning breweries. The West Pier pale was a very drinkable hoppy pale which, at 4%, could be a perfect summer session ale. It certainly went down well sat in the sunshine at one of the few seats outside the pub. The Late Knights Smoked Pale was an unusual experiment and managed to deliver quite a big smoked flavour but, at 3.9%, lacked the body to support it for long. Thumbs up for the glassware, which included dimpled pint and half pint glasses.

Guest beers came from farther afield and from small outfits, such as Somerset's Big Rabbit. Prices were reasonable for their own beer at £1.70 a half, although if you want to splash on some more unusual beers, there is an impressive, constantly rotating bottle selection from the likes of Magic Rock, Partizan, and US brewers Evil Twin and Rogue.

Craft Beer Co.

Conveniently located just around the corner from the Beer Dispensary is the only offshoot from London's Craft Beer Co. 

The Craft Beer Co. decor across their bars is simple and does not distract or detract from the excellent selection of beers from small and innovative brewers. The Brighton outcropping is no exception and offers the usual dozen or so keg lines, with plenty of Thornbridge and some Siren when I visited, plus eight cask pumps. The draught offerings are complemented by a huge bottle selection from the Kernel, Weird Beard, Wild Beer Co, and many others.

The welcome was very friendly from assistant manager Kate, who insisted that the distance from the capital does not contribute to a sense of isolation from their sister bars. Regular meet-ups encourage a familial feeling and I am sure that the family is sure to grow and expand even further beyond the South East.

Halves are served in the stylish branded stemmed glassware. As usual, I found the keg served a little too cold, which doesn't always do justice to the style. For Thornbridge's Bière de Garde, the lovely caramel taste came through only as it warmed up. while the slight chill works well for IPA styles such as Burning Sky's Devil's Rest.

Trafalgar Wine

Before alighting the train at Brighton station, a brief stop into Brighton's best bottle shop was called for. At Trafalgar Wines, the owner has turned what is a small off-licence into an impressive slice of the current craft beer world. Wine takes a back seat to what is clearly the owner's current passion, with bottles from Europe, UK and the US. Siren, Magic Rock, Bristol Beer Factory, Arbor Ales and Evil Twin were very much in evidence. A well-recommended stop on Trafalgar Street. 

South Coast Cycling

A Trip from Southampton to Brighton

Following last week's cycle ride from Southampton to London, I resolved this week to reach another of my favourite cities by bike: Brighton. From Southampton, this promised to be a beautiful cycle ride along the south coast. The entire route was approximately 72 miles, mostly along national and regional cycle routes.

The route out of Southampton, via the Itchen toll bridge (free for cyclists), delivers one straight onto National cycle route 2, which hugs the coast. This route ambitiously aims to connect St Austell in Cornwall with Dover in Kent and is largely complete; unfortunately, many of the incomplete sections are between Chichester and Worthing, which is significant part of this journey. 

I recently cycled route 2 from Southampton to Portsmouth. As the route follows the coastline, there are many occasions where it has to cross inlets and estuaries. In most places, bridges afford a quick and convenient traversal, but at Warsash and at Gosport a short ferry crossing is in order. Both ferries take bicycles. The Warsash ferry across the Hamble costs £1.75 one way for cyclists, while the Gosport ferry only offers a daily return ticket priced at £3.10 plus £1.20 for a bike. 

Southampton to Cosham

On this occasion, I decided to avoid the ferry route, so as to take a more direct line and avoid the additional time and cost of crossing the water. Instead, I took Portsmouth Road from Woolston, crossing the Hamble at Bursledon. From there, I crossed over the M27 to Swanwick and Whiteley, tracking through residential and commercial areas, before crossing back over the M27 at Funtley. 

The route wound into the northern parts of Fareham and joined cycle route 236, which is a decent link into Cosham. After cycling parallel to the A27, this offered some of the first good scenery. Below is the view into Portsmouth harbour from Portchester.

Cosham to Chichester

At Cosham, I picked up route 22, which can also be taken around Portsea island. This route joins the A27, via an off-road cycleway, until Havant, whereupon I joined up again with route 2 to cut across to Emsworth. It was on leaving Emsworth that I failed to follow a straight line and ended up doubling back on myself and enjoying a second pass of Emsworth town centre.

Having navigated my way along route 2 out through Bosham and Nutbourne, I came to Chichester, which marked about half way along the trip. It would be well worth taking a break in the beautiful town of Chichester. I took a brief stop at Chichester canal basin.

Chichester to Brighton

It is shortly after leaving Chichester to the south that cycle route 2 breaks up around Mundham. Fortunately, there is the regional South Coast Cycle Route (S.C.C.R), which bounces along the coast, cutting inland when no direct path along seas-side promenades exists. 

Taking the S.C.C.R to Bognor Regis, I got the first glimpse of the sea-side proper.

Cycling alongside the beach in the sunshine was the most pleasurable part of the trip. Unfortunately, it was short-lived, as cycle access does not yet extend for long. I hope the completion of route 2 provides access along this beautiful section of the coast.

After a brief digression inland, the journey continued to Littlehampton, where it crosses the River Arun.

After Littlehampton, the S.C.C.R follows the coast for a time, curving round Angmering on Sea, and eventually joins route 2 again at Worthing. From here, it was easy cycling along the coast, diverting only briefly around the lock at Shoreham-by-Sea, to get to Brighton.

The Bermondsey Dozen (Furlongs)

Yet another blog about the Bermondsey mile

Bermondsey. A trip along the South London railway arches containing tiny start-up breweries was de rigeur for any self-respecting beer connoisseur in 2012. Today, this trip may have passed into craft cliché but, hey, writing a blog is so 2006.

Weighing in at around one and a half miles from the end closest to London Bridge down to South Bermondsey, this row of breweries would better be termed a dozen furlongs, if such units were still in widespread use. Irrespective of the distance, the sequence from north to south is the very new Anspach & Hobday and Bullfinch, which both share the same premises, Brew by Numbers, the Kernel, Partizan and Fourpure. Each of these opens the doors to their tiny brewing premises to the general public every Saturday.

A rational approach would be to work from one end to the other, but given that the Kernel opens at 9am (!) and closes at 2pm, we decided to head directly from Bermondsey tube (Jubilee) to the centre of the 'mile'.

El cólonel de Bermondsey

The Kernel premises occupy a double arch under the railway, with one side dedicated to the shop and the other to drinking in. With its long wooden benches, it reminded me of a German beer hall and had a similar convivial atmosphere even as we arrived shortly after midday.

The owners encourage patrons to bring their own food to eat, as they serve none themselves. The surrounding area offers a number of dedicated shops and markets in which to procure something to nibble on over an IPA. Directly neighbouring the Kernel is the Ham and Cheese shop, from which we selected a chunk of fromage d'ossau - being the only snackable option between hard parmigiano reggiano and mozzarella. The selection for meatatarians was significantly wider and, judging from the satisfied noises from those in our party, delicious. To accompany our haul, we attempted to find some bread, which was no mean feat given the time of day. Most bakeries had sold out by 10am, but we eventually purchased some painfully crusty bread from the wine shop over the road, where both staff and customers seemed to be French.

As expected from previous sampling of their bottled range, the selection at the Kernel brewery was all of excellent quality. Particularly noteworthy were the Black IPA and the Raspberry Sour - a slight twist on the lip-puckering London Sour - which, at around 3%, is a perfect summer drink.

Screwshed and Toolbarn

Heading to the southern-most brewery in the group, Fourpure, we became unsure as we departed from the safety of the railway arches into a trading estate. The principal trade of the neighbouring businesses seemed to be hardware and tools. We expected odd looks from the Saturday workers, but were reassured when we passed a returning group of fellow ale spotters.

Rounding the corner, Fourpure hove into view, with its doors thrown open and a hearty crowd of drinkers sat on wooden benches. A game of table tennis was in progress and the owners made no fuss as the ball regularly went skittering under the brewing equipment.

A surprise favourite emerged from our sampling: the Pils. Usually using an IPA as the yardstick by which to measure a brewery, this is not a style of choice for many of the group. However, the pils was a crystal clear column of golden, herby, refreshing beer that surely ranks among the best of the German and Czech varieties. The Saaz and Hallertau hops provided a perfect palette reset for the next in the series of breweries.

All hail the ale that's pale

By now, the crowds were starting to amass. Partizan offers the smallest space, occupied mostly by the brewing equipment and serving bar. This leaves the crowd outside, which, with the sun out, was a most enjoyable experience.

While the Kernel and Fourpure had stuck fairly rigidly to known styles, Partizan's offerings were more playful. We sampled the Cuvée Lemon, which offered enormous lemon flavour without being sour and was reminiscent of Siren's Limencello ale. The Foreign Export Stout (FES) was another exceptional brew, but didn't quite surpass Arbor's Breakfast Stout I had tried the previous night. The only duff note was hit by the IPA (Chinook and Columbus), which had a cloudy appearance and a muddy taste. I expect this was a one-off, so I will be keen to try it again.

It's pronounced "barrel agéd", I tell you

Brew by Numbers was our next stop, given that the Kernel had closed as we passed it for a second time. Crowds had grown significantly as the afternoon drew on, with the result that we had to queue briefly before making our way into BBNo.

The wait was worth it. BBNo offers a huge range of beers on tap and in bottle, all numbered according to their style and batch. The 04|01 (Berliner Weisse) was a particular hit with me, as it took me straight back to breakfast in a Berlin café, where I was served the uniquely sour low-alcohol wheat beer (strangely available with red or green food colouring, presumably to make it seem more like a morning drink).

After the first round, we wisely chose to sample the barrel-aged porters available in bottle. Aged in Jim Beam casks, these already excellent full-bodied stouts get a smooth vanilla edge to them, which slipped down very nicely.

May the craft be with you

Our final stop on the 'mile' brought us to two of the newer start-ups in the area: Anspach & Hobday and Bullfinch, which share premises under the train tracks. In a small setting, seating was plentiful but the visit was a slightly disappointing end to an otherwise excellent tour of South-East London.

We sampled several offerings, including the award-winning A&H Porter, but none sang on our tongues due, perhaps, to our now weary palettes. I have no doubt that in a year or two's time, a return visit will prove that these two breweries have mastered their craft.

Onwards

Undaunted, we proceeded from Bermondsey and took the short walk to Tower Bridge, where we ensconced ourselves in the Draft House.

Suddenly confronted by choice from any number of brewers, my ability to choose was confounded. I selected a Battersea Rye from London-based Sambrook's Brewery. The rye flavour was powerful and would have been complemented perfectly with a slice of cheddar, gherkins and some German rye bread. The Draft House did not offer this precise selection, so we chose from their menu of burgers, nachos and tasting boards. An excellent end to the day.

BrewDog Clapham + The Fox

Craft beer in SW11 and E8

My cycle ride from Southampton to London wasn't entirely for my health. In fact, it was a part of an increasingly frequent pilgrimage to the capital as the Mecca of craft beer. Southampton offers some exceedingly fine drinking establishments - among them the Platform Tavern, the Guide Dog, the Rockstone - and an excellent bottle shop in Bitter Virtue. However, it has been slow to expand into the burgeoning and rapidly shifting industry of 'craft' beer; much slower than its neighbour Portsmouth, which boasts a number of pubs with forward-looking landlords (hello to the Hole in the Wall and the Leopold Tavern). 

In Southampton, the Butcher's Hook is a small but brave foray into the world of craft beer. Despite its diminutive size,  it serves up an impressive and constantly rotating selection of beers from the likes of Beavertown, Siren, Dark Star, Burning Sky, Partizan, and Vibrant Forest. I shall leave this digression for a more fulsome review on the coming weekend. Back to London...

BrewDog heads for London saturation

Arriving from the South, my entry point to London was Clapham Junction. It being Friday 15th August 2014, a bleedingly new offshoot of the Scottish craft pioneers BrewDog had just opened its doors in the area. With its grey frontage, I could almost have passed by the bar entirely. The punks have grown up, while the decor whispers, rather than shouts about the presence of the excellent beer available inside.

The new look eschews the bruised black and blue colour scheme familiar to loyal patrons of the bars Dog for a more mature marine/turquoise/orange wood+ceramic feel. Gone are the booths and large desk-style tables, in favour of small round bistro tables and chairs. At the bar, the pumps are still the giant black cylinder featuring the blue 'shield' logo, which I find occupy the space between bartender and customer. This nod to the old style jars somewhat with the new surroundings. I would prefer to see a more bijou style of taps, such as those adorning the bartops of Craft Beer Co., or to keep the bar entirely clear with the taps on the back wall (à la Euston Tap). 

The design choices work for me and invite a more comfortable, convivial atmosphere. I hope to see them rolled out to the other bars. From my experience at Clapham Junction, I am glad to see that the priority on staff that are eager and knowledgeable has not changed. 

Duke's! Saved by a (craft) fox

We had attempted to book a table at the home of Beavertown - Duke's Brew & Que, alas with no luck. The bar is a victim of its own success, as eager beer enthusiasts flock in their dozens to chow on the craft staple of pulled pork, stacked burgers and coleslaw. Given my meat-dodging tendencies, much of the food does not hold great appeal, but beer seems to bring out one's penchant for dirty food, which Duke's serves in unapologetic quantities.

Disappointed, we were saved by The Fox, just round the corner from Haggerston tube and Duke's. The bar-restaurant is a welcoming cacophony of people sat at an assortment of beaten up tables and chairs, or stretched out on distressed sofas. Of a Friday night, the environment was loud ("what's that, Grandad?") but it remained possible to sit and eat well after 9pm without disturbance. The food was good, with a decent selection for vegetarians, including a halloumi burger, spicy bean nachos, and a lentil shepherd's pie. Portions were good, arrived quickly despite a busy kitchen and were an excellent foil to the grand selection of beer.

And what a selection. If the dozen or so pumps and taps or the well-stocked fridge fail to satisfy your cravings, there is a genuine bottle vending machine. This was replete with bottles from the pedestrian but good (Vedett) to the ridiculous (Mikkeller). The only niggle with this machine was that it did not take notes at the time, which, with prices from £6 a bottle, taxed our jangling trouser pockets.

There and Back Again

Cycling Southampton to London (the scenic route)

Cycling has always given me such a sense of freedom. The self-satisfaction that comes from completing a journey powered entirely by my own energy is irrepressible. A short daily commute by bike in all weathers makes for a heady combination of endorphins and smugness, which, I am assured, endears me to my colleagues. 

Regrettably, I haven't recently found the time to get out on a longer ride. Facebook's algorithms are exquisitely designed to bring me the braying of friends having completed half-marathons, marathons, ultra-marathons and, since the Tour de France, multiple laps of the country by bicycle. Using the (very long) lever of social networking peer pressure, I lifted myself out of the rut. The idea of cycling from my house in Southampton to London had captivated me. Partly this was because it provided a known quantity - being a journey I often make by train - partly because the distance - around 90 miles - was achievable within a day, despite being over double the length of any ride I had previously made.  

I had heard of the British Heart Foundation's London to Southampton ride, but sadly this was not scheduled to take place again in 2014. The idea of a guided route was attractive, but I manufactured my own guide in the form of an Android phone tucked into the map pocket of my cycle bag and the excellent OSMAnd. This app can be configured to show the Open Cycle Map, displaying national, regional and local cycle routes, and to provide GPS-style navigation. With voice-only GPS, I found I attracted some odd looks but was able to navigate in all but the busiest/noisiest places.

Rather than use OSMAnd's built-in route finding, I chose to use BRouter to get greater control over the route. BRouter is the best online cycle routing tool I have found that balances automated route calculation with manual configuration. Using the default 'trekking' profile, the routing algorithm prioritises cycle routes over roads where possible. However, for the geekier among us, it also allows complete tailoring of the profile, which means you can customise the route entirely according to your preferences for track type. The route can be exported as GPX and loaded into a Garmin or, in my case, into OSMAnd.

I opted for the default route with a few manual tweaks. This route sent me out of Southampton to Winchester and along national route 23. This was an excellent start to the journey and was a quiet but fast run through some beautiful countryside and villages. Route 23 ends abruptly at Holybourne, at which point dead reckoning led me to join route 22 at Farnham. Things got a little weird in Farnham, as I departed briefly from the 22 to 'enjoy' a trip through a local retail park. This, I discovered, is the peril of GPS-led navigation.

The route departed again from the 22 to head north along Blackwater Valley and Basingstoke Canal. This turned out to be a mistake, as the route was favourable principally to walkers and proved to be muddy and narrow in places. East of Frimley, route 221 follows the canal path for a time, but the route only transforms into a respectable cycle track east of Woking. In hindsight, I should have stayed on the 22 until Guildford and taken the 223 north instead.

Never have I been so pleased to see the M25, signifying that central London was at last within sight. Heading north along the River Wey, I joined route 4 and travelled along the River Thames. This was a stately way to proceed into the capital, offering fine views of the leafy suburbs and plenty of opportunity to stop at one of the river-side establishments.

Skirting around Hampton Court Palace, my route diverged from national route 4 in favour of a more direct line into south London along the A3. While offering a cycle route, the views were far from edifying and I suspect continuing along the 4 would have been preferable. Nevertheless, I reached Clapham Junction and, after a brief pit-stop, blazed a trail up Clapham Road, past the Oval, to my destination in Kennington. This last section was courtesy of CS7, one of London's commuter "super highways". Apparently sponsored by Barclays, the CS routes are marked in blue and take cyclists from the outskirts right into the heart of London. The route was well segregated from car traffic, but shared the bus lane for much of the distance. Despite this, cycling felt safer than I had expected in London.

The route was 90 miles in total and took around 8 hours, averaging about 11mph. The faster sections were by far the quiet country lanes, while the canal and river paths brought my average speed down a great deal. If I were to attempt the journey again, I would try BHF's route, which can be downloaded as a GPX file.