90 | squaremeal.co.uk
The City has long had a strange relationship with beer.
Andy Mo�at, the founder of Redemption Brewing
in Tottenham, worked at Barclays until 2008 and he
recalls an ambivalence to quality ale. 'You'd go out for
drinks and there would be people who would turn
their nose up at cheap wine but they would be quite
happy to drink Foster's,' he says. 'I would say to them, "You should
try this [cask ale]", but the response was always, "No, I'm happy with
Foster's". But now we are really starting to see that change.'
This movement that began on the West Coast of the USA more
than 30 years ago has reinvigorated brewing around the world, but
nowhere more than in Britain. In London, the past ve years has
seen an explosion in the number of breweries (there are now more
than 50) and high-quality beer-focused pubs and bars.
What's more, this growing thirst for good beer is being fuelled
by a urry of new pubs and bars in the Square Mile, each of them
o�ering their own take on the brewing revolution that is sweeping
the country. Here are the best places to nd excellent ales and
lagers in Europe's nancial centre.
Gone are the days of City workers having to put up with sub-standard beer
to celebrate a deal - craft beer has invaded the Square Mile WORDS WILL HAWKES
For the connoisseur The Old Red Cow
71-72 Long Lane, EC1A 9EJ; 020 7726 2595; theoldredcow.com
By the standards of its City rivals, The Old Red Cow is a veteran,
having converted to good beer in 2011. In the few years since, it
has become one of London's most respected beer destinations,
with the best from London (The Kernel, Camden Town) and the
UK (Magic Rock, Marble, Harviestoun) sitting alongside some of the
world's top-quality brews: around 30 di�erent beers are available
on draught at some point during an average week.
It's also somewhere that takes the combination of food and beer
seriously, as general manager George Storr explains. 'We want to
give people an experience with their beer,' he says. 'It's not just a
drink. The Old Red Cow is about great food that is made with fresh
produce and matches well with the beer.'
The menu features bar snacks including homemade sausage rolls
and Scotch eggs as well as duck manchons and Welsh rarebit.
What to drink The Kernel Pale Ale. The hops used vary from batch
to batch, but expect a clean, pine-citrus bitterness; £3.25/half-pint.
CITY hopping