Advise from England please

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lurker18

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Heading across the pond in April for a wedding, and will be spending 2 weeks in jolly old England.
3 days in Cawsand or Kingsand, 1 day in Plymouth, 3 or 4 days in Lyme Regis, and 3 or 4 days in London.
What is a must see, with good beer attached, and are there any that I should avoid. I have never been there, but am going with other Englanders (but I don't think they are into the beer scene, so they won't be much help).
Please offer some placesto get a good beer.
 
You didn't say when you are going, but you should look into CAMRA-sponsored beer festivals. I lived near Cambridge for three years, and I loved going to the beer festivals. They are very tame (older gentlemen milling about discussing beers, also families with kids) and you can really find some good brews. http://www.camra.org.uk

If you are into the party scene, check out The Church I think it is more of a tourist thing and not really about good beer (the older locals probably dislike attendees of The Church), but I had fun there. It is definitely not kid-safe. They have various stage acts that include drinking games, strippers, etc. It's more like a party, and I describe it to friends as "everything you shouldn't do on a Sunday [if you're religious]." They play great music, and a lot of people dress up in costumes for fun.

Edit: Sorry, you did say April... I need to go to bed.
 
When in London, make sure you stop by the Harp in Covent Gardens. Possibly the best pub in all of England. Oh, it is. CAMRA pub of the year 2010 and 11. Great selection of cask and try the ciders too.
 
I am still looking for any help you can give me. Just got the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, started looking through that, but I would really like personal opinions of anything I can get.
 
I can help you out with London - there's quite a lot so do you know roughly where you'll be staying?
 
First things first, get used to the exchange rate (Currently almost $1.60 per £1)
Most lager (what we would consider as BMC) will run you £2.75-£4 in pubs. That's $4.40-$6.40 per pint of lager (carlsberg, fosters, etc). Drinking quality beer in England isn't always the cheapest affair. But I'd much rather pay £4 for a good craft beer in one of these places than in a standard english pub drinking carlsberg.

1.) Euston Tap (http://www.eustontap.com)
A new comer to the craft beer scene in London. Just a couple minutes walk from Euston station, it became my go to place. Great group of guys who run the place, nice tap and bottle selections. Prices aren't too bad but the more rare bottle's can run above £20.

2.) The Rake (http://www.utobeer.co.uk/home.html)
Has been and will always be one my favorite places in London. Not a huge tap selection but what they do have will impress. Nice bottle selection with prices being mid-range for both. It's just a few minutes walk from the London Bridge tube stop but worth it. If you can plan you trip(s) here around a trip to the Borough Market market. An experience that I would recommend to anyone and everyone that visits London. The Borough Market is only open Thursday-Saturday so plan accordingly. Check out Utobeer (owners of The Rake) in the market. They have a nice bottle selection for take away with quite a few rare beers as well.

3.) Cask Pub & Kitchen (http://www.caskpubandkitchen.com/)
An amazing selection of draft, cask and bottle beers. If you can't find something to try here that you haven't had before I'd be very, very surprised. I've never left here unhappy and the nice staff and selection make sure of that. The food is quite a bit better than the standard bar/pub food I was used to. Beer prices are mid to high but in the end IMHO worth it.

4.) The Craft Beer Co (http://thecraftbeerco.com/)
Awesome! Just flat out awesome! Tons of hand pumps, taps and bottles. Service has always been perfect and the prices are normally mid range. One of the top notch places in London for selection! And you must try their scotch eggs.

There are a couple other places to check out but IMHO they aren't worth going to with the above places available.

And if you have a chance, check out any beer you can from The Kernel brewery. Evin started out as a home brewer and puts out some bad ass beers (IMHO).

If you have any extra time (2-5 days) take the 2hr train ride to Belgium and drink some great beer. I've made that trip 11 times in the past 4 years so if you want some insight to Belgium just let me know.
 
I will be staying at one of the Imperial Hotels in London, just off of Russell Square, and I know the Euston Tap is just a short walk from there, and have been told that it is one place that I must go.
 
I will be staying at one of the Imperial Hotels in London, just off of Russell Square, and I know the Euston Tap is just a short walk from there, and have been told that it is one place that I must go.

Euston Tap is a blast. IIRC the guys who started it either were from the US or they went to school in the US. I had a few that night so I'm not 100%.

From my last Euston Tap visit
FY6YC.jpg
NCLPT.jpg

The guy in the middle (red jacket) is Tom the manager of The Craft Beer Co. Great guy and loves sour beers from the states.
 
It seems you have some good information about London!

Lyme Regis has a really good Microbrewery in the town centre! It is called Town Mill Brewery, I'd really recommend the "Black Ven" that they produce. You'll find that many pubs in England serve Real Ale on tap and in Dorset they serve a lot of the local brews. Enjoy!
 

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