PubsandBeer
Horse & Guardsman (formerly Spoons under the water; The Lord Moon of the Mall) (McMullen)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix - Wobbly Bob |  | 1 |
| Spinning Dog - Mutley's Oatmeal Stout | | 1 |
| Flying Dutchman - Wit Bier | | 1 |
| Cains - Bock |  | 1 |
| Daleside - Witt Bier | | 1 |
| Dark Star - Hophead (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | | 1 |
| Banks's - Yukon Brewing Lead Dog Ale | | 1 |
| Daleside - Bitter |  | 1 |
| Hereford - Aurora Weissbier | | 1 |
| Wadworth - Pusser's Spearfish | | 1 |
| Batemans - Spring Goddess | | 1 |
| Thwaites - Double Century | | 1 |
| Oakham - JHB | | 1 |
| Bend Brewing - Wild Blue Yonder | | 1 |
| Greene King - Ruddles Orchard | | 1 |
| Phoenix - Pale Imitation |  | 1 |
| Shepherd Neame - Stone Brewing California Double IPA | | 1 |
| RCH - Old Slug Porter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Wood's - Quaff | Not Tried | 0 |
| Eagle (formerly Wells & Young's, formerly Charles Wells, formerly Wells) - Courage Best Bitter (use Marston's entry now please) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | Not Tried | 0 |
| Greene King - Abbot | Not Tried | 0 |
| Marston's - Burton Bitter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Marston's - Pedigree | Not Tried | 0 |
| B&T (Banks & Taylor's) - Dragon Slayer | Not Tried | 0 |
| Belhaven - Caledonian Deuchars IPA | Not Tried | 0 |
| Shepherd Neame - Spitfire (or Spitfire Amber Ale) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Butcombe - Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| Titanic - White Star (superseded by 4.5% version - see separate entry) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hardys & Hansons (see now and use Greene King for new entries) - Old Kim | Not Tried | 0 |
| Vale - Wychert | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
01 Apr 2011 (Ian)
From Victoria it's a quick ride through Westminster Square and up Whitehall
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daleside - Witt Bier | 4.50 | | Good take on a spicy hoppy Belgian wit beer. |
| Phoenix - Pale Imitation | 4.30 | | Lack of condition and ascetic hop made this beer difficult to like. |
15 Nov 2010 (Martin the Mildman)
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hereford - Aurora Weissbier | 5.00 | | Although wheat beers are not to my taste, this wasn't a bad effort. High on wheaty malt and yeast flavour, a little low on the citrus hop side. My score 14/20 (good for me). |
22 Apr 2009 (Dubbel)
Gloriously sunny afternoon in London and my conference finished early. I headed for the nearest Spoons but felt like I was wasting the good weather stuck inside, so didn't stop long.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flying Dutchman - Wit Bier | 4.50 | | Love it. |
| Banks's - Yukon Brewing Lead Dog Ale | 5.50 | | Deep, dark choc roastiness. Rich and satisfying. |
| Thwaites - Double Century | 4.80 | | Off-gold, bland maltiness. No way to celebrate 200 years of brewing. |
| Bend Brewing - Wild Blue Yonder | 4.80 | | Not as good as at Orpington. More metallic tasting, malty and lacking in the hop department. |
19 Apr 2009 (Ian)
Chock full of Everton supporters in town for the football and doing some sight seeing before heading to Wembley.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wadworth - Pusser's Spearfish | 5.00 | | Well the rum isn't overly dominant. A slightly fuller than normal strong bitter, bit sweet, some Wadworth yeast, faint hop tingle on finish. It's not all that. OK. |
29 Mar 2008 (Ian)
Man behind the bar was helpful by letting me have the Dark Star Hophead as part of the festival beers, 3 third of a pint samples for the price of a pint. Handy 'Spoons for Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - Hophead (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | 3.80 | | Stunning, lovely, still just about my favourite beer in britain. Not in top form, but I'm very picky when it comes to this beer. |
| Cains - Bock | 4.50 | | Quite sweet malts, decent lager though. Rich and tasty, full mouthfeel |
| Shepherd Neame - Stone Brewing California Double IPA | 7.00 | | Poured through a very tight sparkler. It tasted of Radox and I couldn't finish even 1/3rd of a pint. |
10 Nov 2007 (Ian)
Pretty busy. Lots of Welsh people in and a weird overly heavy police presence as the Queen had just driven through Whitehall for the Lord Mayor's Show.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix - Wobbly Bob | 6.00 | | Fabulous strong ale. Well balanced. Alcohol is not too strong. Good peppery hop on end. |
28 Apr 2007 (Ian)
Great location on Whitehall and only £2 a pint. Pretty busy for 4pm Saturday.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batemans - Spring Goddess | 4.20 | | Amber, lasting light beige. Pretty standard bitter with a good citrus flavours. Decent hop on finish. Nice bitterness on what is afterall, a bitter. It's a citrusy brown bitter. Nice lemon, mango flavour. |
31 Mar 2006 (Ian)
This really is très convenient for Trafalgar Square. Good change over of guest beers too. I came in 6 days ago and now they have 3 new beers on. Late Friday morning and there were a fair few people in. There seem to be a decent number of regular users of the pub too.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daleside - Bitter | 3.60 | | Copper, thin beige head. Caramel/toffee aroma, some juicy malt in mouth, followed by earthy/peppery hop dry finish. Above average session bitter. The hops have some citrus that is tasty, but not sure I would drink it all night |
| Eagle (formerly Wells & Young's, formerly Charles Wells, formerly Wells) - Courage Best Bitter (use Marston's entry now please) | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
| Shepherd Neame - Spitfire (or Spitfire Amber Ale) | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Marston's - Pedigree | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Vale - Wychert | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| RCH - Old Slug Porter | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Wood's - Quaff | 3.70 | Not Tried |
25 Mar 2006 (Ian)
Wetherspoon's on Whitehall, convenient for Trafalgar Square. Interior is fairly 'Spoon typical. Very quiet on Saturday morning, mainly because they weren't serving breakfast as the delivery had only just arrived. 12 handpumps, all in use with 10 real ales and 2 ciders. Good location, good beer line up. Sunny day and I popped in before going to the Sunday Times Wine Festival across St James Park
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spinning Dog - Mutley's Oatmeal Stout | 4.40 | | Black beer with lasting beige head. Good thick charcoaly stout with dark burnt malts and dry finish. Good to have as the first beer of the day, helps set you up. Lots fo flavour |
| Eagle (formerly Wells & Young's, formerly Charles Wells, formerly Wells) - Courage Best Bitter (use Marston's entry now please) | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
| Belhaven - Caledonian Deuchars IPA | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Shepherd Neame - Spitfire (or Spitfire Amber Ale) | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Butcombe - Gold | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Titanic - White Star (superseded by 4.5% version - see separate entry) | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Hardys & Hansons (see now and use Greene King for new entries) - Old Kim | 4.50 | Not Tried | But I wanted to. Just run out of time. Only on in 'Spoons pubs in March |
15 Oct 2005 (Ian)
Early Saturday morning. Met up with Silk at the bar. Quite like this Wetherspoons. Very central and the view out the front and back makes you feel that you are in the middle of London.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakham - JHB | 3.80 | | Pale gold colour with thickish lasting white head. Bit of diacetyl and a bit soapy. Still got some citrus grapefruit flavour, but not at its best |
| Greene King - Ruddles Orchard | 4.20 | | Red apple flavours on this orangey gold beer. OK in mouth with some caramel. Better on draught than in bottle |
| Eagle (formerly Wells & Young's, formerly Charles Wells, formerly Wells) - Courage Best Bitter (use Marston's entry now please) | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Marston's - Burton Bitter | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Marston's - Pedigree | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| B&T (Banks & Taylor's) - Dragon Slayer | 4.50 | Not Tried |
About the Horse & Guardsman (formerly Spoons under the water; The Lord Moon of the Mall)
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | - |
| 6 |
| 10 |
| 11 |
| 4 |
The pub is found in Whitehall, Central London, SW1A 2DY.
Once a goodish Wetherspoon's in Whitehall with 12 hand pumps in 2 banks each of 6. Exterior is very nice and it is located next to the Whitehall Theatre. The rear overlooks St James's Park. Large plate glass windows allow you to enjoy the view of Whitehall whilst you have a pint. The hanging external pub sign showed an image of Tim Martin, Wetherspoon's chairman. Closed then McMullen the freeholder re-opened it as a non real ale pop up pub whilst building works take place - a cheeky renaming. Expects to reopen in November 2021 as Horse & Guardsman with food emphasis alas. Opened as expected in 2021.
We have visited this pub 20 times, seen 71 different beers and tried 31 of them.
Postcode: SW1A 2DY