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Old Fountain (Free House)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Moorhouse's - Black Cat Mild |  | 1 |
| City of Cambridge - Parker's Porter |  | 1 |
| Clark's (sometimes shown as Westgate Brewery) - Elementary Mild | | 1 |
| Old Mill - Black Jack | | 1 |
| Art Brew - Art Nouveau | | 1 |
| Mad Squirrel (formerly Red Squirrel) - Organic Blonde (with ginger roots) | | 1 |
| Brewster's - Cheval Mort | | 1 |
| Weltons - Broadwood | | 1 |
| Crouch Vale - Snowdrop | | 1 |
| Brewster's - Lydia | | 1 |
| Springhead - Puritans' Porter | | 1 |
| Mad Squirrel (formerly Red Squirrel) - West Coast Stout | | 1 |
| Crouch Vale - Brewers Gold |  | 1 |
| Dark Star - Hophead was 3.8% (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | | 1 |
| Black Sheep - Golden Sheep | | 1 |
| Mighty Oak - Lammas Day Wheat |  | 1 |
| Crouch Vale - Essex Nights | | 1 |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | Not Tried | 0 |
| Cottage - S&D | Not Tried | 0 |
| Bath Ales - SPA | Not Tried | 0 |
| Crouch Vale - Best Bitter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Dark Star - Best Bitter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Cotleigh - Barn Owl Bitter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Naked Ladies | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
11 Aug 2009 (Martin the Mildman)
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Sheep - Golden Sheep | 3.90 | | More malty than I was expecting but not a bad beer, quite sweet and fairly low hopped. Strength shown as 3.9% on pump clip. My score 15/20. |
| Mighty Oak - Lammas Day Wheat | 3.80 | | Clear wheat beer, very pale but with that slight sourness associated with the type. Well brewed but not my type of beer. My score 14/20. |
28 Jul 2009 (Martin the Mildman)
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brewster's - Lydia | 4.80 | | Pale strong bitter with excellent fruity hop taste and good balance of flavours. My score 16/20 |
21 Jul 2009 (Martin the Mildman)
Quite busy in here for a Tuesday evening.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brewster's - Cheval Mort | 4.00 | | Good sweetish and malty dark brown mild with a smooth, well balanced taste. My score 16/20. |
02 Jul 2009 (Martin the Mildman)
Busy on a hot Thursday evening with "Weekly Windup" mild drinkers.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Springhead - Puritans' Porter | 4.00 | | This had been maturing in the cellar for several weeks and was very mellow and smooth. My score 16/20. |
| City of Cambridge - Parker's Porter | 5.20 | | Now 5.0% and brewed by Oxfordshire brewery. A good porter with good balance of hop and malt flavours and a full bodied taste. My score 16/20. |
| Clark's (sometimes shown as Westgate Brewery) - Elementary Mild | 3.80 | | Good low hopped dark mild with sweetish mal flvours and a dryish finish. My score 16/20. |
| Art Brew - Art Nouveau | 3.90 | | Golden ale with excellent hop character and good balance. My score 16/20. |
23 Jun 2009 (Martin the Mildman)
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weltons - Broadwood | 4.00 | | Good hop character and a little maltiness. Good body with a hint of sweetness in the finish. My score 16/20. |
09 Jun 2009 (Martin the Mildman)
A fairly quiet evening due to impending tube strike.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mad Squirrel (formerly Red Squirrel) - Organic Blonde (with ginger roots) | 4.10 | | Orgnice blonde with added root ginger. Subtle ginger taste just gives the right amount of bite to the beer, leaving a refreshing, clean finish. My score 16/20 |
02 Jun 2009 (Martin the Mildman)
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moorhouse's - Black Cat Mild | 3.40 | | In superb condition, having been resting in the cellar for 4 week. Very smooth and mellow. My score 18/20 |
26 Feb 2009 (Ian)
Up in London for the Brew Dog Zeitgeist launch. This pub started to fill up as the post work people came in.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crouch Vale - Brewers Gold | 4.00 | | Pale gold, lasting thin white head. It's good, av ery drinkable golden ale. I think Hophead's better. This has more tropical fruit flavours, mango/passionfruit, but with a sherberty hop. Good. |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
| Bath Ales - SPA | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Crouch Vale - Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Dark Star - Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Cotleigh - Barn Owl Bitter | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Naked Ladies | 4.40 | Not Tried |
17 Feb 2009 (Ian)
I really liked this place and will definitely be back. I had a chat with the barman who updates the pub website with what beers will be on during the week and the landlord about beers and how to condition them and what he had in the cellar. They get beers direct from Crouch Vale, Dark Star and Red Squirrel.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Mill - Black Jack | 5.00 | | Cellar run from the very good landlord. Corking condition, dark brown with lasting beige head. It's a decent strongish dark beer, hard to put a style to it. Not choccy enough to be a porter, not roasted enough for a stout. Some good sourish fruit. An old ale then? Good everthing. Really nice fruit, good dry finish. Dark plums all over it, some dark choc. Excellent. |
| Crouch Vale - Snowdrop | 4.20 | | Beautifully hoppy citrus and hoppy sherberty aroma. Good fullness in mouth, excellent condition. That is lovely, good peach/apricot fruit. Excellent. |
| Mad Squirrel (formerly Red Squirrel) - West Coast Stout | 4.30 | | Very ddep ruby/brown colour, lasting beige head. In spanking condition. Bit of powder, dry charcoal. Quite an intense dark beer stunning to be honest. Some damson jam fruit. It's got choc and coffee, but they don't dominate. I'd say it's a fullish fruity slightly dry, stout. Excellent. |
| Dark Star - Hophead was 3.8% (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | 3.40 | | Once you've had it at the Butcher's Arms, all other versions pale in comparison. Good though. |
| Crouch Vale - Essex Nights | 4.10 | | Tasty roasty toasty dark bitter, it's ok, not in as good nick at the other 4 beers I had here. Bit of dryness on end. Some condition. A roasty fruity dark bitter, with dryness and fruit on finish. |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
| Cottage - S&D | 4.40 | Not Tried |
About the Old Fountain
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 8 |
| 129 |
| 80 |
| 33 |
 | 2 |
The pub is found in Old Street, Central London, EC1V 9NU.
Just off the City Road near Old Street tube station and just behind Moorfields Eye Hospital. Entrances, in fact, on two separate streets. The pub was established in the mid-18th century, possibly originally as the Old Fountain Knights, and for a while there was another pub just around the corner called the New Fountain. Historically a Whitbreadâs pub, ownership has now been with the same family for many years. The pub has a split-level ground floor bar and a popular roof terrace. Traditional interior, with a longish dark wood bar. Ground floor upper level bar has 5 handpumps and the lower level bar has 4 handpumps.
We have visited this pub 129 times, seen 297 different beers and tried 216 of them.
Postcode: EC1V 9NU