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The Wenlock Arms (Free House)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Mighty Oak - Oscar Wilde Mild |  | 1 |
| Mighty Oak - Saxon Strong | | 1 |
| Mighty Oak - Ret'ale Therapy | | 1 |
| Morton - Irish George | | 1 |
| Alehouse - NCR21 | | 1 |
| Green Mill - Red Dragon | | 1 |
| Pictish - Manc'y Mild | | 1 |
| Pitfield's - 1850 London Porter | | 1 |
| Grand Union - One Hop Simcoe | | 1 |
| Newmans - Last Lion |  | 1 |
| Alehouse - The Beer Hunter | | 1 |
| Pitfield's - Big Red Ale | | 1 |
| White Park - Nightjar | | 1 |
| Wye Valley - Burns Night | | 1 |
| Alehouse - Little Ape | | 1 |
| Black Hole - No Escape | | 1 |
| Mighty Oak - Goldfinger | | 1 |
| Alehouse - New Year's Daze | | 1 |
| Dark Star - Amsink Black Special Edition | | 1 |
| BrewDog - The Physics | | 1 |
| Northern (see also Blakemere) - Sure Shot | | 1 |
| Alehouse - Sauvin So Good | | 1 |
| Dark Star - Meltdown | | 1 |
| Nethergate (was Nethergate Growler for a while then name reverted) - Avro Lincoln | | 1 |
| Oakleaf (now see Fallen Acorn entries) - Stokers Stout | | 1 |
| Pitfield's - Shoreditch Stout | | 1 |
| Dark Star - Tim's Stag | | 1 |
| Pitfield's - 61 Squadron | | 1 |
| Hopstar - Tall & Dark | | 1 |
| Grain - Blackwood Stout |  | 1 |
| Milton - Jupiter | | 1 |
| Weltons - Drive & Stamp | | 1 |
| Weltons - Nothdown Extra | | 1 |
| Itchen Valley - Tea Clipper | | 1 |
| White - Chilly Willy | | 1 |
| Rugby - Twicker's Bitter | | 1 |
| Atomic - Half-Life | | 1 |
| Three Castles - Liddington Castle | | 1 |
| Broughton - Winter Fire | | 1 |
| Cotleigh - Brewtown 200 | | 1 |
| Black Hole - BHB | | 1 |
| Burton Bridge - Sphairistike | | 1 |
| Jolly Brewer - Taid's Fragrant Garden | | 1 |
| Salopian - Golden Thread | | 1 |
| Burton Bridge - Thrales Ale | | 1 |
| Mersea Island - Mud Mild | | 1 |
| Cwmbran - Crow Valley Bitter | | 1 |
| Fat Cat - Top Cat |  | 1 |
| Boggart - Ray of Sunshine | | 1 |
| Alcazar - Bowman's Bitter | | 1 |
| Sheffield - Thor's Thunder | | 1 |
| Alehouse - Commercial Mild | | 1 |
| Epicurus Craft Beer (formerly Hornbeam) - California Dream | | 1 |
| Boggart - Pickled Parrot | | 1 |
| Holden's - Black Country Bitter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Holden's - Black Country Mild | Not Tried | 0 |
| Adnams - Southwold Bitter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Old Spot - Spot | Not Tried | 0 |
| Rebellion - Sleeper | Not Tried | 0 |
| Nethergate (was Nethergate Growler for a while then name reverted) - Priory Mild | Not Tried | 0 |
| Slater's - Bitter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Castle Rock - Black Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| Grainstore - BBB (Bunny Brown's Bitter) | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
19 Apr 2008 (Ian)
A regular drinker, Tim, was having his stag do, which meant a pretty good list of beers was on. Here with the rest of the Ratebeer crew who then went on for a tasting that lasted into the early hours.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alehouse - NCR21 | 3.80 | | Typical Alehouse beer, pale gold, lovely citrus aroma. Good tangerine. Really lovely fruit and hop and right in my alley. Good sherbert. |
| Pictish - Manc'y Mild | 3.90 | | Roasty toasty aroma. Good choc in mouth. Rather good to be honest. Good choc nice toasty aroma and flavour. Full of flavour. |
| Morton - Irish George | 5.00 | | Black with thin tan head. Very choccy, very bitter from the roasted malt. Some dryness. Slightly smokey. Good stout. |
| Green Mill - Red Dragon | 3.80 | | The two milds on this afternoon were both stunners. This was ruby brown with thin beige lasting head. Very nice roasty mild. Good mild, on the roasted malt side. |
| Newmans - Last Lion | 5.00 | | Copper/pale chestnut colour. Thin beige head. Herby hop, nice juicy and slightly dry malt. Good malts, really like it, between juicy and dry malts with nice fruit. |
| Dark Star - Tim's Stag | 4.00 | | Festival special for Tim, who’s stag do this was. Chestnut colour with thin white head. Big rubbery malt on aroma. But in the mouth it comes alive. Great dryish malt, bit of stilton cheese. Lively hops on end. Very good best bitter. |
| Weltons - Nothdown Extra | 6.10 | | Copper colour with no head. Quite alcoholic and syrupy on the nose. Hot alcohol everywhere to be honest. Bit sweet and unsubtle in the mouth but decent hop on finish. |
| Epicurus Craft Beer (formerly Hornbeam) - California Dream | 4.40 | | Bit buttery, not great. Bit of biscuit and bitterness, but the butteryness puts me off. |
| Boggart - Ray of Sunshine | 3.90 | | What has gone wrong with Boggart? Pale gold, thin white head. Not great, bit of bleachyness. Actually pretty awful. |
| Sheffield - Thor's Thunder | 4.40 | | Gold with thin off white head. Bit of a chemically minerally aroma and flavour. Not a very good bitter. |
08 Mar 2008 (Blair)
I've had this pub on my radar for a long time, heard a lot of very good things. However, it turned out to be a huge disappointment. The bar maid was hilariously rude. Hopefully I was just there on a bad day.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakleaf (now see Fallen Acorn entries) - Stokers Stout | 5.00 | | Mocha aroma with dark fruit flavours. Could do with a little more body but tasty enough. |
| White Park - Nightjar | 4.50 | | Tobacco in the taste and aroma. Quite fruity, a very different porter. |
| Salopian - Golden Thread | 5.00 | | Golden coloured with a slight white head. Slightly sweet aroma of apricots with plenty of grassy hops. Flavour was fruity with a long dry finish. Little soapy could be end of barrel. |
| Milton - Jupiter | 3.50 | | Light gold with a white head. Barely there aroma of hops and fruit with some sweet buttery brown sugar. Bitter hoppy taste. Quite dry. Rather boring. |
27 Jan 2008 (Ian)
Having stayed up in London Saturday night, it seemed only sensible to get a couple of pubs in on the Sunday as well. Came here with Duff from Ratebeer.com and had the excellent hot salt beef sandwich with mustard and gherkin. Thick slices of white bloomer, thick slices of meat and lovely mustard. To die for. Pretty busy, even just after opening with a few locals in for a drink before Sunday lunch.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mighty Oak - Ret'ale Therapy | 5.20 | | ESB style beer. Deep chestnut colour. Malty ESB, good flavours, cuts through the gherkin I was eating. Good dry malt, fruit and peppery finishing hop. |
| Alehouse - New Year's Daze | 3.80 | | Pale gold, lasting thin white head. American hopped sherberty blond/gold ale. Fine. Pretty standard of the style, but even still a good version. |
| Cwmbran - Crow Valley Bitter | 4.20 | | Pale chestnut colour. OK aroma, watery body in mouth. Not much depth of flavour. Finish has some citrus acidity. Not very exciting. |
| Fat Cat - Top Cat | 4.70 | | Gold, slight haze, lasting off white head. Not a great aroma. Chemical, bleach, acidic aroma. OK in mouth, some grainy malt. Aftertaste has more chemical acidity. |
| Castle Rock - Black Gold | 3.50 | Not Tried | |
| Grainstore - BBB (Bunny Brown's Bitter) | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Adnams - Southwold Bitter | 3.70 | Not Tried |
09 Nov 2007 (Ian)
We sat at the bar and had a bit of banter. Don't remember too much after drinking the Brew Dog Rip Tide at The Rake to be honest. Stood outside for a bit as the evening got quite humid. One of the best pubs in London.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alehouse - Sauvin So Good | 4.00 | | Lots of people using Sauvin hops now. Good citrusy beer. Bit stale and a little soapy as coming towards end of barrel. |
| Alehouse - Commercial Mild | 3.90 | | Full of apple flavour so not sure what it was. Perhaps the glass had been used for cider beforehand and not washed properly. |
30 Sep 2007 (Ian)
Smashing pub. Great line up of rotating beers. Early Sunday afternoon and there was a decent number of regulars in. One of the barmaids started playing jazz piano. Cool.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alehouse - The Beer Hunter | 4.10 | | Black with lasting dark beige head. A fitting tribute to Michael Jackson? Well it has a good bready stouty aroma. Some good burnt roasted grain. Very tasty. Even whiskyish. Finish is really quite dry and stinging. Nice dark beer. |
| Burton Bridge - Thrales Ale | 4.50 | | Gold/copper with thin bubbly off white head. Some yeast on aroma, some malty fruit in mouth, fruit salad, but a little watery in the mouth. Dullish bitter. |
| Atomic - Half-Life | 5.00 | | Pale gold with thin bubbly white head. As you would guess, it’s a blond hoppy beer. Good grapefruit. Fullish in mouth. Good grapefruit aroma. Smooth in mouth. Stinging hop finish. A little bit of washing up liquid flavour. Pretty decent strongish blond ale. |
| Cotleigh - Brewtown 200 | 5.00 | | Chestnut. Thin beige head. Looks in good condition. So it’s a strong bitter/ESB with an odd marzipan almond flavour. Not terribly good. OK hop on end, but lacks malt/backbone for such a strong ABV. Aroma has some hop. |
| Nethergate (was Nethergate Growler for a while then name reverted) - Priory Mild | 3.50 | Not Tried | |
| Adnams - Southwold Bitter | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Slater's - Bitter | 3.60 | Not Tried |
13 Sep 2007 (Ian)
First time since the smoking ban came in and it was extremely pleasant. Usual group of locals in, plus a few CAMRA geeks as well as our group of Ratebeerians here to meet up with a visitor from Toronto.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mighty Oak - Oscar Wilde Mild | 3.70 | | Great mild |
| Mighty Oak - Saxon Strong | 6.50 | | Deep chestnut with lasting beige head. Nice strong beer. Good condition. Good malt, some good hop. Nice. |
| Dark Star - Meltdown | 4.80 | | Gold, thin off white head. Like heather and honey. Possibly the most heathery, herby, perfumed beer I’ve had. And now I see that it is brewed with stem ginger, that explains it. |
| Pitfield's - Shoreditch Stout | 4.00 | | Black, thin beige head. Ashtray, charcoal, liquorice beer. Fairly intense aroma. Good rounded stout. |
| Mighty Oak - Goldfinger | 4.20 | | Clear copper with lasting beige head. Toffee with faint smoke aroma, may be diacetyl butter hidden in there somewhere. Tasty enough, nice fruit salad fruit comes through. Smoke is more ashtray. A smoked fruity bitter. Fine and in good condition if a bit odd. |
| Alcazar - Bowman's Bitter | 3.80 | | Chestnut, thin beige head. Diacetyl all over it. Some fruit in mouth. Some coffee, bit of choc, some hop on end. I struggled to finish it. |
09 Jun 2007 (Ian)
There aren't many pubs where you can get a puncture on your bike fixed whilst you drink, but John the Bike kindly did just that. Great pub, I had the hot salt beef sandwich again and chatted with the locals for a pleasant couple of hours.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Union - One Hop Simcoe | 4.50 | | Distinctive whiff of simcoe hop. Leafy and a little tinny, but otherwise awesome. Great bitter, flavoursome grapefruit. The flowery hop aroma is wonderful. Needs either more malt to balance or hop blend to take the sharp simcoe edge off. Challenging. |
| Hopstar - Tall & Dark | 3.60 | | Deep russet with lasting deep beige head. Great condition. Some toffeeish malt. Crispish finish. Nice mild. Good choc/toffee. Nice hop finish. |
| Alehouse - Little Ape | 4.70 | | Copper, thin white head. Lovely US hop aroma. Little bit of haze, maybe getting towards end of barrel. Earthy grapefruit. Malts are a bit thin, bit unbalanced. Still, not bad. |
| BrewDog - The Physics | 5.00 | | Chestnut with lasting beige head. Malty premium beer. Earthy hop aroma. Really good ESB, plenty of dark/’red fruits. Good malts, nice biting hop on end. Excellent. |
| Itchen Valley - Tea Clipper | 4.20 | | Some flowery hop, some malt. Bit bleachy acidic aroma. Bit harsh and thin. |
17 Feb 2007 (Ian)
I had seen on the Yahoo group Scoopgen that there was going to be a small beer festival on here and then we ran into Dave at the Battersea BF and he said, yes definitely it was on and the list should be a good one. So I went with a couple of guys from Ratebeer.com. As I turned up at 11.55 for the opening at 12.00 there were a few scoopers already outside. A decent festival, good choice of beer and just a great boozer.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Hole - No Escape | 5.20 | | Black beer with brown edges, tan head. This is a pretty good stout. Nice charcoal. some decent dark fruits and chocolate. I like the toasty parts on it. |
| Mersea Island - Mud Mild | 3.60 | | Very dark brown colour with lasting cream head. Not a huge amount of flavour, some roasted malt. Bit dull, watery, but it’s a mild. |
| Weltons - Drive & Stamp | 3.30 | | Hazy amber colour with lasting thin beige head. Some citrus hop, soft and slightly creamy in mouth. some yeast. Drinkable session bitter. Some nice delicate citrus on the finish. Not huge, but hey it’s 3.3%. A little earthy. Pleasant way to start the day’s drinking. |
| Three Castles - Liddington Castle | 3.50 | | Hazy deep copper colour with thin disappearing bubbly head. Some brambley type fruit. Bit of sharp blackberry and hedgerowy. I like the slightly wild fruit. Nice fruit, the rest is fine with a drying finish. |
| Black Hole - BHB | 3.80 | | Gold/copper colour with no head. Earthish bitter, some odd tangerine and mud. Hey, it’s a bitter which is pretty decent from a new brewery to most of us I think. |
| Jolly Brewer - Taid's Fragrant Garden | 4.00 | | Gold colour, slight haze with thin off white head. It’s a bitter, it’s fine. Some decent hop bit, citrus flavour, some tangerine. Very pleasant and drinkable. |
| Grain - Blackwood Stout | 5.00 | | Black colour with thin tan head. Not much of a stout really, some toffee, some ashtray, some dark choc, some smoke. It’s ok, but very much needs to be better. |
| Rugby - Twicker's Bitter | 3.70 | | Currently being brewed at Purity brewery. Copper/orange colour with thin off white head. Earthyish bitter with some citrus. Nice balance. It’s a decent bitter. I like the bitterness on the finish especially. |
| Burton Bridge - Sphairistike | 4.50 | | The title of the beer comes from the name given to an early form of tennis which has a Greek name. Copper coloured bitter with bubbly off white head. Bit of citrus with some bitterness. Pretty good citrus actually. Nice enogh bitter. |
| Boggart - Pickled Parrot | 4.40 | | Black with thin tan head. Bit of toffee, not that great. Bit of diacetyl. A mild beer. some butter/toffee. Goodish carbonation, but not my thing. |
26 Jan 2007 (Ian)
Having already been to the Pembury Tavern, The Rake, The Royal Oak and the Market Porter, I was as surprised as anyone when I managed to cycle all the way back up to The Wenlock Arms. But I am so pleased that I did. It was very full and had a feel of a proper London boozer. There was even a three piece band in the corner playing jazz on the pub's piano, with a trumpet player and a banjo player. 8 beers on and I tried 3 before it became clear that I was definitely going to have to leave if I wanted to cycle safely back to London Bridge for the train home. Only got lost once coming up as well.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitfield's - 1850 London Porter | 5.00 | | Very deep ruby colour. Lovely choc flavours. choccy aroma. Lovely in mouth, great grainy choc. Finish has more grainy choc, some dryness. Very good porter. Some dark fruits. Slight sourness on finish. Good beer. |
| Wye Valley - Burns Night | 5.00 | | Gold beer with thin white head. Golden, strong ale along the Summer Lightning route. Decent hop kick on finish. Subtle citrus hop aroma, decent juicy malt in mouth leading to a Rowntrees fruit gum juicy tangerine finish. Some dryness on finish. Good golden ale. |
| Dark Star - Amsink Black Special Edition | 4.20 | | Black beer with thin tan head. Nice roasted malt aroma. It's a very competent Dark Star beer, good concentrated dark choc, and some liquorice. Decent intense dark beer, especially for the strength. |
| Holden's - Black Country Bitter | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Holden's - Black Country Mild | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Adnams - Southwold Bitter | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Old Spot - Spot | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Rebellion - Sleeper | 4.40 | Not Tried |
29 Nov 2006 (Ian)
Mid afternoon on a Wednesday and I loved it. Hot salt beef sandwich and some very good beers and a good choice too. General bunch of drinkers in who wanted a pint of good beer and a bit of conversation.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern (see also Blakemere) - Sure Shot | 4.20 | | Gold colour with thin white head. Sherberty grapefruit hop aroma. Fine pale malt body. More sherberty grapefruit on end. Moderate juiciness. Some dryness/dusty on finish. Nice, especially if you like this style. Bit one dimensional, no great depth of flavour or mouthfeel. |
| Nethergate (was Nethergate Growler for a while then name reverted) - Avro Lincoln | 3.50 | | Copper/amber colour with disappearing bubbly white head. Not a huge aroma. Some nuttiness in mouth, some strawberries/raspberries. Quite good bitterness on finish. Faint yeast, caramel, red fruit aroma. Nuts, caramel and fruit make this a very interesting weak session bitter. |
| Pitfield's - 61 Squadron | 4.90 | | Black colour with ruby edges, thin bubbly beige head. A choccy porter, quite drying especially on finish. Aroma of molasses. Some molasses and touch of sour fruit in mouth. Dry choc finish, good depth of flavour and slightly different. Drinkable. |
| Pitfield's - Big Red Ale | 6.00 | | Very deep chestnut, thin off white head. Hey, it’s a really tasty red/amber ale in an American styley, but without the overly hoppiness. Great dry malt, full, deep. Alcohol isn’t showy. Dry malt and nutmeg aroma. Malt in mouth is deep and rounded. Warming alcohol. Bit more spice/nutmeg on finish. |
| White - Chilly Willy | 5.10 | | Ruby colour with disappeared beige head. Malty strong ale. Some choc. Bit watery in mouth. Nice malts though, dry malt in evidence, some choc, bit of dried tobacco. Dryness, spice on end. Fine, if just a little lacking in intensity. |
| Broughton - Winter Fire | 4.20 | | Ruby colour with thin beige head. Lots of fruity malt on this. Some good malt, fruits are red and dark. Some spicey hop on finish. Juicy, rounded in mouth. Nice enough. |
About The Wenlock Arms
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | 9 |
| 183 |
| 267 |
| 225 |
| 25 |
The pub is found in Hoxton, Central London, N1 7TA.
Re-opened Monday 3rd June 2013 after a period of closure for major refurbishment. The corner double door entrance is now open with floor tiles entrance "mat" renovated - these doors carry published opening times, previously always very "flexible". Is now a Ground Floor and Basement operation only as the upper floors are being converted to residential use. 2 very fine large Wenlock Brewery mirrors adorn the walls. 10 handpumps on the front of original horseshoe bar counter in two side-by-side banks of 5. The 2 lighted statues from top of bar overhead have migrated to either end of the mantelpiece over the open fire. A row of 10 keg taps have been introduced. Gents toilet with 2 urinals at Ground Floor level in left hand corner. New stairs customer access to basement for 2 Ladies toilets and a Gents sit-down. The backless piano has been retained but moved from the right hand corner to the left hand corner. Mini boxes of cider for sale at the back of the right hand leg of the bar counter. The pub is now operated by Moontide which offers a 10% discount on real ales for card carrying CAMRA members. HISTORICAL INFORMATION : For a long time THE real ale house in North London. For years run by guvnors Wills and Steve. A battle royale was on in 2012 to save the pub from the developers into whose hands it had fallen. The local council provided some protection but the battle continued. As at November 2012 yet another revised planning application was made to convert the floors above the pub into accommodation leaving the pub to run as a ground floor and basement operation only. Watch this space! Closed for major refurbishment of the ground floor after business on Sunday 3rd March 2013 with opening planned for, perhaps, late April or May 2013. Planning application to convert upper floors to flats was approved by the local Council sometime in early 2013 meaning loss of the first floor facilities - principally the function room. 2017 North London CAMRA branch Pub of the Year.
We have visited this pub 219 times, seen 757 different beers and tried 655 of them.
Postcode: N1 7TA