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.