Disappointed we wandered along the river to the first pub, The Black Lion. There was a reasonable selection of ales on the hand pumps, but the Tribute we asked for had just gone so we ended up with Thwaites Wainwright. When it came to paying I cursed my usual practice of not looking at the keg fonts as there was no doubt a huge range of rare and exotic craft beers, which who knows, I may even have briefly considered drinking before deciding not to. I assume that was the case anyway as it was £4.20 a pint, which surely shows I was in a craft beer establishment. I blame Brewdog for getting Thwaites to make Punk IPA and turning them all crafty.
Next we wandered on to a rowing boat themed pub whose name escapes me before getting to the Dove. Here we actually found one of Fuller's new beers, Wild River. It's pale and tastes of American hops. Gosh we thought, how exciting.
Then we had a wander to the Sloaney Pony, where I had a Binghams, as I know Chris Bingham and he makes quality beers. Looking at the blackboard I was reminded how much craft keg really costs (up to £4.50 a half). We did try buying that one just to get the full experience but it was off. I was surprised though to see not all of the pricey craft keg beers were exotic imports.
It seems domestic craft keg is nearly as overpriced as the foreign stuff. Now where did I put the contact details of that keykeg bloke...
Then it was time for tapas, though sadly our favourite place has been taken over and Spanish black pudding was no longer on the menu.
After eating we had a very pleasant St Peter's Mild in the Falcon near Clapham Junction before heading home.
We got back in time for a cup of tea, though it didn't stop the lovely Lisa feeling a little poorly the next day. Must have been the lager with the tapas. Don't worry though, we had a fine selection of fried pork products for breakfast, though due to a terrible oversight still no black pudding. Next Sunday we'll be in Glasgow so will probably have fried haggis and fruit cake with our breakfast, but with a bit of luck the elusive blood sausage will also be on the menu.
It seems domestic craft keg is nearly as overpriced as the foreign stuff
ReplyDeleteOnly if people are refusing to pay those prices, which they evidently aren't, therefore it's not overpriced at all and there's nothing to see here. The market giveth and the market taketh away. That Wainwright might have been underpriced if you really think about it.
Incidentally, I noticed a couple of BrewDog clip fronts on the wall at the Boggart micro-bar in M'cr the other day and asked (not really expecting the answer Yes) if they were beers that were coming up. The barmaid confirmed my suspicion that they were beers that had been and gone, then said "We won't be having anything from BrewDog." I thought she was talking about the keg thing, but then she added, "Not after the way they pissed off my boss."
It looks as if BD can be quite abrasive and undiplomatic on a personal level. You learn something every day.
According to your dismal science it may not be overpriced, but according to my moral outrage it is! I won't be going back to the Black Lion in a hurry, but come to think of it I was unlikely to anyway.
ReplyDeleteHave to admit, I live Oop North in Lancs but work in London Mon - Fri, never ceases to amaze how people in the South seem to put up with the prices... I mean over £4 for Wainwrights?? its £2.10 in the locals back home and nothing can justify a doubling in price apart from punters willingness to pay it
ReplyDeleteSteve
This comment appeared in my inbox but not in my blog for some reason:
ReplyDeleteHave to admit, I live Oop North in Lancs but work in London Mon - Fri, never ceases to amaze how people in the South seem to put up with the prices... I mean over £4 for Wainwrights?? its £2.10 in the locals back home and nothing can justify a doubling in price apart from punters willingness to pay it
Steve
Well as I said I'll be avoiding The Black Lion but round my way the choice is pay £3+, drink in Wetherspoons or drink at home.
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