Day 2 - London

Today, Friday, the original plan was for myself, Chad and Anthony to all head to the Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick. However, having discussed it further, this being Anthony's first time to London, he and Chad opted for the better option for themselves to go sight seeing and I went on to the brewery on my own. Did I mention the weather was absolutely incredible! Not a cloud in the sky, almost unheard of in London. Anyway, Chad and Anthony headed down to Westminster Abbey and that general area and took in a great many of London's sites.

I took the Underground out to Chiswick, a lovely neighbourhood, and walked the short walk down Chiswick High Street, down Chiswick Lane, and on to the Fuller's Brewery. I had an 11AM appointment with Head Brewer, John Keeling, primarily to interview him for the Brewing Network's "Can You Brew It" (hosted by Jamil Zainasheff) internet radio show, but also for a personal discussion on Fuller's Parti-Gyle brewing process. My interest in this is due to the fact that nearly all UK brewers used this process in the early 1800s and I have acquired a great many Scottish brewing records that employed it. To my knowledge, Fuller's is the only brewery in the UK still using this process.

The interview went great and John was a very accommodating interviewee. I extend my eternal gratitude to him for an amazingly fascinating hour and forty-five minutes. Did I mention, I believe it was John's day off too so I am additionally grateful that he was willing to come in just to speak with me. This was an experience I will never forget, for sure. I was then scheduled for the official tour of the brewery at 1PM. Though the brewery has been modernized to a great deal, they have left some of the original equipment in place so that one can get a real feel for what a classic Victorian era brewery might have been like. Great tour and then down to the tap room for tasting. I tried all of the Fuller's range as well as Gales HSB (Horndean Special Bitter) that Fuller's now brews having acquired Gales in December, 2005. This was also an amazing ale! Yet another new favorite of mine.

When I was sure this trip was going to happen, one of the first and highest priority things on my personal list was to stop by the late, great Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson's, local pub, The Andover Arms in Hammersmith. As luck would have it, the Hammersmith Underground stop was a short distance from Chiswick and the pub itself a short walk from the stop. So I made my way in the brilliant sunshine to the pub thinking along the way of how often Michael might have made this very walk. Being the middle of the afternoon, the pub itself was empty with the exception of a couple of locals. I ordered a pint of Michael's favorite tipple, Fullers Chiswick Bitter but unfortunately it was off. So instead I had a pint of Gales HSB, again, now brewed by Fullers, in his honor and sat quietly in the pub contemplating what an incredible writer and fascinating speaker he was. Truly one of the greatest losses the beer world has ever suffered.

I made my way back to the hotel to drop off my recording equipment and arranged to meet up with Chad and Anthony at Blackfriars pub near the Blackfriars Underground stop. After considerable delay due to it being Friday afternoon and the actual Blackfriars stop being closed, I eventually made it to the pub where the lads were fortunate enough to beat the crowds and get a table right out front near the street on such an incredible day. Anthony, in particular, really enjoyed the sunshine and people watching. We had arranged to meet up with a former colleague and friend of Chad and I's, Jim Walsh later that evening so we headed in the direction of our rendezvous point.

Having some time prior to the arranged meeting time, we headed to the historic Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub. We had some great steak pies but were all quite disappointed with the beer selection, the only cask beer on offer being Samuel Smith Bitter. None of us were very thrilled with this beer; nothing really wrong with it, just very little character. However, the pub itself was a great experience and the food was just what the doctor ordered. We headed on to our meeting point for the evening, The Cittie Of Yorke pub - unfortunately for us another Samuel Smith's owned pub. However, this did not diminish the grandeur and history of this amazing pub. Again, only Sam Smith's on offer but the atmosphere and architecture of the interior made it well worth the trip and a must visit for any fan of historical pubs.

Jim and his lovely wife, Jenn, showed up and the conversation, as is always expected with Jim, became very lively and entertaining. Chad had met Jenn before but neither Anthony nor I had. It was truly a pleasure to meet her and to be in the company of such a fun-loving couple. We had a couple of rounds and then headed out as Jim and Jenn had to catch a train back to Cambridge. As we walked toward the general direction I spied a Weatherspoon pub and they agreed they had time for a bit of a further nightcap. Wonderfully for me - and Anthony, as it turns out - they had Caledonian 80/-, always a great pint, one of my favorite beers in the world, and one of the only contemporary examples of the style still brewed in Scotland. I won't mention the whisky that Jenn insisted on Anthony having and I'll leave it at that. Jim and Jenn headed off and we were soon to follow heading back to the hotel. This brought our first opportunity for what every tourist to London must experience - the taxi ride!

So, back to Paddington and once again, hunger set in. Thankfully for us, the Upper Crust was open late and their baguettes truly hit the spot! Highly recommended.

And, off to bed as tomorrow is GAME DAY!

Yours Aye!
Neil