Jerusalem Tavern

I still plan to get around to a general article on London pubs, but here is at least some words about a pub which you all should seek out. While the pubs in the most pricey areas of Soho and Covent Garden tend to be fake Irish identikit places, the rest of London has lots of great pubs. Many of them belong to the London brewers Fuller’s or Young’s, but there are others as well if you take the time to seek them out.

A one of a kind pub is the Jerusalem Tavern, the only London pub run by St. Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk (where they have their only other pub.) The building dates back to 1720, and is located close to the Smithfield meat market, a few minutes walk from the Museum of London .

I would guess that this rather small pub fills up rather quickly both at lunchtime and after office hours, so try to do as I did and find a quiet afternoon.

The beers range from splendid examples of classic British beers to more experimental brews, and you should be able to find someone to your liking. At any time there are six or seven beers on tap, and the rest of the range is available bottled. To get through as many as possible, I ordered half-pints, which is certainly not my ordinary size of glass.

I started with an Organic Best Bitter, which was, simply, an English bitter as good as it gets. Very hoppy, with an almost chalky finish. The Golden ale was more related to a lager, and while a good beer, it did not reach the heights of the bitter. The Cream Stout was another winner, with a full aroma that should be the envy of a certain Dublin Brewer. Lots of molasses and coffee gives a full aroma. Bittersweet finish from Fuggles and Challenger Hops.

Suffolk Gold is an ale brewed with lots of First Gold hops – Nirvana for a hop addict like me.

The only one I felt lukewarm about, was the Lemon & Ginger Spiced Ale, which I felt was too much of a novelty beer. Maybe something to drink with sushi – take a sip of this between bites instead of pickled ginger?

Friendly staff, with solid knowledge about their trade. The secret behind a range of six real ales on tap in a small pub is to have small casks. They use casks which are half the size of the ones used in most pubs, which means they can keep the beer fresh at all times.

I staggered out after a few hours, as they unfortunately only serve food (or do food, as they say) at lunchtime, but with clear intentions to return at the first opportunity. I bought with me a few bottles from their fridge to enjoy at home, too. A review of their Winter Ale shortly. I believe they export some of their beers, and some of them are available in shops such as the beer shop in Borough Market as well.

St. Peter’s Brewery was recently up for sale, as the current owners felt they had reached a stage when more capital was needed to expand. The latest reports say they have withdrawn this offer, and we can count ourselves lucky that they were not bought up by one of the big lager lads!