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The River Ale House (Free House)
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Anspach & Hobday - Hedgerow Harvest |  | 2 |
| Bexley - Anchor Bay IPA | | 1 |
| Canterbury Ales (sometimes badged as Canterbrew) - The Reeve's Ale | | 1 |
| Five Points - Best | | 6 |
| Kent - Green Dwarf | | 3 |
| New Bristol - Coffee & Biscotti Stout | | 1 |
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA | | 1 |
| Pig & Porter - Funky Claude Porter |  | 2 |
| Pig & Porter - Yes, No, Wait, Sorry! | | 1 |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Over the Tops (collaboration with Ossett) | | 2 |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Anspach & Hobday - Mule (collaboration with Brasserie de la Mule) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Canterbury Ales (sometimes badged as Canterbrew) - Owens Court Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| Pig & Porter - Apparition Stout | Not Tried | 0 |
| Pig & Porter - Got The Face On | Not Tried | 0 |
| Pig & Porter - Jumping Frog | Not Tried | 0 |
| Pig & Porter - Scarecrow | Not Tried | 0 |
| Steam Town - Stoke Pale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Two by Two - Citra Idaho 7 Azacca | Not Tried | 0 |
| Two by Two - NZ Hop 109 | Not Tried | 0 |
| Two by Two - NZ Hop 109 | Not Tried | 0 |
| Two by Two - Session IPA | Not Tried | 0 |
Stephen Harris
Visits Details
12 Nov 2026 (Hogan Sampling)
Busy footfall with a full table of regulars and the odd lesser spotted dotted about for the last half an hour of serving.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five Points - Best | 4.10 | | Second day on by all accounts for this Hackney-brewed bitter and not from the same cask that was on from Sunday 8th November to end of Tuesday 10th November. Exhibiting very good head and lacing and lasting to the end and visibly clear in appearance. Full of conditioning on its first bite. A healthy hoppy bitterness rising. An earthy and floral hoppiness prevailing alongside a gentle malty note playing along with hints of caramel and biscuit. A grassy hoppiness lingering. Served in superb form compared to the other cask of it sampled on both Sunday and Tuesday. For my full tasting notes, see my entry for it on Sunday 8th November 2026. |
| Bexley - Anchor Bay IPA | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Steam Town - Stoke Pale | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Funky Claude Porter | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Scarecrow | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hedgerow Harvest | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Two by Two - NZ Hop 109 | 4.50 | Not Tried |
12 Nov 2026 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close. Most front room seats taken.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bexley - Anchor Bay IPA | 4.80 | | New cask on today. Some head and lacing |
| Five Points - Best | 4.10 | | Looking up after most recent examples of this ale here. Good condition and clarity |
| Steam Town - Stoke Pale | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Funky Claude Porter | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Scarecrow | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Two by Two - NZ Hop 109 | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hedgerow Harvest | 4.40 | Not Tried |
10 Nov 2026 (Hogan Sampling)
Very quiet footfall for the last half an hour with no regulars on parade at all but for one other and just a sprinkling of the odd lesser spotted dotted about. The assembled fiddlers had ceased playing and were slowing departing in their nonchalant way and taking their packed up collection of instruments off with them.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pig & Porter - Funky Claude Porter | 5.00 | | 3rd beer of this visit: On its third day, still presenting a good head and lasting lacing on this Tunbridge Wells porter. Still served in good form with plenty of conditioning. For my full tasting notes, see my entry for it on Sunday 8th November 2026 and when it was fresh on. |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hedgerow Harvest | 4.40 | | 2nd beer of this visit: Third day on since Sunday and exhibiting a good head and lasting lacing on this green hop ale brewed by Anspach & Hobday which got their brass tacks sorted in 2013 and opened in 2014, pitching their first copper kettle beneath the rumbling railway arches on Druid Street in Bermondsey, South London, and literally kicking off the legendary Bermondsey Beer Mile. By 2020, their main boiling house moved down to Croydon to triple their barrelage, leaving the original Bermondsey arch as their taproom. A fresh hoppy first hit on this golden-amber hued Hedgerow Harvest, their annual autumn harvest brew, launched at the tail end of October 2026 following a jaunt down to Hukins Hops in Tenterden, Kent, and hauling back wet, freshly plucked green cones to throw straight into the kettle within just a day of picking. A very earthy and fresh herbaceous hoppiness rising and lasting on my palate. A punchy double act of Admiral hops paired with freshly harvested, unkilned Challenger green hops straight from Kent. On its own, Admiral behind a marmalade-and-citrus bitterness to anchor the boil. Those wet, green Challenger cones bursting with spicy cedarwood, zesty orchard fruit and resinous leafiness. For me hints of cedar, dried apricot and wild bramble berries drifting straight up to my hooter. Across my palate, a juicy orchard-fruit richness meeting a crisp, apple-peel snap. It was sliding down very well indeed. Its grain bill featuring Clear Choice pale malt behind a crisp, golden-biscuit foundation, Crystal Malt exuding a rich, toffee-sweet warmth, its Flaked Oats, Malted Oats and Chit Malt all aiding that frothy collar on the pint, plus a syrupy spoonful of Invert Sugar. Just enough sweet backbone for me to keep the fresh hedgerow bitterness in check. Served with visible life but slightly thin tasting for a green hop methinks and with none of that oiliness could I detect and that I really enjoy. |
| Five Points - Best | 4.10 |  | 1st beer of this visit: Head and lacing on being poured on only its third night on since Sunday but not keeping it for very long at all. A dry hoppy first bite. A prevailing earthy bitterness persisting. A malty note joining in. Rather flat tasting and with very little conditioning at all. I had expected far better and was disappointed. One more would have been a struggle but another real ale came to my rescue. For my full tasting notes, see my entry for it on Sunday 8th November 2026. |
| Canterbury Ales (sometimes badged as Canterbrew) - Owens Court Gold | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Two by Two - NZ Hop 109 | 4.50 | Not Tried |
10 Nov 2026 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit. Few in and the back-room fiddlers seemed to be singing dirges.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five Points - Best | 4.10 | | A little better than the one here a day or two ago. Haze had gone but not much condition |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hedgerow Harvest | 4.40 | | A&H's green hop ale. OK |
| Pig & Porter - Funky Claude Porter | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Canterbury Ales (sometimes badged as Canterbrew) - Owens Court Gold | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Two by Two - NZ Hop 109 | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.20 | Not Tried |
08 Nov 2026 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA | 6.00 | | As always the strength is there |
| Five Points - Best | 4.10 |  | Not right, cardboardy and hazy |
| Two by Two - Session IPA | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Funky Claude Porter | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Canterbury Ales (sometimes badged as Canterbrew) - Owens Court Gold | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Mule (collaboration with Brasserie de la Mule) | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hedgerow Harvest | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.20 | Not Tried |
08 Nov 2026 (Hogan Sampling)
At least three tables of regulars on arrival for the last half an hour of serving and a few of the odd lesser spotted on top. Very rare to see 8 real ales on all at the very same time!
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pig & Porter - Funky Claude Porter | 5.00 | | 2nd beer of this visit: Fresh on today and presenting a very creamy head and lasting lacing on this Tunbridge Wells porter whose brew-house first got its copper fires roaring and their chimneys smoking back in 2012 just outside Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, on an industrial trading spot on the north-eastern edge of the town, not too far from the High Brooms area. A very dry bitter first hit. A chocolatey flavouring rising from its maltiness. Its Pale Malt laying down a sweet, bready foundation, and its Crystal Malt exuding a sticky, jammy flavouring with raisins and dark plum. Its Chocolate and Roasted Malts, and the most noted by my taste buddies, casting a dark cocoa powder, a hint of toasted nuts, and espresso grounds while its Smoked Malt behind its woodsmoke and spicy touches. A medley of dark orchard fruits, prunes and liquorice aniseed for me in on the malty mix. Its subtle bitter hoppiness lingering from its British Fuggles hops exuding flavours reminiscent of a damp earthy, leafy hedgerow, alongside a herbal spiciness and counteracting the malts’ dark chocolate and smoky fruit sweetness. Served in very good nick but just a touch fresh methinks. |
| Five Points - Best | 4.10 | | 1st beer of this visit: Fresh on and presenting good head and lacing and lasting on this Hackney bitter from brewing which got its steaming coppers up and rattling back in 2013 and set up in an old black cab garage tucked inside the noisy railway arches of Hackney Downs station in East London and named after the famous five-way road junction cutting across Dalston Lane just a few yards away. A dry bitter first hit on this amber-copper hued best bitter which was launched in 2019. A hoppy fruitiness rising from its Kentish Fuggles behind hints of damp garden herbs, fresh grass and minty cedarwood, while its Ernest hops lending a punchy accent of stone fruits, apricot skin and a touch of orchard spice for me. A dry maltiness joining in from its Low Colour Maris Otter lending a mildly sweet base of freshly baked white loaves and shortbread biscuits, its Wheat Malt aiding a creamy thickness and a frothy head, its Crystal Medium spooning in a dollop of cooked caramel and sticky English toffee, and its Amber Malt tossing into the kettle a dry toasted flavouring alongside hints of wood smoke, nutty husks and baked pie crust. A dry fruited and floral hoppy bitterness prevailing with a touch of sweet fruit preserves. A lingering sharp herbal bitterness on the sail out. Served in very good nick with lasting head and lacing and plentiful conditioning. |
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA | 6.00 | Not Tried | |
| Two by Two - Session IPA | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Canterbury Ales (sometimes badged as Canterbrew) - Owens Court Gold | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Mule (collaboration with Brasserie de la Mule) | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hedgerow Harvest | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.20 | Not Tried |
07 Nov 2026 (Hogan Sampling)
A good few regulars on parade among the more occasional for the last three quarters of an hour of serving and a good turnover of beers for Charlton FC's earlier home-game winning 2-1 against Sheffield United.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Bristol - Coffee & Biscotti Stout | 5.00 | | 2nd beer of this visit: Second day on for this Coffee & Biscotti Stout from the New Bristol Brewery which first got their brewing boots laced up and their mash tuns bubbling away in 2013 in the heart of Bristol City Centre on Wilson Street in St Pauls. Good head and lacing on being served but not hanging onto it. A dry bitter first hit on this pastry stout. A biscuity and coffee-infused flavouring rising from its combination of Dark Roasted Malts throwing down flavours of bitter dark chocolate, toasted cocoa husks and sweet molasses. The Flaked Oats and Wheat lending a thickness to its body. A bready and chocolatey layer for me on its dark-baked biscuit base. A dry bitterness prevailing from its traditional British bittering hops behind a touch of leafy cedarwood, dry garden herbs and a subtle spice. Real Extract Coffee Roasters beans and Italian biscotti biscuits tossed straight into the mix with the Coffee Beans letting fly aromatic espresso, dark-roast bitterness and smoke. The baked biscotti biscuits dissolving into the brew to lend a hint of almond sweetness, icing sugar, and buttery, caramelised pastry. A creamy espresso bitterness and sweet biscuit pastry lingering deliciously long for me before the slide downwards. Served in good condition apart from not keeping its head and lacing. |
| Pig & Porter - Yes, No, Wait, Sorry! | 4.00 | | 1st beer of this visit: Fresh on and a very frothy head and lasting lacing on this Tunbridge Wells amber hued bitter from brewing which got its boiling coppers fired up in 2012. A dry and slightly fruited first bite. A hoppy bitterness rising with the flavours of autumn-dried orchard fruits. Its Kentish Fuggles hops letting fly a bouquet of damp, woody earth, forest floor, and herbal spice, while its Kentish Bramling Cross sweeping in with a sharp, wild blackcurrant, dark loganberry and hedgerow fruitiness. A sweet maltiness joining in but none too sweet for me from its Maris Otter Ale exuding a foundation of fresh baker's bread and toasted biscuits, Caragold and Carapils lending a sweetness and its frothy white head, Crystal 150 tossing in a sticky dollop of dark toffee and candied caramel and the Low Colour Chocolate malt aiding a subtle, lightly roasted hint of roasted nuts and cocoa bean dust. I detected a touch of sticky toffee pudding from the mixture of malts. A fruity-bitter finale with a hoppy lip-smacking dryness with hints of sweet marmalade lingering. Served in good nick for its head and lacing and taste-wise but perhaps a tad fresh as very murky in appearance. |
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA | 6.00 | Not Tried | |
| Canterbury Ales (sometimes badged as Canterbrew) - Owens Court Gold | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Mule (collaboration with Brasserie de la Mule) | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.20 | Not Tried |
05 Nov 2026 (Hogan Sampling)
Busy footfall with a good few tables of regulars in among the odd lesser spotted for the last half an hour of serving. *CONTINUED FROM 2ND BEER OF THIS VISIT: The botanical engineers at BarthHaas, a historic German hop giant, teamed up with the Boston Beer Company (BBC) in the United States to brainstorm a way to make hops work harder and taste purer. What they came up with are 100% natural, highly concentrated hop pellets. The BBC pellets are put through a special sub-zero milling process at a freezing minus 35°C to strip away the useless, bitter woodiness to leave only the pure lupulin which is the sticky, golden dust inside the hop that holds all the aroma. Dissolving in the cold beer, they throw a punch of fruit and pine without making the drop taste like grass or old hedge-clippings. The Spectrum Hop Enhancement completely dispenses with the solid flower altogether. It is a 100% pure, flowable liquid hop extract specifically designed for "dry-hopping" in adding hop aroma after the beer has finished boiling. Here the tropical terpenes, juicy oils and fruity notes of a hop variety are turned into a thick, brown liquid paste with zero vegetative leaf matter and dissolves completely in cold beer like ink in water. With no physical leaves or solid pellets to soak up the liquid, the brewers keep every single drop of precious beer. A mere 1 kg of this golden liquid packs the same aromatic wallop as 5 to 8 kg of standard pellets and lends an aroma of pineapple and citrus that stays fresh in the cask for ages without going stale.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent - Green Dwarf | 3.70 | | 1st beer of this visit: Third day on and still exhibiting very good head and lasting lacing. Still a very hoppy first punch from this Kentish green hopped pale. An oily hoppiness reigning for me superbly and lingering to the end. For my full tasting notes, see my entry for it on Tuesday 3rd November 2026 and when it was fresh on. |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Over the Tops (collaboration with Ossett) | 4.50 | | 2nd beer of this visit: Fresh on and presenting a foamy head and lasting lacing on this collaborative English pale ale between Thornbridge Brewery which first fired up its coppers back in 2005 at Thornbridge Hall in Bakewell, Derbyshire, and Ossett Brewery which got their own show on the road a bit earlier in 1998 in the heart of Ossett, West Yorkshire. Thornbridge took the reins for the physical production and advanced hop processing of Over The Tops and are behind introducing the sub-zero milled Boston Beer Company pellets and the pure liquid Spectrum extracts for the pineapple and lime aromatics. Ossett ensured that despite Thornbridge’s high-tech hop enhancements, the beer maintained a smooth, highly sessionable malty baseline that would sit perfectly in a traditional Yorkshire or North West cask cellar. A lightly fruited first bite on their exclusive collab and this light-bodied golden ale was specifically whipped up to celebrate the St George’s Beer Festival, hosted at St George's Hall by the folk of Liverpool's Ship & Mitre public house. A dry hoppiness with a good hint of resin rising from the brewers packing the kettle with New Zealand Cascade alongside advanced, concentrated Boston Beer Company and Spectrum hop enhancements*. The New Zealand Cascade bursting with a punchy citrus zest and deep tropical fruit notes. The Boston Beer Company & Spectrum Hop Enhancements throwing down a sharp punch of pineapple, zesty lime and a whisper of fresh pine. Faint hints of pineapple and sweet citrus hitting my taste buddies. Its traditional premium Pale malt lending a slightly sweet and biscuity, cracker-like flavouring and joined by speciality grains, exuding a toasted grain depth of cereal in the mouthfeel. A very earthy crisp hoppiness prevailing with floral notes, resinous pine and a pithy lime bitterness lingering on its downwards journey. Served in very good nick with plentiful conditioning. *CONTINUED UNDER THE GENERAL COMMENTS HEADING. |
| Canterbury Ales (sometimes badged as Canterbrew) - The Reeve's Ale | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Jumping Frog | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Apparition Stout | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Two by Two - Citra Idaho 7 Azacca | 5.00 | Not Tried |
05 Nov 2026 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent - Green Dwarf | 3.70 | | Still feels fresh so holding up well |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Over the Tops (collaboration with Ossett) | 4.50 | | New cask on today - as expected basically a lemon juice ale |
| Canterbury Ales (sometimes badged as Canterbrew) - The Reeve's Ale | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Jumping Frog | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Apparition Stout | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Two by Two - Citra Idaho 7 Azacca | 5.00 | Not Tried |
04 Nov 2026 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close. Only 2 known faces in.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury Ales (sometimes badged as Canterbrew) - The Reeve's Ale | 4.10 | | Slightly copper coloured ale. Enjoyed it as a contrast to the earlier green hopper |
| Kent - Green Dwarf | 3.70 | | A very tasty drop of green hop |
| Pig & Porter - Got The Face On | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Jumping Frog | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Apparition Stout | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Two by Two - Citra Idaho 7 Azacca | 5.00 | Not Tried |
About The River Ale House
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | 20 |
| 848 |
| 2280 |
| 791 |
| 67 |
The pub is found in East Greenwich, Greater London, SE10 0RJ.
Micropub in Woolwich Road in a former street corner lingerie and hosiery business premises and which opened on 13th September 2017. Comprises a front room with bar counter and with real ales and ciders served on gravity dispense from a temperature controlled cellar room behind the bar, and a rear room down one step. Each day a pre-prepared paper ale menu sheet, with tasting notes, is provided to every table. Bare-board flooring throughout and all seating at wall mounted high settles and hand made wooden high tables. CAMRA card holders' discount on pints and halves of real ale and cider. Card payments accepted. SPBW London Pub of the Year 2019. Local CAMRA branch 2019, 2022 and 2024 Pub of the Year and its Cider Pub of the Year too in 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. CAMRA Greenwich District Pub of the Year 2024.
We have visited this pub 1870 times, seen 2076 different beers and tried 1240 of them.
Postcode: SE10 0RJ