I popped into The Draft House's Chancery Lane location during London Beer City in August 2016. Adjacent to Holborn Circus and currently the largest Draft House venue around London, this is a growing franchise of bars that specialise in a varied beer selection across their lines, fridges and- in this particular establishment- an onsite Pilsner Urquell tank. It's always great to have another central venue boasting a wide representation of London beer and other independent breweries from the United Kingdom, but we found the crowd to be very mixed during our post-work visit; because of its proximity to law firms and financial offices, it was packed with throngs of suited men who spilled out into the street.
While I spotted some Beavertown being proffered, most punters were swilling Camden. It was evident that the clientele wasn't making the demands of more discerning drinkers- I noticed because we had made a special trip for the launch of a Brew by Numbers DIPA. But the keg wasn't on when we arrived- nor did it switch over in the hour and a half that we stayed- and only the manager was aware that it even existed. While some small batch beers were on offer as part of London Beer City, the staff were confused when I ordered a beer from the special London Beer City menu - nearly pulling me a pint of Beavertown's Gamma Ray instead of Brux from the Tempus Project- and also slowly explained that stronger drinks were served in 2/3rd measurements (pretty much a standard with craft beer these days, isn't it?).
I was very irked about this disorganisation and we left without trying the beer that we came from- and this was the only central location advertised as an outlet for the launch. However, the bar itself was new and nicely fitted with glimpses of personality. Taking a page from the BrewDog's interior decoration manual, there was a lot of industrial fixtures, brass piping details and a large bar. A splattering of neon signs and a few quirky elements- such as large marquee letters spelling out 'BEER'- give it a bit of character. There's a seated area and American-style bar food available, but the crowds did thin out by the time we left around 19:30.
Although the selection of beer is admirable and the Draft House is obviously getting more involved with tap takeovers and craft beer events in the vein of pubs like the Craft Beer Company, I found staff to lack the knowledge required to really excel as a craft beer destination. read more