Last Friday night I went with a couple of friends to the new-ish (opened at the end of last year, I think) BrewDog bar in Camden, the only one in London. Nice back-street location so not overly busy, especially on a Friday night – even managed to get a seat!
The friendly bouncer greeted us as we entered, the vibe buzzy, but not too busy. The bar itself is furnished with 5 or 6 taps, simply adorned with the BrewDog logo. The current beers are listed on a blackboard behind the bar, along with all the various bottles that fill the fridges. On asking for a light lager, my friend was offered various brews to try before he went for a Dead Pony Club – nice and light and very drinkable. Another friend went for the Zeitgeist, a smoky but crisp black lager, and I went for a 5am Saint, a nice, hoppy, dry red ale. All were very reasonably priced, just under £4 for the DPC and just over for the other 2. Very fair prices considering the location, you’d easily pay that for a pint of standard lager in any nearby pub. I also noticed the had Tactical Nuclear Penguin (their 32% stout) available in 25ml snifters for £6. Didn’t try that though.
We went to the basement to find a seat and table, and exchange sips of our various pints.
The decor is pretty minimal, lots of bare wood, mirrors and concrete. While this looks raw and contemporary, fitting with the BrewDog style, it does have the unfortunate effect of making it very noisy; no music but still everyone was shouting at each other. This was ultimately what made us leave when our pints were empty, although I would have happily stayed for at least another one…
We didn’t try the food, but it looked interesting, different and pretty reasonably priced – pizzas and burgers for under a tenner, if my memory serves me correctly.
Personally, I’d say it’s a must for any beer lover. It may not be a regular for me but I’ll certainly be back to try the range of BrewDog beers…I just need to find some other willing accomplices. I told my brother that I’d been there and I detected a note of jealousy in his tone…perhaps I’ll have to lure him up to London to visit.
Check out the BrewDog website to see their various bars across the country, and of course their full range of brews, available to buy online.
