Any good beer in London/Oxford?

[JLem]

My wife and daughter are headed to London and Oxford in February for 10 days. My wife enjoys good beer and she asked that I post on here about where she should go while she is there. I have never been to England, but I'm sure the choices of good pubs are a bit overwhelming.

Any suggestions on where to go or where not to go? Any not-to-miss places? If it matters, my wife likes dark rich porters, stouts, and browns. She's been enjoying cask conditioned ales too when we find them in the local places around here.

Thanks for any input. I should point out too that our daughter is only 9, so kid-friendly places are best.

 

[Nugent]

Check these two resources out. Picking up the Good Beer Guide is worthwhile. They probably have it on Amazon, or you'll be able to pick it up in any book store in the UK.

http://www.fancyapint.com/

http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=192602

Try as many real ales as you can - they're mostly lower on the alcohol scale, but are fantastic.

 

[D_Struct]

If you're in London, go try the best fish and chips in the city at The Golden Hinde on Marylebone High Street, and then slip down to The Angel in the Field for the full selection of Samuel Smith beers. Really great time!

 

[bosox]

The beer they seemed to love the most in England was Newcastle Brown Ale. It's comparable to a Bass Ale though, too creamy for me.

 

[rockfish42]

http://www.walks.com/
London Walks does very fun pub crawls, the THE HIDDEN PUBS OF OLD LONDON TOWN tour is especially good if I remember right and is more kid friendly than the one that goes through SOHO.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

The beer they seemed to love the most in England was Newcastle Brown Ale. It's comparable to a Bass Ale though, too creamy for me.

Just go into about any pub and ask the barman explaining your interests. Disregard the post above. It's a bit strange.

 

[woodstone]

What "Gnome" said, and...

I spent a week there last year...Lamb and Flag on/near Lazenby Court...might be the oldest pub in London and is just a diamond in the rough (or rough diamond) in the midst of many cookie cutter pubs. It is on a back alley but don't be shy, walk down the street and in like you own the place.

Some help...http://www.pubs.com/main_site/heritage_content.php?id=heritage

You'll learn select breweries own many of the pubs and these pubs always carry the same "house" beers. If you want variety, you'll need to hit pubs owned by different breweries or hit ones that actually carry "guest" beers - good news is many carry "guest" beers.

Of note, if you and the wife like open markets, best in the damn world has got to include Borough's Market...'tis in every guide book. Sample what you can and there is plenty! Go in the MORNING for the best picking!

Enjoy...Cheers!

 

[dedhedjed]

I spent a summer in oxford back in college...a couple of great little pubs i frequented were lamb and flag (right next to saint john's college) and Eagle and Child which is basically across the street from Saint John's...C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien used to meet there frequently to discuss their work...called their group "the inklings"...its a cool little pub with decent beers but the atmosphere and history (i'm an english teacher) made it one of my favorites.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

JRR worked for two years for the Oxford English dictionary. He was responsible for some of the "W"s. Wick being one on them.

 

[Shooter]

I visited a number of pubs while I was there, but that was years ago. The only two that I remember the names of were The Grenadier and Ben Crouch's.

I remember The Grenadier because, while ordering a pint at the bar from a very confused young man, a very proper English gentleman turned away from his evening paper and politely informed me that, "They don't speak English here."

Ben Crouch's was this really odd themed pub that had kind of a Jack the Ripper/Gothic Horror/Tim Burton thing going on. It was certainly interesting, but I believe it is gone.

 

[richc]

The best guide to UK pubs is the latest Good Beer Guide
http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=192602

It's been a while since I've lived in London but if no one else can help I can see what I can suggest....

 

[richc]

In Oxford there is one pub that has to be visited, the Eagle and Child, aka the Bird and Baby. Famous for various reasons the beer was good last time I was there 4 or 5 years ago

 

[Calder]

The beer they seemed to love the most in England was Newcastle Brown Ale. It's comparable to a Bass Ale though, too creamy for me.

????????????? Newky Brown is nothing like Bass, and certainly not that popular.

Any pub should have a decent selection. Most being better that you will find in bottled Bass or Newky Brown here in the States. 'Free Houses' probably have the best selection. Always get draft, never bottled, and stick to Ales rather than largers.