Sunday 24th March 2013
Bob Thompson
This was a first time visit as I had previously been in the area on weekdays and the Tap opens only at weekends. To digress briefly, the lady behind the bar advised me that it is their intention to open during the week by the summer of 2013. Back to the pub; as can be seen from my exterior photograph the pub is cheek by jowl with the railway viaduct. Once inside it is obvious why this is, as the brewery proper is actually in one of its arches. I noticed the pub is separated by a glass window from a room containing many storage tanks. I guess the main brewing equipment is on the other side of the railway.
I noticed the walls were covered all over with plywood and this included the toilets, so I assume this is work in progress and it is all waiting to be finished off. That will give me an excuse to revisit and take some more photographs! The main room is of medium size with the bar along the rear wall and wooden tables and cushioned chairs scattered around with some stools at the bar. There is a large glass frontage looking out to Warburton Street.
Apart from the nine keg beer offerings, and I won't go on about them as I think my views have been established in previous articles, there were also four from the cask. They were Pale Ale (3.7%), Hackney Hopster (4.2%), Love not War (4.2%), a red ale, and Black Path Porter (4.3%). I liked them all; the Pale Ale, I thought, was the best of the lot, having a deep and quite intense bitterness, more so than the Hackney Hopster. I'm not sure whether these beers constitute the regular range of cask beers or if there are others.
Apart from the beer, sustenance was offered by a soup and some stew-type dishes served with crusty bread that was provided by Jimmy Garcia of Southwestsupper, an outside caterer. The brewery supplies many pubs in the London area and they also bottle a number of their beers and these can be found at independent off-licences and some branches of Oddbins in the metropolitan area. Take-away beer from the Tap Room is also available.
Should you be in or around the Hackney area at a weekend, I commend the Tap Room and its wonderful beers to you.
Important Information:
The London Fields Brewery Tap Room, 365-366 Warburton Street, London E8 3RR
Tel: 0207 254 7174
Open: Saturday and Sunday 12.00-23.00. By summer 2013 they may be open at other times.
The Tap Room is about 300 yards (metres) south of London Fields station. This is served by the trains of Greater Anglia running from Liverpool Street station to Enfield Town and Chingford. The nearest bus stop is Mare Street / Well Street which is on Mare Street. It is served by the following routes: 48, 55, 106, 236, 254 and D6. Some of these routes come from central London and all also pass Hackney Central station which is served by London Overground trains. Walking to the pub from this station takes around fifteen minutes.
