The Changing Face of London's Pubs

A lot has changed in London since my first visit. The city air is filled with the sights and sounds of construction. Shakespeare's Globe and the Tate Modern, to name a couple, have joined the must-see list. Older treasures, like the British Museum, have gotten facelifts. The food has improved, too; the choice of restaurants has never been wider, and you can grab a decent sandwich at a corner shop.

Even that centuries-old institution, the British pub, has succumbed to the forces of change. For beer lovers, this has been a mixed blessing. Let's get the bad news out of the way first. Big corporations--some of which don't even brew beer--own a big chunk of London's pubs; some stand accused of sacrificing ambience and quality for short-term profit. Thoughtless entrepreneurs have gutted historic pubs, to the horror of preservationists. Loud music has become a distracting fact of life.

These are turbulent times for pubs. But with a little bit of homework, you can find a friendly place to savor a pint of cask-conditioned, or Real Ale. In an earlier Beer Traveller article, I recommended several websites to help you find good pubs. Using those sites, I was able to uncover new and interesting places to enjoy good British beer. More importantly, I've learned that "chain" isn't necessarily a dirty word. There are pub chains, old and new, that still treat beer lovers right.

In 1979, Tim Martin, law student from New Zealand, decided to do something about the dreary pub selection in his North London neighborhood: he bought one and remade it to his liking. The pub, which he called Wetherspoons, offered a variety of cask-conditioned ales...and a strict no-music policy. That's still the rule in J.D. Weatherspoon pubs, a collection that has grown to more than 400. These pubs also have no-smoking sections (still a rarity in Britain) and all-day food service.

There aren't any jukeboxes in Wetherspoon pubs, but the beer prices will be music to your ears. Guest ales are only £1.69 a pint (the going price in central London is £2.20 to £2.40). And if you want to take a British beer tour without leaving the capital, there's the "Century Collection"--a rotating selection of 100 cask-conditioned ales from around the kingdom. Look for a Century Collection brochure, with tasting notes, inside the pub.

While roaming the neighborhood around my hotel, a Fuller's "Ale & Pie House" caught my interest. That evening, I dropped in for a hearty sausage-and-bacon pie and a pint of Fuller's ESB. The Ale & Pie Houses are--dare I say this?--the upper crust of Fuller, Smith and Turner's pub operations. Many of them saw service as banks before they were converted into pubs. Fuller's collection also includes "Quality Locals," which offer homestyle food along with cask-conditioned ESB, London Pride, and specialty ales.

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