As someone who is biased towards favouring the East London drinking scene, I'm tragically unacquainted with Islington's star venues. The Hops and Glory is such a pub, proffering 15 taps of an expertly curated beer list alongside a worthy selection of over 100 beers in bottle. Unsurprisingly, they're microbrewing in the basement and also offer a curated beer tasting sessions. These are conducted by their resident expert, Durham Atkinson, who incidentally owns the bar and is responsible for its focus on offering an unassailable range of beer.
We were booked in for a tutored tasting session, including samples of 6 beers, three grazing plates and a tour of their basement brewing space, for a Saturday afternoon. A short walk from the Canonbury Overground station, the pub is situated on a quiet, leafy neighbourhood corner. Taking a contemporary incarnation on rustic charm, the interior incorporates handsome wooden features, a blend of plush booth seating with cozy tables and some industrial touches. Think hunting lodge meets urban living and you get the idea.
There was a good range of local beer on tap, including IPA OK from Long Arm Brewing Co and other examples from British breweries, such as Siren and Oakham, alongside a hefeweizen from German brewery Paulaner Gruppe. More comfortable offerings included Brooklyn and Camden and on cask, Darkstar was represented. However, where Hops and Glory really excels is its bottle collection, which features atypical Trappist and wheat styles in addition to a global range of everything from lager to stout.
Sitting down for our tasting, we were introduced to Durham and he launched into the basics- first, the ingredients used to make beer, then the history of brewing and even an explanation of purity laws and how these have influenced some styles. The evolution of certain beers was discussed and Durham comfortably chatted about some London breweries and the pub itself. The selection of tasters included a generic pilsner from the bar to start. From here, we worked through an Anchor Steam Beer, a Five Points Pale, a farmhouse saison from St-Feuillien, Lagunitas IPA and a Lindemans Kriek Cherry Lambic.
As we progressed through the beers, which were generously poured between two of us, our small plates arrived as they were ready- although we were engaged in deep conversation about the beer, which steered our attention away from the food, each dish was appetising and surprisingly tasty. We enjoyed a piece of gooey Welsh rarebit, a rich chicken pâté with gerkins and toast and golden goujons with creamy centres.
Following our tasting, Durham led us downstairs to the microbrewery, a makeshift use of the cavernous space beneath the pub. Brewing on a small kit, they currently have their in-house pale ale, which wasn't on tap that afternoon, but we were offered a sample from the tank. They're hoping to experiment with different styles and make their pale ale more widely available soon- they were scheduled to brew a new batch the following day.
We had a wonderful afternoon discovering The Hops and Glory and their expansive beer collection with Durham- the tutored beer tasting session was intimate and informative and Durham was a first-rate guide. The quality of food paired with the beer impressed us both and the pub itself had undeniable charm. We'll hopefully revisit soon, especially for the excuse to leave our comfortable confines of Hackney Wick. read more