The Liberty Bounds (Wetherspoon)
Stephen Harris
Visits Details
21 Mar 2018 (Stephen Harris)
First, maybe only, serious go at the current JDW Festival list.
St Peter's - Twisted Edge | 4.30 | | A very nice, crisp Pale Ale with enhanced lemon flavours. |
Caledonian - Port of Leith IPA | 5.00 | | Amber in colour. Avoids the usual Caledonian soft mouthfeel. Good hops, but not quite in harmony. |
Adnams - Sixpoint Lo-Res | 4.50 | | A disappointment, with blunt flavours. But condition of this pint is not great. |
Greene King - Heritage Suffolk Pale Ale (Chevallier Series) | 5.00 | | Just tastes to me of the GK yeast strain. Reeks of Bury St Edmunds. |
Yeovil - Ruby | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
BRÚ - Red Ale | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
Wimbledon - XXK | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
Otter - Springfest | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
Black Sheep - Monty Python's Flying Circus | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
Sambrook's - Flat White Stout | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
31 Jan 2018 (Stephen Harris)
Very busy here in the immediate after-work period, although noticeably calmer in the upstairs bar.
Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - London Porter | 5.30 | | Black. Quite dry for a Porter, with lots of coffee and chocolate flavours. |
By The Horns - Citrus Paradisi (was 4.3%) | 4.50 | | From a keg of some sort and absolutely oozing with grapefruit juice tastes. |
Sambrook's - S.S.B Special Bitter | 5.00 | | A fine Best Bitter with a slight molasses sweetness and some hop character. |
Redemption - Red | 4.00 | | Reddish/brown in colour. Fruity and malty and a bit sweet. |
Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Signature Brew - Session | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
Wimbledon - XXK | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
Reunion - Single Double Hop UK Cascade vs. US Cascade | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
Cronx - Yallah Mild | 3.60 | Not Tried | |
18 Oct 2016 (Stephen Harris)
I remembered that there was a Wetherspoon festival on and decided to try my luck in here after work. Pub very busy and at least two tables contained groups of boisterous City types with potential for being the sort of people you see on late night tubes slumped unconscious or staggering around and causing ‘spillages’.
Banks's - Ninkasi Special Bitter | 5.80 | | Amber in colour. Strong and richly malty with a bit of spice and a touch of citrus. Really nice I thought. |
Shepherd Neame - Birrificio Foglie d'Erba Hot night at the Village | 5.00 | | A very dark ruby red colour. This is in the London Brown Porter style and has dry roasty and choco flavours, whilst being just a little herbal. |
Caledonian - Terrapin RecreationAle | 4.70 | | Amber in colour. A heavily malty beer with some peppery hop flavours. |
Titanic - S.E.A. | 5.00 | | Brown in colour. Quite complex flavours here, although not ones I really liked. |
Adnams - Broadside | 4.70 | Not Tried | |
Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Wadworth - BentSpoke Braddon Bitter | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
Coach House - Hoptober | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
Maxim - Northern Knight | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
Evan Evans - Autumn Frenzy | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
Tring - Warrior Queen | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
Woodforde's - Norfolk Bowman | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
20 Oct 2015 (Stephen Harris)
Typically busy here in the early evening, although I was able to find a table on the ground floor level.
Butcombe - Chinook APA | 4.20 | | Nice to see Butcombe embracing US hops alongside their regular offerings. This is a tasty, citrusy, golden beer. |
JW Lees (see also Lees) - Drayman's Reward | 4.10 | | Nothing wrong with it, but this dark beer was not to my liking. |
Liberation (formerly called Jersey) - Sin Bin (brewed at Butcombe) | 3.70 | | Golden and malty. |
Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
B&T (Banks & Taylor's) - Shefford Old Strong (SOS) | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Purple Moose - Dark Side of the Moose | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
Lymestone - Ein Stein | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Wychwood (now brewed at Banks's) - Nøgne Ø Brewery Nordic Noir | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
Hook Norton - Fat Head's Yakima Sun | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
22 Oct 2014 (Stephen Harris)
Still quite busy in here when I left at 9pm – mostly a meal trade. Not sure how all these Portobello beers got onto the bar during the Festival, but nice to see them.
Long Man - Golden Tipple | 5.00 | | Served a bit warm. Golden, fruity/citrusy hops. Quite dry. |
Strathaven - Fiery Cauldron | 4.40 | | A rich, amber beer with ginger and spice. |
Coach House - Toffee Bitter | 5.00 | | I had three problems with the name of this beer, ‘Coach’, ‘House’, and ‘Toffee’ (I’m fine with ‘Bitter’) – so just a half to show willing. Golden. Tastes like something out of the office Xmas chocs tin (but actually rather nice in a way). |
Portobello - Malster Mash | 4.10 | | Amber, malty and tasty. |
Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Portobello - Star | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
Portobello - Pale | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
Portobello - London Pilsner | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
16 Oct 2014 (Stephen Harris)
Busy and boisterous in the early evening as City workers took over from the tourist crowds. Several volunteers in to celebrate a day planting ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London, just across the road.
Marston's - Birrificio Lambrate Ligera | 4.80 | | Amber-coloured. Excellent – they’ve not held back with the hops in this. Very nice. |
Adnams - Sixpoint Bklyn Bitter | 5.50 | | A good example of the Wetherspoon ‘visiting brewer’ concept working. A nice, smooth, amber bitter with restrained but effective use of US hops. |
Hook Norton - Chinook Gold | 4.70 | | Quite a good beer in the pale and hoppy category. |
Wychwood (now brewed at Banks's) - Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale | 6.50 | | Pumpkin beers are not everybody’s cup of tea, but I like them. I could smell the pumpkin in here as the beer was being pulled – surely a good sign? The beer is also heavily spiced and noticeably strong. |
Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
23 Oct 2013 (Stephen Harris)
I’m rarely one to complain, but I did have a couple of niggles here. There was a lot of broken glass on the carpet near our table, which was mentioned to two different members of staff but still there an hour later when we left. And when I ordered a pint of the strong Abbot beer, I was told it was only sold in halves (although I’d be welcome to have two halves) at £1:70 a half. Fine I said, but perhaps then you should remove the prominent label attached to the pump clip saying that it was £3:05 a pint. I was given one of those ‘Oh no, we’ve got another weirdo’ looks and the price tag remained.
Greene King - The Abbot's Confession | 8.50 | | Rich, strong and warming, and even a bit of hop character. |
Butcombe - Haka | 4.50 | | A bit sweeter than I was expecting. |
Batemans - Fat Head's Sunshine Daydream | 5.00 | | Quite a lot going on in this golden beer. But it basically tasted like a Bateman beer (presumably the yeast?) and you had to work hard to find the range of flavours. |
Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Moorhouse's - White Mist | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
Everards (see entries against Joule's & Robinsons whilst its new brewery was being built) - Cambridge Brewing Sgt. Pepper | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
Thwaites - Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA | 6.30 | Not Tried | |
Wadworth - Abita Brewing Restoration Pale Ale | 5.20 | Not Tried | |
Adnams - Stone Brewing Supremely Self-Conscious Black Ale | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
09 Apr 2013 (Stephen Harris)
I’ve found some time tonight to make some inroads into the Wetherspoon Beer festival list, and make an early evening start here. Quite busy, but I’m able to commandeer a table to myself in the ground floor area.
Wadworth - Deschutes Twilight Pale Ale | 5.00 | | Gold in colour. Citrusy hop nose and taste. Sweeter than I really like. |
Orkney (Sinclair) - 1878 Strong Ale | 5.50 | | Chestnut-coloured. Full-bodied malt flavours, fruity and spicy. |
Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Moorhouse's - Amber Rambler | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
WharfeBank - Spring Hop | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
Marston's - Pivovar Kocovnik Vivat Bohemia | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
13 Mar 2012 (Stephen Harris)
The first faint stirrings of the March Wetherspoon’s Beer Festival have been detected in the City of London.
Batemans - Nøgne Ø Bitter | 4.50 | | A well-hopped beer (Centennial and EKG) with a very bitter finish. |
Banks's - Vasileostrovsky Imperial Russian Stout | 6.50 | | Black, smoothly malty, slightly burnt. Liquorice, tan head, lingering bitterness. |
Caledonian - Zululand Zulu Blonde | 4.50 | | A gold-coloured, malty beer with a strong Fuggles / Goldings hop taste that verges on harshness. |
Batemans - Smokey Joe | 4.80 | | An amber-coloured, biscuit-malt beer with a very pronounced peat smoke flavour. |
Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Greene King - Libertine | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Skinner's - Riggin' Ale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
16 Jan 2012 (Stephen Harris)
Not too busy and we managed to secure a table in the ground floor seating area. A rather limited beer selection for a Wetherspoon pub, but a couple of interesting ones on.
Royal Tunbridge Wells - Beau Porter | 4.80 | | Deep red. A smooth, roasted malt taste. No discernable hop character. |
Royal Tunbridge Wells - Golden Ticket | 5.00 | | Golden in colour and certainly tastes like a strong beer. Sweetish, malty body and subdued hopping. |
Shepherd Neame - Late Red | 4.50 | Not Tried | "Available soon" |
Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | 4.10 | Not Tried | "Available soon" |
Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |