The first stop was Harry's Bar in the cactus roof bar in Terminal 1 at Changi Airport, Singapore. Harry's Bar may be world famous, but is not known for its beer. There was a special offer of $10 Singapore a pint for Harry's Premium Lager. It was

actually a sweet, malty lager with little trace of hops brewed in Auckland. I didn't know New Zealand was exporting draft beer.

 

The second stop was Tescos in Addlestone (Surrey), the charity shop capital of the world, where we found an interesting bottled beer from Shepherd Neame called Canterbury Jack which was named after an old Kentish hop and a well-known

Kentish rogue. This was typical of many English bottled beers which we have had out in New Zealand  - Badger Firsty Ferrit would be a good example.

 

You wouldn't expect success in the Calthorpe Arms, Bloomsbury, which is a typical Youngs local. But we did find Young's London Gold, a new summer ale using organic hops from Kew Gardens. I think I have had something similar to this in

bottles a few 1years ago.

 

The next day the search moved to quiet, sedate Dulwich Village, a total contrast to cosmopolitan Brixton just down the road. The venue was the Crown and Greyhound, an enormous Victorian pub that dominates the High Street of the village. It is something of a relic, should be in the Good Beer Guide historic pubs list, and clearly is a focal point. The surprise

beer was Adnam's American style IPA at 4.8%. This was exactly as described - a hop dominated citrusy IPA in the New World style we have been getting recently in New Zealand. Apparently the Admans brewers have a great admiration for these styles of beers.

 

The search then moved to the Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell. This is a small tavern in a building that was a shop in the 1790s. It has the only full range of St Peter's beers outside of the brewery. I tried the Mild, it being Mild Month, but it was a bit disappointing. I must admit I confused the bitter chocolate malts for hop bitterness. this is also the first of many hundreds of CAMRA recommended pubs I been into that did not have hand pumps. They seemed to be using some sort of drop system, rather similar to those used in the Sprig and Fern pubs in Nelson.

 

We then moved to the Gunmakers, also in Clerkenwell. This was a hidden gem. It has only been going for a couple of years and the barman doesn't think it will necessarily last long. The proprietor is a very enthusiastic, hyper-active chap who describes himself as an educated Geordie. But the four beers on hand pump simply amazed me - Norfolk Wherry, Thwaites Nutty Black, which is a mild and according to the GBG very hard to find, a new brewery to me was Purity Brewing from rural Warwickshire. They produced a beer called Mad Goose, a very good 4.2%. And the last one on tap was Mordues Radgie Gadgie, a 4.8% ESB which I will be tasting in 10 minutes time.

 

Earlier today I tried to find a Fullers Mild in the Barrowboy and Banker in Southwark. A great bank conversion in Borough High Street. There was a rumour they put out a mild for Mild Month, but it might be just a rumour.

 

Tomorrow the search moves to Newcastle.

 

Our UK correspondent.