After last week’s pub crawl around Greenwich I found myself spending two evenings doing a similar crawl with care taken not to drink to excess.  It was a good opportunity to explore the consistency of the beer quality in different pubs.

First stop on Friday evening was the Pelton Arms with a very good pint of Red Dawn Mild from Red Squirrel Brewing Co.  This pub is superb and I tried the pub again on Sunday and had an excellent pint of Gunners Gold from The Loose Cannon Brewery.  With prices at around £3.40 a pint and a great atmosphere it is a really special local pub without the throngs of tourists that are found just a few minutes walk away in Greenwich.

Visited the Cutty Sark Pub as I haven’t been here for a while.  I am not keen on Young’s Beer but they had a good selection for those who are.  I was boring and drank Meantime Pale Ale.  This is a nice pub with a great seating area at the side of the Thames.

Moved on to the Old Brewery and had another pint of Meantime Pale Ale.  I know it is expensive but it is worth it to drink in the fantastic surroundings of the Royal Naval College.

Next was the Gipsy Moth, another pub that I visited last week.  I bought two pints of Fullers London Pride for myself and my cousin, who was with me on this pub crawl.  After a few sips we both could tell from each other’s grimaces that this was not a drink that we could stomach any longer, so we left the beer and moved on.  A pity because London Pride is normally a reasonable pint.  It just wasn’t up to scratch at the Gipsy Moth on this occasion.

My last pub visit on Friday was to the Old Loyal Britons.  I visited this last week and was impressed.  This week I was equally impressed with an extremely welcoming and friendly clientele who were very good company and knowledgeable about the beer.  One was a senior member of South East London CAMRA.  I drunk a pint of Hop Stuff A.P.A.  It tasted great but was very cloudy a feature which I commented on to the barmaid.  A punter overheard me and explained that this is how it is brewed.  It is specially brewed unfined to improve the flavour.  It certainly worked for me.  To find out more about unfined beer look on the web.  For example:  http://moorbeer.co.uk/brewers-united-for-unfined-beer/
NOTE: IN OCTOBER 2014 THIS PUB SUDDENLY CLOSED

On Saturday I found myself in Petts Wood near Bromley.  There is a micropub here called One Inn the Wood.  The pub is small as the name suggests and fits cosily into a space as big as a small shop.  I arrived at about 6.00 and managed to get a seat inside easily but after 6.30 the place became full.  It seems to attract all ages and is family friendly.  The beer selection is excellent and I had a couple of pints of Gadds’ No 7 which was good and an excellent pint of Tonbridge Brewery Rustic.  I really like this micropub and look forward to trying others as they open in the future.

Website for One Inn the Wood is:  https://www.facebook.com/Oneinnthewoodmicropub