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The Market Porter (Market Taverns)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| RCH - Steam Special |  | 1 |
| Steamin' Billy (contract brewed by various) - Bitter | | 1 |
| Houston - Rambo The Mighty Midge | | 1 |
| Dark Star - Durrants Ale | | 1 |
| Acorn - Forester | | 1 |
| Northumberland - Sheepdog Bitter |  | 1 |
| Phoenix - May Fly | | 1 |
| Harvey's - Olympia | | 1 |
| Hadrian and Border - Byker Blues | | 1 |
| Arundel - Poppycock | | 1 |
| Wentworth - WPA | | 1 |
| Sulwath - The Black Galloway | | 1 |
| Oakham - Mompesson's Gold (superseded by 5.2% version - see separate entry) | | 1 |
| Three Rivers - Old Disreputable | | 1 |
| Rebellion - Stewed | | 1 |
| Wild's - Blonde | | 1 |
| Joseph Holt (see also Holt's) - Golden Boot | | 1 |
| Batemans - Dark Lord (superseded by 4.4% version) | | 1 |
| Everards (see entries against Joule's & Robinsons whilst its new brewery was being built) - Svengal Tiger |  | 1 |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Ursa Major | | 1 |
| Hampshire - Penny Black Porter | | 1 |
| Spinning Dog - Mutley's Dark | | 1 |
| Hydes - Insulation | | 1 |
| Summerskills - Fat Free Beer | | 1 |
| Marble - Uncut Amber | | 1 |
| McGuinness - Summer Tipple | | 1 |
| Brewster's - Salome | | 1 |
| St. George's - Maiden's Saviour | | 1 |
| Old Mill - Willows Wood | | 1 |
| Rudgate - Brewer's Choice Hard Stuff | | 1 |
| Rudgate - Marston Moor Brewer's Pride | | 1 |
| Old Mill - Three Lions | | 1 |
| Okell's - Summer Storm | | 1 |
| Copper Dragon - Scotts 1816 | | 1 |
| King Beer (formerly W.J. King) - Bramling Cross | | 1 |
| Clark's (sometimes shown as Westgate Brewery) - 2 Jags | | 1 |
| York (now brewed by and at Black Sheep) - Liberty | | 1 |
| Inveralmond - Brown Ale | | 1 |
| Goose Eye - No Eyed Deer | | 1 |
| Summerskills - Cellar Vee | | 1 |
| Ossett - Yorkshire Glory | | 1 |
| Exmoor - Silver Stallion | | 1 |
| Milestone - Loxley Ale | | 1 |
| Hesket Newmarket - Great Cockup Porter | | 1 |
| Springhead - Goodrich Castle |  | 1 |
| Wem (formerly Hanby) - Summer's Coming | | 1 |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Polar Eclipse | Not Tried | 0 |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Kodiak Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| Northumberland - Gateshead Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| Wold Top - Falling Stone | Not Tried | 0 |
| Caledonian - Edinburgh Real Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Wild's - Wild Six | Not Tried | 0 |
| Exmoor - Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| St Austell - HSD | Not Tried | 0 |
| Williams Brothers - Fraoch | Not Tried | 0 |
| Goacher's - Gold Star | Not Tried | 0 |
| King Beer (formerly W.J. King) - Mallard Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Spinning Dog - Top Dog | Not Tried | 0 |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
20 Nov 2006 (Andrew)
Busy as always. At least 8 beers on but I can't remember what they all were.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acorn - Forester | 4.10 | | Brown bitter with a big soft lychee flavour. Reminiscent of Hopdaemon Incubus. |
| Wentworth - WPA | 4.00 | | Drawnout string bitterness. Tight and Stark. Not sure what any of that means but it's what I slurred across my notebook on the night. |
| Hampshire - Penny Black Porter | 4.50 | | Black, sweet with a dull bitter finish. |
12 Aug 2006 (Ian)
Although the market itself was as busy as ever, the pub wasn't too bad and I got a seat at the bar with no problem. Still one of the best places in London for "beer range varies."
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milestone - Loxley Ale | 4.20 | | Copper/gold with thin white head. Odd beer. After drinking Thomas Hardy Ale in The Rake it was difficult to get my taste buds working again. Some peach/apricot fruit. Good hop finish, peach carries on to the end. Bit earthy. Hop is good on finish |
| Spinning Dog - Mutley's Dark | 4.00 | | Ruby with beige head. Malty, chewy. Some dark malts. Bit of choc. Not much fruit, some prune/plum. Quite juicy malts. Quite a nice dark ale. |
| Brewster's - Salome | 4.80 | | Gold with lasting bubbly white head. Some grapefruit citrus aroma and flavour. Some hop. Fresh grapefruit aroma. It's find. Smooth in mouth. Slightly sweet citrus |
| Rudgate - Brewer's Choice Hard Stuff | 4.50 | | Copper/chestnut with lasting beige head. Malty, slightly bleached. Malt and bleach on aroma. Smooth in mouth, malt/hop balanced finish, bit of toffee. Not great. |
| King Beer (formerly W.J. King) - Bramling Cross | 4.20 | | Copper, with thin off white head. Bramling Cross is an interesting hop. Bit of apple. Bit of herb. Bit of a meaty flavour. Nice. Good fruit, apple, almost mango flavour. Good hop finish. Interesting, if not excellent. |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Goacher's - Gold Star | 5.10 | Not Tried | |
| King Beer (formerly W.J. King) - Mallard Ale | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Spinning Dog - Top Dog | 4.20 | Not Tried |
18 Jul 2006 (Ian)
I had a dinner in London, so before hand, I stopped off here for a couple of beers. Got a seat at the end of one of the bars and had a wonderful hour or so watching the barmaids and drinking the beers.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RCH - Steam Special | 5.00 | | Pale copper colour with lasting beige head. Strong piney hop aroma. Maybe US in style. Nice juicy malt in mouth and then heavy resiny hop finish. Grapefruit and sticky sweet hop on end. Nice though. Would have had another if it wasn’t for those other 11 pesky handpulls |
| Houston - Rambo The Mighty Midge | 3.60 | | Seriously, that is the name of this beer. It’s true, it even appears in beermad.org.uk Beautiful light session bitter, with plenty of hop presence. Fruity, strawberry/lemon aroma, with good hops. Fine in mouth, with a good strong hop finish. Lots of flavour for a 3.6% beer. This is a cracking beer. The light fruit and strong hop are excellent. |
| Rebellion - Stewed | 4.40 | | Chestnut colour with lasting thin beige head. Fruity malt aroma, red berry. Grapefruity hop. Nice enough bitter, red berry fruits and hop. Maybe lacks a little body in mouth. Still, a good beer. |
| Copper Dragon - Scotts 1816 | 4.10 | | Copper/gold with lasting off white head. Spicy beer. Quite aromatic aroma with some toffee and earthy hop on end. Tastes like its brewed with lavender or heather. Bizarre. God knows what it’s brewed with. Base beer is fine. Tastes like licking a heather bush. Dry finish. |
| Summerskills - Cellar Vee | 3.70 | | Chestnut colour with lasting beige head. Smooth caramel in mouth, caramel/hop aroma. Sweetish earthy caramel finish. Some dry earthy hop. Bit like a Camerons beer. Not my style, but the hops are good. |
| Summerskills - Fat Free Beer | 4.70 | | Hazy copper with thin white head. Tastes like a bland bitter. Some citric hop. Bit of honey or ginger maybe? Odd beer. Drinkable, but no strong aroma. Good citric hop finish. I asked for a half and got a pint, which I was happy to sup away at as I ordered my other beers. Fine, but nothing of any great note. |
| York (now brewed by and at Black Sheep) - Liberty | 4.00 | | Hazy, pale gold, with thin white head. Dusty soapy hop aroma. Some creaminess in mouth. I expected more of a pronounced Liberty hop flavour. Odd beer. Malt needs to be better, but will be a good summer beer. |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| St Austell - HSD | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Williams Brothers - Fraoch | 4.10 | Not Tried |
15 Jul 2006 (Ian)
Came here after watching England vs Pakistan at Lord's with some locals from the White Horse in Dover. Still an excellent pub and probably the best in London for the ever changing, handpull, cask beer
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - Durrants Ale | 4.00 | | Deep copper colour with thin white head. Blackcurrant herby hop aroma (could have willamatte hops) Bit of yeast. Bit of choc malt in mouth. Bready. Smokey bacon finish. Really impressive beer. Very good malt. |
| Three Rivers - Old Disreputable | 5.20 | | Almost black, ruby colour with pale beige head. Tarry, dark malts. Best 3 Rivers beer I think that I have had. Bit of charcoal. Soft in mouth. I liked it. |
| Arundel - Poppycock | 4.40 | | Very dark ruby beer with beige head. Sour liquorice aroma. Good sourness in mouth with bit more liquorice on the end. It’s just a bit different to the other beers on at the pub on this day. Nice and chewy in the mouth |
| Ossett - Yorkshire Glory | 4.20 | | Pale gold, thin white head. Bit farty yeast aroma. Blonde citrus hoppy beer. Good example of the type with nice lemon and hop finish. Typical Ossett beer. |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Ursa Major | 4.50 | | Hazy gold colour with thin white head. Good malt/hop balance. Juicy malt in mouth. Just some odd flavours, bit of bleach? but a good citrus finish. |
| Springhead - Goodrich Castle | 4.40 | | All I got was lime. Gold colour with thin white head. Lime flavoured bitter with citrus finish. I really don’t like the lime in it. Tastes as though glass was used for lime coridal before hand. Rest of the beer is ok and the people I was with seemed to like it. |
23 Jun 2006 (Ian)
I was a little drunk already as I had been at Royal Ascot all day. Got a seat at the bar and tried the various different beers. Really excellent pub with an excellent range of beers.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Holt (see also Holt's) - Golden Boot | 4.20 | | Gold with thin white head. Refreshing summer golden bitter. Easy drinking with good citric hop. Hop on finish is spikey. Needs more malt. |
| Harvey's - Olympia | 4.30 | | Gold with thinnish white head. Harveys yeast aroma. Good malts in mouth. Hoppy dry finish. Don’t underestimate that Harvey’s aroma. Toffee malt which is light and delightful. Good supping beer. Light toffee flavour is a classic |
| Old Mill - Willows Wood | 4.20 | | Gold beer with lasting white head. Some faint caramel/earthy hop aroma. Light in mouth. Very dry on end. Fairly bland bitter with earthy hop finish. |
| Old Mill - Three Lions | 4.30 | | Copper colour with thin off white head. Yeasty bitter. Yeasty in mouth. Apple acid and hop on end. Yeasty, and undeveloped bitter. |
| McGuinness - Summer Tipple | 4.60 | | Deep chestnut colour. As unlikely a summer beer as you’ll find. Lots of choccy malt and yeast on aroma and earthy choccy malt on end. Someone is having a gag here. But there is some citrus too. Bizarre, odd. A lemoney choc malt hop beer. Not your usual summer run of the mill beer. |
| Wem (formerly Hanby) - Summer's Coming | 4.30 | | Copper colour with no head. Rubbery hop aroma, quite malty with a hop finish. Oh wow. A not very good bitter. Oh Joy! |
01 Jun 2006 (Ian)
I had a meeting in London in the afternoon, but instead of going straight home, I stopped off here. On my last 3 visits, I had been disappointed by the beer quality, but this visit completely restored my faith. It was around 4.15 when I got here and there were still some seats to be had, which is almost unheard of. Beer selection was as usual brilliant.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steamin' Billy (contract brewed by various) - Bitter | 4.30 | | Copper colour with thin beige head. Earthy bitter with growing lasting hop finish. Earthy hop aroma is attractive. Refreshing in mouth. Good bitter, very drinkable. The hop finish goe on forever. Just surprisingly good. |
| Phoenix - May Fly | 4.40 | | Copper colour wit thin off white head. Phoenix make some nice beers and this is good enough. Hop is quite aggressive compared with most UK bitters. Malt is quiite juicy to balance the hop. It’s good without setting the world alight |
| Oakham - Mompesson's Gold (superseded by 5.2% version - see separate entry) | 5.00 | | Copper coloured, thin white head. Bit maltier than most of Oakhams with some red fruit and attractive hop aroma. Some strawberry in mouth and strong hop finish. Distinctive hop bitterness. I love the finish on this, mixed with the strawberry fruit and malt. |
| Exmoor - Silver Stallion | 4.30 | | Amber with thin off white head. ESB bitter with some fruit, some yest, some hop. Very acceptable ESB, but nothing special and I was a bit gone by this stage |
| Marble - Uncut Amber | 4.70 | | Deep chestnut colour. Unusual flavours. Vinous fruits, blackberry, cherry, strawberry fruits plus hay on the aroma. Juicy fruit in mouth. Sharp fruit/dusty hop finish. Not what I was expecting. Bizarre but nice but not sure it quite works. |
| Okell's - Summer Storm | 4.20 | | Wheat beer. Hazy gold with bubbly off white head. Typical British wheat beer in that apart from a bit of cereal in the mouth, you wouldn't know this from a golden ale. Wheat and hop bite on finish. Pretty nice though. |
| Goose Eye - No Eyed Deer | 4.00 | | Deep copper colour with thin beige head. I really just don’t like these earthy caramel dominated bitters. The caramel dominates too much and it is just not to my taste. Nothing wrong with it at all, but not my style of bitter. |
| Everards (see entries against Joule's & Robinsons whilst its new brewery was being built) - Svengal Tiger | 4.50 | | Golden, with thin white head. Very much in the line of a golden ale aiming at the lager market. Bit of citrus aroma, bit of hay/hop. Bit creamy in mouth, then sharp lemon citrus finish. Not unpleasant summer blond beer. Lemon curd fruit on end is pretty good. |
25 Mar 2006 (Ian)
Good site to have a pub, just by the Borough Market. I have to say though that I have been disappointed by the condition of the beer, the last couple of times that I have been in. Compared with the Wenlock, it just isn't in the same league for quality of the beer served in my opinion
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark's (sometimes shown as Westgate Brewery) - 2 Jags | 4.00 | | Pale copper, sparse head. Yeasty hoppy aroma, some caramel, earthy hoppy, juicy in mouth with earthy finish. Hop is good, but felt undistinguished |
06 Dec 2005 (Ian)
Very busy around the bar as ever, but found a seat eventually in the back room. Around 10 beers on handpull. Always a good choice and always a brewery or a beer that I have never had. A must for anyone in the region of London Bridge/Southwark
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inveralmond - Brown Ale | 4.60 | | Deep chestnut with thin white head. Toffee, ruity malty aroma. More toffee in mouth with earthy hop finish which is a bit muddy. Tingling hop finish on tongue. Aroma may have a touch of diacetyl |
| Hesket Newmarket - Great Cockup Porter | 3.00 | | Black with thin beige head. Bit thin and watery. Some liquorice on aroma and end, slightly sour n mouth. Some coffee and bit of flaky choc on nose and finish. Fine, just needs a bit more oomph |
| Hydes - Insulation | 5.00 | | Black, thin disappearing head. Not a lot of aroa on this, some grainyness in mouth, touch sour bit of heat from alcohol. Some bitterness and black dark choc. in fact I quite like the bitter dark choc on the end and the alcohol gives it body |
| St. George's - Maiden's Saviour | 3.70 | | Copper colour with no head. Some caramel, bit of hop, bit watery. Disappointing |
| Rudgate - Marston Moor Brewer's Pride | 4.20 | | Hazy copper colour with lasting off white head. Quite perfumed with pear drops and yeast on aroma. Fine in mouth with some toffee |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | Regular here |
| Exmoor - Gold | 4.50 | Not Tried |
26 Nov 2005 (Andrew)
Another great night in the Market Poter. They had on 10 beers and only 2 of them were on yesterday!
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sulwath - The Black Galloway | 4.40 | | A black porter with a soft sweet taste and a slightly bitter finish |
| Wild's - Blonde | 4.50 | | Pale gold and faily soft and light in taste. Slightly orangy flavour. |
25 Nov 2005 (Andrew)
Late evening and it was very busy. The new extension at the back was a little quieter and eventually we got a seat. Great pub with a fantastic range of beers
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batemans - Dark Lord (superseded by 4.4% version) | 5.00 | | Black, strong and with a very bitter burnt finish |
| Northumberland - Sheepdog Bitter | 4.70 | | Caramel brown bitter with a grassy taste to start with. Caramel flavour then dominates and a mild bitter finish. |
| Hadrian and Border - Byker Blues | 4.30 | | Pale gold in colour and light in taste with a quiet bitter tart hoppy flavour |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Polar Eclipse | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Kodiak Gold | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Northumberland - Gateshead Gold | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Wold Top - Falling Stone | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Caledonian - Edinburgh Real Ale | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Wild's - Wild Six | 4.20 | Not Tried |
About The Market Porter
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | 4 |
| 130 |
| 268 |
| 240 |
| 41 |
The pub is found in Southwark, Central London, SE1 9AA.
Famous pub opposite Borough Market in Stoney Street. Central bar has many beers which change on a regular basis and are mostly from UK micros. Can be extremely busy. Refurbishment some time ago and now there is one main room with a side area with seating as well. Many customers use the pavement outside to stand and enjoy their drinks. Really a must for anyone taking in London pubs. Sports 12 handpumps with 6 in each of the 2 distinct bar serving areas plus a further 4 for cider dispense at the far rear. Upstairs restaurant bar area too, mainly for lunchtime use. In 2019 the real ale choice was drastically reduced to 4 and the cider was withdrawn. Downstairs toilets. Card payment only, cash not accepted here.
We have visited this pub 282 times, seen 813 different beers and tried 647 of them.
Postcode: SE1 9AA