where to go?

[DocBrass]

I'm coming to London next week. This will be my second trip. I'm staying close to Hyde Park. any good pubs in this area?
We have found the "touristy" pub crawl that actually picks up at our hotel that we are thinking about doing.
I plan on checking the links posted on the other thread.

[Richard English]

Hyde Park is BIG! Just where are you staying?

CAMRA produce a guide to London pubs that you can order from their website www.camra.org.uk.

Otherwise most pubs will serve decent beer and it's a question of choice. All Wethersoons pubs will have at least four Real Ales on draught. Any Youngs or Fullers tied house will be fine.

If you walk in and hear loud music or see big-screen TV, walk right out again. If there are no beer engines on the bar - again walk out. If there's an illuminated Budweiser sign on the window, don't go in.

London if full of wonderful boozers; if the first one you go to is not good - just find another. Everywhere's pretty safe and easy to get to - so have fun. I'll be there next Tuesday and I certainly shall!

[DocBrass]

cool! thanks for the info. i'm staying at the Plaza at Hyde Park.
I was looking at fancyapint.com last night. very informative and helpful.

when I was there 3 years ago, I was noticing the "chain" pubs. if they served only Fuller's, I knew they were a "chain". It was interesting in trying to find a indie pub.
We happened to be staying in South Kensington at the Swallows and found a nice pub by an antique car dealer. I thought it was unusual to have a few pints, get pissed and try not to lean up against the window of the dealer and not break in to look at the Austin Healeys.

[Richard English]

Most foreigners do not understand the way that UK pubs work so a few lines might help.

Many pubs are owned by a brewery (like Fullers) and they will usually sell the products of that brewery only. If it's a good brewery, then that's fine. They are not "chains" in the sense that you might understand the word - generally they are to be found only near to the brewery itself. This is why you saw several in West London, since Fullers are in Chiswick.

A few pubs will be "Free Houses" whuich means that they are owned by the Landlord (that's the name for a person who runs a pub, not the same as a landlord of, say, an apartment block). The Landlord will be able to buy beers from wherever he wishes.

Finally, there are pubs owned by Pub Owning Companies (PubCos). They can be OK but it depends on the PubCo. J D Wetherspoons are fine; many of the others are not.

Sadly I can't track down where you're staying from the name. The only Plaza Hotel I know is near Shepherds Bush (not too far from Hyde Park, but not actually on Hyde Park. Do you have a post code or street?

[DocBrass]

that does seem a little different. I knew some pubs had "contracts" with brewers. I'm not an A-B drinker, so I tend to stay away from the "mass producers".
I actually liked the bitters, a few hand drawns I tried. The Guinness did taste fresher. I sometimes drink Boddingtons..I like the creamy texture...very different.

I'm staying at the Plaza on Hyde Park, Lancaster Gate, W2 3LG

[Richard English]

You'll have no problems with either Fullers or Youngs.

In the UK it's illegal for the very large brewers to own pubs, so you won't see the equivalent of an A-B owned house.

A few minutes from where you're staying is a very nice Fuller's house called the Victoria (at the corner of Stratherne Place). I shall be having a pint there myself on Thursday as that's where my local Speaking Club meets!

Otherwise there are quite a few good pubs (and restaurants) in Bayswater (five minutes walk from Lancaster Gate).

[matt]

The Head of Steam at Euston Station is (or was, last I was there) a fantastic pub for beer variety. On my visit there were 8 guest casks and a good selection of bottled beer available to go. The cask selection even included Fraoch from the Heather Ale brewery in Scotland, which I've never seen anywhere else outside of Scotland.

Also for the architecture alone, I suggest a visit to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street. Its a nice place to have a meal as well. My personal favorite is the Roast Beef with Yorkshire pudding and a pint or three of Sam Smiths Old Brewery Bitter.

have fun.

[Richard English]

Froach is available in bottle from Safeway, although my local branch hasn't had it in for a while.

The Head of Steam is a fine pub, I agree, but it's a bit of a jaunt from Lancaster Gate. The best bet is to walk to Paddingon (about five minutes) and catch the Circle or District Line to Euston Square.

The Cheshire Cheese is also not that handy - probably the Circle Line to Temple and walk up to Fleet Street.

Of course, you could take a taxi, I suppose...

[matt]

I was being vague with the Froach comment, sorry. What I mean was that I had never seen it available cask conditioned outside of Scotland, with the exception of the annual Scottish cask tasting here at the Brickskeller in DC. Its readily available in bottles, but its even better cask conditioned, the heather aromas and flavor benefit greatly from the softer carbonation.

[Richard English]

I'm sure you're right about Froach. One of the problems with it in bottle is that it's not bottle-conditioned. Inevitably this means that the carbonation, being done artificially at the brewery, will be harsher.

I have never tried it on draught so I must check with the H. O. S. to see whether they plan to get it in again soon.

[DocBrass]

thanks for the ideas. leaving tomorrow. I have a list made of a few pubs close to the hotel. I 'll try to keep track of what I'm drinking so I can post comments when I get back.

[DocBrass]

I've been back awhile and finally get a chance to post...

there are ALOT of pubs. I forgot how many there are. Every thing is in walking (stumbling) distance.

the first one I went to was the Spread Eagle. had fish and chips with a Fullers-London's Pride. actually pretty good. nice pub and I see it ranks well on fancyapint.com

went to The Swan which was next to the hotel. might have had a Young's Bitter. not bad, but have had better. my wife had a Kronenberg which you don't see too often in the States. definitely a "touristy"/hotel visitor pub.

we found the Mitre by the hotel. this pub was nice. I had a Boddington's, my wife had a Carlsberg. can you tell what type of beer she likes?

Soho- Three Greyhounds - had a Adnams Bitter. it was ok, a little flat. also had a Stella Artois. I wonder why this isn't in the States? I thought they were a BIG brewer.

before going to Chinatown, we made it to the Golden Lion. a true sports pub. had a Guinness for pre-St Pats Day. Guinness does taste better in the UK.

other beers - had a Heineken (a lot fresher) and some "cold filtered" Heineken. this has lower alcohol and in smaller bottles...interesting. I also had a Fuller for lunch at the Tate. that was really tasty and I think you can get that over here.