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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 Žve 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 Žnd excellent ales and

lagers in Europe's Žnancial 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