The 5 best craft beer pubs in London
The team behind London Beer Week reveal their favourite pubs in London to enjoy a crafty pint and soak up a great atmosphere
1. Hops & Glory
382 Essex Rd, London N1 3PF
New life has been breathed into this old boozer yet its soul remains intact. It’s all dark woods and candles, an aged mirror perched above the bar and plenty of fantastic craft beer.
Found on the top end of Essex Rd it’s a local’s taproom complete with bicycles and French Bulldogs muddled in among the 15 beers on tap and more than six times that in bottles. There’s even a microbrewery in the basement churning out their fantastic Hops & Glory Pale Ale, which you simply must try.
Visit for: Sunday roasts, lively weekends and mid-week pints.
2. Arbitrager
27 Throgmorton St, London EC2N 2AN
Situated in the heart of the City, the Arbitrager serves up beers produced by over 70 breweries within the capital, and a few gins as well. There’s even a huge map of all the breweries so be sure to start exploring.
It’s an intimate space with barely room to swing your brolly, but it has been decorated superbly. We’re talking copper pipes, polished tiles, bare light bulbs and rough wooden tables to squeeze around.
Visit to: get acquainted with London’s own craft beer.
3. London Fields Tap Room
365-366 Warburton St, London E8 3RR
You can’t get much closer to craft than drinking from a brewery’s tap room. There are several in London but this is one of the best, iconic for its raw decor and excellent beer which tastes as fresh as you’d expect.
It’s all wood and upturned barrels here, perfect to perch around, sipping on a pint and looking through to the working brewery.
Visit for: fresh pints and great names; Hackney Hopster, Love not War and Shoreditch Triangle IPA.
4. The Rake
14 Winchester Walk, Borough Market SE1 9AG
The smallest pub, the best beer selection. Figures. If you’re not one for being squished into a corner visit on warmer days where the beer garden, an oasis from Borough Market, offers more space.
A handful of brews rotate on the pub’s taps but it’s the bottle selection these guys are famous for. There’s simply hundreds from all around the world in every style you can imagine, and then some.
Visit for: adventurous drinking.
5. Sun Tavern
441 Bethnal Green Rd, London E2 0AN
Irish dive bar meets NYC cocktail den inside this gem on Bethnal Green Road. Expect exposed brick, soft leather, old wood and a brilliant local beer selection. So local that the team have handpicked their ales and lagers from nearby breweries, calling them their ‘local heroes’.
Don’t expect to see the same thing twice however as these taps are regularly changed.
Visit for: lively drinking sessions, tasting cocktails and a sample of Irish spirits including the fabled poitín.
London Beer Week runs from 22-28 February 2016. Strap on a £10 wristband and head to these pubs and more during the festival on the self-guided Beer Tours. For more information visit the London Beer Week website.
