Travels with my Passport 4: All four corners of the Earth
Since my last post, (https://www.londonbiermeister.co.uk/blog/binettes-of-london-beer-life ), my travels with my Beer Passport continue. Points of visit now numbering 37 (as of 13 September 2025). Full list is here (https://www.londonbiermeister.co.uk/blog/annex-beer-passport-the-story-so-far ). Recent visits have taken me to all four points of the compass (well, from a London perspective at any rate), so what follows is a reasonably straightforward account of this.
West of London - Windsor
A bonus of the Beer Passport is that as well as the various points of London it offers a few treats beyond the city limits. A quick browse revealed a cluster of delights in Windsor - the Windsor and Eton Brewery, Two Flints and Indie Rabble. This clearly had to be tackled in one go. But equally clear was that I needed assistance - taking on three BOGOF deals by myself could be described as heroic, or alternatively as stupid. So my thanks to my friends David and Adrian for valiantly stepping into the breach and keeping me company.
Windsor has a noble brewing tradition, with names such as Noakes and Burges. But it is one that declined and eventually fell away completely. The acquisition of Burges by Meux in 1931 seems to have been a critical moment, with production in Windsor ceasing soon after.
And so it remained until 2010, when Will, Paddy, Jim and Bob founded the Windsor and Eton Brewery and took over premises just along the river from Riverside Station. So this was our first stop. A lovely big space, doing an excellent trade as we approached the Friday after work period. They offered an excellent mix of classic cask ales and some funkier craft stuff. I had recently enjoyed a full session in a pub in Teddington SW London courtesy of their Windsor Knot offering.
We tasted this again, as well as sampling the likes of Guardsman best bitter and Knights of the Garter golden ale. My personal favourite was the Conqueror black IPA - in my experience black IPAs can be over-bitter but this one nailed the flavour just right (I purchased to take away a bottle of “Conqueror 1075” at 7.4%, which is now in my special cupboard that the kids aren’t allowed to raid). Like many quality taprooms, they also offered fine food options (memo to self, an enormous pork sandwich in a big roll with a huge portion of chips in the evening is not ideal for a gentleman of mature years with heartburn issues).
From there we took the short walk back towards the station where the other two breweries sit literally next to each other. Apparently we have Louisa May Alcott to thank for the name of our next brewery as she once wisely (and completely inaccurately) commented that “it takes Two Flints to make a fire”. She was an excellent writer but an unreliable outdoor survival expert. Anyway, Alex Kerr founded Two Flints brewery in 2017, having previously home brewed from his flat in Singapore. They specialised in hazy pales, and these were ok. A nice down to earth outdoor setting with kids running around (which I am told some beer traditionalists object to and as a serial dad I can’t quite get why - we need to help the next generation think of beer in a positive way). But my socks have been knocked off a few times on my Passport journey and Two Flints just didn’t hit that threshold.
So we went next door to Indie Rabble, which only started in 2023 but which secured the SIBA Best New Independent Craft Brewery award in 2024. They are clearly making waves, as evidenced by some of the big names with whom they have collaborated. Their motto is “Down With Bad Things” and this is hard to argue with. The artwork is quite funky, so the beer needs to be excellent. And it is. Here was my beer of the night - the “It’s Friday Somewhere Zest Coast IPA”. My friends concurred in their approval, having sampled the “Hoity Toity” American Pale.
West London - Perivale
Recently was my birthday. Having spent time with my kids and with my sweet lady, I carved out one day for “me time”. The evening was earmarked for seeing the aptly named Oval Invincibles crush their opposition (yes, I know that The Hundred is the spawn of Satan and I do prefer the County Championship, honest, but this was some of the best cricketers in the world strutting their stuff so I don’t care). My daughter had previously tipped me off that Perivale was worth the trip, so when I saw it was in the Passport I thought why not?
This brewery is literally on a farm (Horsenden Farm). It forms part of a “Friends of Horsenden” collective, which has a mission to look after the farm and surrounding land. The bar is a kiosk; the seating is in a courtyard opposite. On a nice sunny day such as that one it is bliss (with less clement weather it might not have been).
The brewery’s staple is the Spooneristic “Veri Pale” (geddit?) pale ale. But they pride themselves on using funky / local ingredients. And there probably isn’t anything funkier than Japanese Knotweed (??!) which forms the basis of their Knot Welcome sour. The guy behind the bar explained that they had retrieved some as part of a joint endeavour with Ealing Council to clear the dreaded Knotweed from around the farm land (i.e. they didn’t deliberately grow it). I asked if it wasn’t a bit tough, essentially brewing with a bio-hazard. The answer: yes of course we are careful, but remember that the brewing process does boil everything pretty thoroughly. So I had to try some and actually it was really tasty - sharp and refreshing. I then moved onto the Kulm Together lager, made with Northumbrian seaweed. I ended up on the glorious “Veri Special” 7% pale - rich and powerful, drunk in the company of a charming Italian gentleman who had sat at my table and offered me a slice of his pizza.
Having perused their can collection, I took away the Veri Zesty elderflower infused pale, and the Woodruff Wheat lager, so two treats await.
North London - Haringay
This is unfamiliar territory to a resolutely south London boy, so I ventured one afternoon to the upper reaches of the Piccadilly Line not quite knowing what I would find. Having left the tube at the hive of activity that was Wood Green, I had a gentle stroll for a few minutes to the west until I found The Goodness brewery, in the proper environment of a grubby commercial premises near a railway line. Like many others, The Goodness began with a bunch of local boys who were enthusiastic homebrewers. Unlike many others, they managed to make the leap to success and expansion, and apparently in a sustainable way. Their website cites the contribution made by Josh Billington, who joined as head brewer in 2023.
I am a bit of a sucker for a setting such as this which does amazing beer, and The Goodness’s beer was up there with anything that I have tasted on my travels. I started with the “Sunshine” Kolsch, which was the best Kolsch that I can remember tasting, including in Cologne - it captured all of the qualities of an ale with the additional benefits of the lagering process. Equally good was the “Love Supreme” DDH Hazy IPA. This boasted a double dose both of Amarillo Cryo and Citra Cryo. Powerful yet balanced. Just superb beer science all round. On my list of places that I mean to return to.
From here I strolled up to Bounds Green and the small cafe style venue on Myddleton Road that was the Bohem Brewery taproom. This does what it says on the tin. Czech style lagers, efficiently executed and in a warm, busy, cosy environment with families, children and dogs. It had me reminiscing about my younger days inter-railing around Czech beer country. The guy behind the bar, when he heard that I had come all the way from Battersea, gave me a flyer for their latest venture - the Queens Arms near Queenstown Road station in my neck of the woods. Another one to add to the list… And they clearly have a strong supporter base, given that my Insta photo from here (see below) has received more views and likes than any other by an order of magnitude.
South East London - Brockley
Back to much more familiar territory, as I caught the train round to Brockley on a Sunday afternoon and took a brief stroll through the charming streets to Brockley Brewery. This was a laid back friendly Sunday afternoon vibe with a large television screen keeping the expat American locals up to speed with all the twists and turns of the first round of NFL games. I enjoyed two pints of very solid cask ale - the Pale and the Summer XPA - before being tempted by the 7% 7XL NEIPA, which really packed a punch (the barman pointed out his colleague Gianluca as the creator of this beer, so I was able to express my appreciation).
As I prepared to leave (with a takeout can of the very tasty Hilly Fields IPA) I noticed an advert for Rooftop Project honey. The barman explained that there was a hive of “rescue bees” on the roof of the brewery. I hadn’t realised that the abandonment of bees was a thing, but apparently it is… anyway, I purchased a jar, and subsequently saw a couple of the bar staff donning full gear to climb up onto the roof and inspect the hive. A lovely touch, and yet another of those quirky unexpected experiences that I have got used to on my travels.
South West of London - Staines
I headed to Thames Side Brewery in Staines one afternoon last week. Thames Side has a good and familiar story behind it: Andy Hayward was a home brewer working in insurance who decided in 2015 that he wanted to brew beer full time, while re-introducing brewing to a town that had a history of it until it stopped in the 1930s. The beer was nice (and my view was clearly shared by others given the plethora of awards up on the wall), especially the Egyptian Goose IPA. But the ambience did not detain me. It is a cavernous modern building in the middle of a charmless American-style shopping area with a huge car park surrounded by low rise shops. I was there at five pm on a Thursday, so the absence of any other punters at all was a bit weird. Maybe I just didn’t catch the place at its best.
North West of London
This account ends on a high note with my journey to Creative Juices near Rickmansworth. I had been put off from going here because it was clearly a bit of a trek - there is an infrequent (by central London standards) bus that connects it to Heathrow, Uxbridge, Rickmansworth and Watford Junction (all of which are a bit of a schlepp from Battersea in the first place…). But I made it on a Friday afternoon and I am extremely glad that I did. It is another brewery that is actually in the middle of a farm, with the brewery building occupying the site of what used to be a dairy.
Feeling suitably satisfied and thirsty at having navigated such an arduous journey, I headed into the taproom and was served by the charming Anne-Cecile, who was full of enthusiasm and keen to make recommendations. As sometimes happens, my passport was an object of curiosity with the other punters, which led me into a conversation with a bearded gentleman near the bar who turned out to be Ben Janaway, self-styled “founder, brewer, marketeer, lush”. I warmed to Ben in particular having read the “Secret Diary of a Brewery Widow” by his wife Edyta on the website - the article did not pull its punches about the challenges of starting a brewery as a young parent, but the love and positivity towards her “beardy-weirdy” mate really shines through.
I ended up choosing the “Of Course I Still Love You” best bitter. I took it into the garden outside and savoured the last of the warmth of the afternoon sunshine, relishing a drink which had all the traditional qualities of a classic best bitter with an additional richness and edge. Wandering back into the taproom, I saw that a popular choice was the “Slinky Vagabond” American IPA. I ordered a pint, and it was an absolute treat. Citrus-y and hoppy, but not at all harsh. 5.6% so to be savoured rather than gulped, but it still went down very smoothly. I would 100% endorse the assertion on the website that “this is a deliciously created blend that will have you coming back for more time and time again”... and sure enough I was back for a second helping before too long.
In between I experienced the taste nirvana that was the smoked beef brisket and “porketta” from The Weeping Chef - former Masterchef finalist Alec Tomasso - who had pitched his van outside the brewery. Taprooms often arrange for street food to be available, but this knocked everything else I have tried into a cocked hat.
Closing Reflection
I will just leave you with a comment from the “Slinky Vagabond” page on the Creative Juices website.
“We are living through a craft beer revolution. What a time to be alive!”
Keep the passion going, guys - Creative Juices and everyone else. We, the punters, really appreciate it. Cheers.