Skip to main content

Horsing Around: The Blackhorse Beer Mile

 Dan, friend of the blog, decided to have a birthday. Beers were the order of the day and there was a beer mile that none of us had done before. Well Tom had done it before, but he’s probably been to every pub in London! I was interested to see how this smaller beer mile would compare to the legendary Bermondsey Beer Mile.

Before sampling any beers, the Cambridge crew had to do battle with a replacement bus, oh the joy! Bus battle won, we waited for the Bedford crew to arrive. After the required awkward introduction for people who hadn’t met before, we did the short walk to our lunch venue. 

Texas Joe’s

Hi, I’m Dan and this is my first drink

I think I’ve found my new favourite London restaurant! This place is incredible! Firstly, the staff and service was flawless. Secondly, the venue is quirky and fun. Thirdly, the food. Probably the best BBQ food I’ve ever had! Look at it!

Get in my face

Fries not pictured, they were amazing too! There was also a decent range of beer on tap, I opted for Helles from Lost and Grounded. 

After loading up on food, we headed back to London Bridge Station and onto the main event, The Blackhorse beer mile. 

Yonder: 

Would need a lot of beers to try climbing

So the first stop of the Blackhorse beer mile is a gym, yes you’ve read that correctly. Yonder is a climbing gym with two beer taps, plus a beer fridge. I went for Studio Lager from Signature Brew, more on them later. This was certainly my first time having a beer in a gym. 

Big Penny Social: 

On the site of the former Truman brewery, Big Penny Social is big! 

That’s only half of the place! 

Me and the birthday boy

Most of the beers were from Big Penny’ brewery. The American Brown Ale was chewy and tasty! 

I got a sneaky cellar photo of the way out: 

Signature Brew:


Signature have a really nice taproom but I found their beers distinctively average. There was a good range of styles available, being a lover of Festbier I went for that. Sadly, I didn’t enjoy it much. The C-Sharp sour was probably worst beer of the day, I’m glad I only had a taste! 

Pretty Decent Beer Co: 


Beer wise, Pretty Decent was my least favourite tap on the mile. A vast beer list of mostly pales and lighter beers did not fill me with joy. 

I treated myself to a NEIPA and an APA. The NEIPA was average at best, the APA was bland. Win some, lose some. The toilets here were interesting, they rocked when people walked about! 

Exale: 

Theming?

Exale was the tap I was most looking forward to! I’m a big fan of their beers, they’re often found in The Blue Moon. 

Sometimes, less is more. Less beer selection, but much better beer than the last place! I enjoyed the black IPA and Irish stout was ok. Beer of the day though, Jazz Dragon! A dangerously tasty DIPA. 

The squad

Want a flake with that mate?

Beerblefish: 

Looks like the entrance to a horror maze

A pink cellar

The barman here was by far the friendliest of the mile! Bonus points to this tap for having a pool table! I enjoyed the Iron Pier bitter, cask and in good condition. I tried a couple of Beerblefish’s beers, both cask, they were not in good condition.

Wild Card:


I was really looking forward to visiting Wild Card but sadly it was a bit of a let down, the beer was average at best. I did enjoy the Living On Light pale, but the Stout was tasteless. 

Me and Nathan

Hackney Brewery: 



Hackney became my second favourite tap on the mile. A lovely tap room, with nice beers! I enjoyed the Six Foot Turkey pale. This was a really nice place to finish the day at.

I enjoyed visiting The Blackhorse Beer Mile, but I won’t be rushing back. I feel like I spent a lot of the day drinking pretty average beers; granted in nice taprooms. Exale and Hackney are places I would certainly return to, but I’m struggling to find a reason to return to any of the others. This smaller beer mile is not close to the level of Bermondsey, where there are much better beers on offer. 




Comments

  1. retiredmartinNovember 27, 2023 at 8:51 AM

    What I like about your blog (please keep going !) is the honest assessment of beer quality; it's written from a drinker's rather than an industry perspective and you're prepared to be a bit disappointed !

    I visited Beerblefish this year because it made the Beer Guide (serves cask) and the barman (was he Australian ?) was a gem. Popped in Exale too, also enjoyed. But not everything is great !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beer MooseNovember 27, 2023 at 2:37 PM

      Thank you. I try to write what I would like to read and know. Absolutely prepared to be disappointed, not everywhere can be good of course.
      I don’t think he was, on my visit.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Smile Like You Mean It: The Story of My Friendship With Rach, Mental Health and Our Latest Adventure.

 I’m very fortunate to have great friends in my life, I don’t think you can put a value on good people. People who have your back, make you laugh, pick you up if you need it, advise you, complement you and at times challenge you. I’m not a great lover of texting or messaging, because it just isn’t the same as being together in real life. To me, a sign of a great friend is someone you can spend weeks or months away from, but when you do meet again, it’s like you were never apart. People come and go, the best people stay.  In 2011, whilst at secondary school, I was elected to Sports Council. At this time I was failing to accept that my rugby playing days were nearly over. I have a lifelong problem with my back, it was getting worse. I was seeing two physios a week, hours of laying on my front having my back looked at, coupled with loading up on whatever pain relief the Dr would prescribe me. That was all to try and get through the rugby matches. Eventually, my consultant, Dr Jen...
2 comments
Read more

A RADical Improvement To The Cambridge Beer Scene: The Rad Preview Night!

  It’s so good to see Cambridge’s smallest pub back open! I was invited to the preview night and had a great time. For most of my drinking life, this pub was fairly rubbish. The beer, although cheap, was terrible. Most of it came from a brewery, which no longer exists. I don’t miss it. Enough about rubbish beer though, what’s the new Rad like?  Well, in my opinion, it’s just what Cambridge needed. The beer scene in Cambridge is sadly dominated by Greene King, there are too few places where you can get both a good range of beer and beer served in good condition. The Rad had one of the best ranges of beer, I’ve seen in ages. There was literally something for everyone. From sours, to various types of IPA, impy stouts, lager and bitter! There were some preview night teething issues with the beer screens, but it’s so good to be able to see the beer list, style of beer and strength so clearly! The condition was excellent, as expected.  I sampled beers from Marble, Two Flints an...
2 comments
Read more

Moose On The Loose: Manchester - February 2024: This Is The One

  Manchester is probably the most diverse beer city in The UK. It’s got traditional pubs, taprooms and trendy ‘craft’ places, the vast majority of places I’ve been in Manchester have been excellent! This is the story of my second pub trip to Manchester and I’m joined by legend of blog, Rach!  The trip started with a massive error, and it’s not having a night out before an away day, because that is always a good idea. It is using trains. I should have driven, still I got do my first delay and repay. Anyway, on to the beer!  We started at Hops & Boogie, as we needed to do some shopping in Sale.  The Squawk Porter went done a treat!  We then hopped on the tram and headed towards a strong contender for best taproom in The UK, Track.  Rainbow beer board! My least fave type of glass Track’s taproom is spacious, light and has good seating options. Oh and great beer! What more could you want?  Living my best life. We then headed to another taproom, Suresho...
2 comments
Read more