Crouch Vale's "Brewers Gold"

Light fruity number.

The Dove, E8

Warren-like layout inside with the signs of quality everywhere and a strong range of ales. Certainly one to consider if you are on the canal going to Victoria Park.

Anchor Springs' "Black Pearl"

Liquorice and chocolate notes to this Sussex porter.

Downton's "Roman Imperial Stout"

Chocolate and coffee notes in this strong stout.

Caledonian's "Old Lang Syne"

Fruity and spicy.

Burton Bridge's "Bramble Stout"

Slight coffee notes to this bottle conditioned ale.

Beer of the Week: Brentwood's "Chestnut Stout"

Excellent dry chestnutty ale.

Tolly Cobbold's "Tolly English Ale"

Brewed by Greene King, this was a thin, bodiless ale.

Shepherd Neame's "1698"

Strong, slightly fruity tawny ale.

Fuller's "Bengal Lancer"

Great IPA

Black Sheep Ale

Left Theakstons to set up this brewery and he knows what he's doing. The signature ale is sweet and not too hoppy.

Badger's "Blandford Flyer"

A slightly sweet amber beer with a hint of ginger. Will look out for this in the summer.

Itchen Valley's "Wat Tyler"

A malty bitter which I'd heartily recommend.

Cottage Brewing's "Black Watch"

Lovely porter

The Defectors Weld, W12

Busy Friday night ale pub with keg and cask galore. Staff seemed knowledgeable amongst the crowd. One to return to.

Young's "Winter Warmer"

Slightly spicy.

The Constitution, NW1

Excellent local, with pool and darts being played and a table partaking in a game of Trivial Pursuit when I went in with Beer Goggles on a Thursday evening. The barmaid poured an excellent pint (the barman not so) and there's a great garden.

Dirty Dicks, EC2M

Full of suits when I came in just after lunchtime, this pub felt like it might have an atmosphere when they'd all gone home.

Moles' "Mole Catcher"

A deserved CAMRA gold medal winner.

Woodin's Shades, EC2M

Sister pub to the Magpie and a handful of others in the area, this had a good range of ales as you'd expect and benefitted from its position on the main road to have a handful of customers earlyish on a work day.

Harviestoun's "Old Engine Oil"

Lovely

The Magpie, EC2M

 Good range of ales at this pub but I went so early on a week day it's impossible to gauge the atmosphere. Decor was as historicentric as usual in this chain.

Wharfebank's "Try This"

A light bitter.

Hamilton Hall, EC2M

A Wetherspoons at Liverpool Station named for the Chairman of the Great Eastern Railway Company, that built the place. It has the usual good range of ales but the downstairs is little more than a waiting room with tables with only two seats. Depressing.

Beer of the Week: Wincle's "Old Hag"

Excellent chocolate stout porter with roasted malt taste and fuggles hops from Cheshire that I received as a present from Beer Goggles.

Brew Dog Shoreditch, E1

Very different to their Camden pub but similar to their Scottish chain according to my mate Rob, this bar was heaving on a January Friday.

Summer Wine's "Sin City Chocolate IPA"

This was a thin-tasting IPA with only the most meager of chocolate notes (pictured left).

Brew Dog's "Barrel Aged 7.7 Lager"

Slightly fruity. Not bad for a lager.

Bew Dog's "Zeitgeist"

A black lager which reminded me a little of my time in Japan.

Brew Dog's "5am Saint"

Fruity red bursting with flavour.

St Peter's "Organic Best Bitter"

Medium bodied best

Lord Stanley, NW1

Decent food at this Camden Park Road pub.

Redemption's "Trinity"

Golden ale from the North London brewery, which is extremely hoppy given it's 3%.

The Abbey Tavern, NW1

Lively pub with live music and good ales.

Windsor and Eton's "Knight of the Garter"

Slightly citrusy Golden Ale with a dry finish.

The Oxford, NW5

Busy stylish Kentish Town pub with a couple of ales, benches on the pavement and a large dining area.

Sharp's "Special"

A tasty strong slightly fruity Cornish ale.

Lion and Unicorn, NW5

A cosy little theatre pub in residential Kentish Cross with a few ales to sup.

Caledonian's "Elf Esteem"

A fairly light, smooth seasonal bitter.

Brains' "Fir King Good Ale"

A rich, malty seasonal ale from the Cardiff brewer.

The Flying Horse, EC2A

 This Cask Marque pub has been on the periphery of my radar for a while but the friendliness of the staff means it exceeded my expectations. I had a couple of tasty festive ales here.

Badger's "Golden Glory"

This is a floral, peachy ale that is nothing like the malty beers I love, but I do like this a lot. In Peru, my favourite beer was called Quara and I found out it was marketed at women. This might too be a beer with the female crowd in mind. Regardless, I enjoy it.

The Fiddler's Elbow/Fiddlers, NW5

After a break in Egypt where I all I could drink was varieties of fizz, it was great to get back to a British pub. This was a music joint, where I saw a couple of bands and heard some funk.