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How Much?! London In June Featuring Fuller’s Brewery

 


I took my dad to Fuller’s for a brewery tour as a very late (2024) Father’s Day present. Circumstances meant we had been waiting to do this for a while! When the day came around it turned into the hottest day of the year so far! 

Arriving at Fullers for our midday tour we were immediately welcomed into the Fullers shop by air conditioning and a man who was very excited about all things health and safety. This was the first brewery tour that I’ve had to sign a disclaimer for before starting! 

Don’t fall in

The tour started in the historic part of the brewery and it’s even older than most CAMRA members!

Another vessel to not fall into

The tour followed the brewing process and gave an interesting outline of how Fullers brew and the values of the brewery. We also got to go into the modern part of the brewery which was a cool 41 degrees! 


The tour then went to some parts of breweries I’ve never been into before. 

Cask line

Distribution area

It was then time to taste some beers! The tasting room is set in a former air raid shelter and has stairs leading down to it that wouldn’t look out of place in the film Labyrinth. 

Full Fullers rang!

  
We were given forty minutes to drink as many half pints as we wished. The Pride and ESB were in good condition however the other beers I tried were served in distinctively average condition, which is a shame considering we were drinking at the brewery. 

We also got to go into the cellar, which was wonderfully air conditioned. 

Overall I’d say that Fullers is one of the better brewery tours I’ve done. The guide was knowledgable, interesting and fun. Seeing more than just brewing equipment was a welcomed change from most tours I’ve done before.

Post tour we headed to The Dove, which claims to have the world’s smallest bar area! First though we took a look at the river.


The Dove was a really nice classic pub and the London Pride was drinking well. From here we checked into our no frills Easy Hotel in Kensington and then headed out to some more pubs. 


First up was The Blackfriar, which was not coping with the heat. Most keg beers were off and the Hophead was just about passable. We also hit the pub at after work pint time meaning we had to listen to people in suits arguing about who was the most important.

Another weirdly shaped building

The Cockpit was next and as you can see it was packed outside, but not busy inside so we parked ourselves at the bar. The Harveys Best here was passable if not amazing. Whilst sat at the bar a suited man spent over £125 on a round of drinks. 

It had been a while since we had some Fullers beer so we headed to The Viaduct Tavern which was frankly unpleasant. 
Rubbish photo I know

The beer here tasted like dish water. This pub is apparently in the Good Beer Guide. It was also packed out with an America tour group who seemed to be on a tour of pubs and simply did not know how to behave in a pub. Overall a bad experience. 

But things got a lot better as I found a one of my new favourite pubs in London. 

Walk down this alley way just off of Hatton Garden

Here’s your view:


I’d actually tried to visit this pub a few years ago but it wasn’t open on Saturdays back then! What an absolute gem of place. Two beautiful and historical rooms, a great range of well kept beers and air con!!
I will be back to revisit this pub! 

We had time for more pub and Craft Beer Co was round the corner, it would have been rude not to! I hoped that they had Broken Dream on. 

Yesssssss

Though one pint of Broken Dream and two packets of crisps cost me £10.40. It was in perfect condition and is my favourite beer so I can let it slide! 

The next day we headed for a look around Battersea Power Station.

No pigs flying today

The shopping centre inside is really nice but mostly filled with shops that don’t interest me. We grabbed a coffee and waited for Battersea Brewery to open.

Lots of choice! 

Battersea have a really lovely tap room! We grabbed a flight and sampled the beers.


My highlight was the amber (not pictured). 

It was then time to head home via a pint of Harvey’s in The Harp which was of course delicious. 
I do like visiting London and its pubs. However the cask in London is a real lottery unless you really know where to drink. When you’re paying London prices for pints you expect them to be in good condition and I wish this was the case more often. 

Thanks for reading. 









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