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The Pembury Tavern (Five Points Brewery)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Milton - Marcus Aurelius |  | 1 |
| Milton - Mammon |  | 2 |
| Brewster's - Rutterkin (superseded by 5% version) | | 1 |
| Rugby - 1823 Dark Mild |  | 1 |
| Milton - Elysium | | 1 |
| Three Rivers - Hilary Gold | | 1 |
| Jarrow - Westoe Crown | | 1 |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Ginger Bear | | 1 |
| Milton - Minotaur Mild | | 1 |
| AllGates - Brightblade | | 1 |
| Saltaire - Saltaire Blonde | | 1 |
| Castle Rock - Sherwood Oak | | 1 |
| Black Country - BFG Bradley's Finest Golden | | 1 |
| Milton - Eleutherios | | 1 |
| Milton - Corinthian | | 1 |
| Milton - Jupiter | | 1 |
| Milton - Sparta | | 1 |
| Oakham - JHB | | 1 |
| Milton - Pegasus | | 1 |
| Jarrow - Bitter | | 1 |
| Milton - Nero | | 2 |
| AllGates - Hasty Knoll | | 1 |
| Milton - Colossus | | 1 |
| Milton - Gargantua | | 1 |
| Milton - Aphrodite |  | 1 |
| Jarrow - Old Cornelius | | 1 |
| Oscars (formerly Hart of Preston) - Ice Maiden | | 1 |
| B&T (Banks & Taylor's) - Prince Henry | | 1 |
| Nottingham - Rock Mild | | 1 |
| Milton - Dionysus | | 1 |
| Rugby - Summer Break | | 1 |
| Caledonian - Great Scot | | 1 |
| Brewster's - Cheval Mort | | 1 |
| Titanic - Nautical Mild | | 1 |
| Milton - Dr Oh | | 1 |
| Milton - Valetta | | 1 |
| Northern (see also Blakemere) - Blakemere Wheatear | | 1 |
| B&T (Banks & Taylor's) - Autumn Porter | | 1 |
| AllGates - Smoking and they Bandit | | 1 |
| Milton - Argosy |  | 1 |
| Slater's - Queen Bee | | 1 |
| Milton - Jericho | | 1 |
| Northern (see also Blakemere) - Soul Time | | 1 |
| AllGates - Young Pretender | | 1 |
| Northern (see also Blakemere) - Kingfisher | | 1 |
| Northern (see also Blakemere) - Mighty Crowded | | 1 |
| Three Rivers - Old Disreputable | | 1 |
Visits Details
14 Nov 2007 (Ian)
Their 4th beer festival since starting them up last November. One of the nicest drinking spaces I've been to. Large pub, but feels intimate, good simple decor, excellent long bar with 16 handpulls and then a stillage opposite with space for 10 more beers. Good food and beer kept in good condition. A real treat.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Ginger Bear | 4.00 | | Gold with a slight haze, very thin white head. Stem ginger aroma. Man that's a ginger beer. A bit soapy maybe, good ginger though. |
| Castle Rock - Sherwood Oak | 4.40 | | Beer of the festival for me. Black with ruby edges, lasting tan head. Good roasty nose. Some charcoal, liquorice. Nice choc. Somewhere between a dark mild and a porter. |
| Three Rivers - Hilary Gold | 4.50 | | Gold, no head. A fairly citrusy standard bitter. Some nice white stone fruits. Pretty good. |
| B&T (Banks & Taylor's) - Prince Henry | 4.50 | | Brown/gold with very thin beige head. Nice hop, raspberry sherbert aroma. OK in mouth, some wateryness, raspberry sherbert continues. Finish lacks bite. |
| Milton - Nero | 5.00 | | Not in the bet shape. Vanilla-ery stout. |
| Titanic - Nautical Mild | 4.80 | | Very very deep ruby colour with thin lasting tan head. Quite a fruity aroma, turkish delight and rich cherry. Odd mild. No real bitterness on finish. Odd. Fruity, but very mild. |
| B&T (Banks & Taylor's) - Autumn Porter | 5.50 | | Very deep ruby with lasting thin dark beige head. Roasted choc aroma in stunning. Good choc in mouth, very light hop. Some bitter dark choc. More charcoal in mouth. I expected a bit more depth and mouthfeel. Good flavours. Bit acidic towards end. Tad of gum puckering. Most people really liked this. |
| Milton - Aphrodite | 3.80 | | Gold, lasting off white head. Nice hoppy aroma. Simple golden citrus bitter. Some yeast, some malt on aroma. Pretty decent. OK hop on finish. |
| Three Rivers - Old Disreputable | 5.20 | | Rich reddy chestnut, lasting beige head. Bit of a malty sweet syrupy aroma. Hop is a little bleachy and out of touch with rest of beer. Doesn't really go anywhere. |
| Slater's - Queen Bee | 4.20 | | Gold, some diacetyl maybe, butterscotch aroma. Some ok hop on end. Too much diacetyl. |
18 Jul 2007 (Ian)
This was their 3rd beer festival. 22 beers on, 15 through the handpumps and 7 on the stillage. Spent a nice afternoon chatting with Ben the barman until the Ratebeer crew turned up and we got a table. Free Wifi access attracts some customers.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jarrow - Bitter | 3.80 | | Pale copper colour with lasting beige head. Really lovely hop aroma. Slightly sweaty sox hops. Sherberty in mouth. Good condition. Sherbery hop finish. Decent bitter with nice hops. |
| Jarrow - Westoe Crown | 4.20 | | Copper colour with thin beige head. Fruity bitter. Pleasant, bit of fruit salad in mouth, some raspberries. Decent hop. Nice best bitter. |
| Milton - Corinthian | 5.00 | | Orangey gold with lasting off white head. Orangey/tangeriney throughout. Very tangerine/satsuma, strong in alcohol compared with most bitters, good condition, good in mouth, drinkable and likeable. Modest hop on end. A bit like sucking on a square of Robertson’s tangerine jelly. |
| Saltaire - Saltaire Blonde | 4.00 | | Pale gold, thin white head. Nettly hoppy aroma. Some softness in mouth. Nettley hop finish. Bit like a gooseberry, new world Sauvignon Blanc. I like it. A bit spikey, and I really like it. |
| Oscars (formerly Hart of Preston) - Ice Maiden | 4.00 | | Gold with thin white head. It’s a citrus golden beer, bit bland, but fine. |
| Northern (see also Blakemere) - Blakemere Wheatear | 4.40 | | Gold with disappearing white head. I assumed this was a wheat beer from the name. Bit of dull cereal on aroma. Thinnish condition, citrus and lemon flavours, tingling hop finish. Not much of a wheat beer if it is one. A bit thin, some decent citrus on end. |
| AllGates - Smoking and they Bandit | 4.00 | | Copper with bubbly off white head. Bit of farty yeast on aroma. It’s a bitter, decent caramel/fruit malt. Nice enough hop on the end. Not too keen on the yeasty aroma, but the rest of the beer is fine. |
| Milton - Valetta | 4.20 | | Gold with thin off white head. Decent, drinkable bitter. Decent citrus, bit of toffee on aroma. Lovely hop on finish. Decent bitter. |
| Northern (see also Blakemere) - Soul Time | 5.00 | | Reddy/orangey/brown with thin beige head. Not sure about the Northern beers. The Two Tone I liked, but the rest have some odd malts. This is chewy, a bit of bleach even, some brown sugar and not awfully nice and I found it difficult to finish the half pint. |
| Milton - Argosy | 3.80 | | Amber colour with thin off white head. Diacetyl aroma. Buttery throughout. Some hop on finish. Good condition though. Shame about the diacetyl. |
| AllGates - Young Pretender | 3.80 | | Gold with disappearing white head. Odd chalky medicinal aroma. Bit herby. Not very pleasant at all. Ginger spice and horrid medicine is what I mostly got. |
09 Jun 2007 (Ian)
I cycled up from Charing Cross to Hackney and got here for opening time at 12.00. I sat at the bar talking to the manager. Their next beer festival will be 18-21 July which unfortunately clashes with Kent BF at Canterbury. Excellent pub though, good helpful friendly service and it attracts an interesting crowd of people.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby - 1823 Dark Mild | 3.50 | | Very dark brown/ruby with lasting beige head. Very tasty mild, bit of almost whiskyish malt. Bit nutty and good roasted flavours. Actually got a bit of grapefruit hop. Good mild. |
| Milton - Dionysus | 3.60 | | Gold, lasting off white head. Bit of butter which fades to leave a pleasing session bitter. Decent drying dusty hop on finish. Fine. |
| Rugby - Summer Break | 4.00 | | Gold, thick beige head. Fairly standard blond beer, some dusty hop on finish. Fine and in decent condition. |
| Milton - Dr Oh | 4.60 | | Brewed specially for the Cambridge BF 07 according to the manager. Gold colour with slight haze, thin off white head. Very tangerine/orange citrus. Not a huge fan, but you can see where it’s going. |
14 Mar 2007 (Ian)
This was their second beer festival after the first in November. A fair number of beer nuts in at lunchtime and it gradually filled up as the afternoon wore on. I met up with a couple of people from Ratebeer.com (Duff and Chris). 15 of the 16 handpumps were on plus 8 of the 9 casks on the stillage. Excellent pub, good value food, knowledgeable and friendly staff. Great pub.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milton - Mammon | 7.00 | | Good intensity. Oily, some dark fruit e.g. damson. Great strong beer of character. Strong, tart on end. Oily and a bit of leather. Very dry on finish. Alcohol presence on finish. |
| Brewster's - Rutterkin (superseded by 5% version) | 4.60 | | Pale gold in colour with lasting white head. Rich flowery fruity aroma. Sweet and flowery. I love it very much. Flavourful, flowery and a good pint. |
| Black Country - BFG Bradley's Finest Golden | 4.20 | | Gold colour with thin white head. Very spritzy in mouth. Nice grassy hop. Bit of US hop maybe. Nice spritzy hop finish. |
| Milton - Jupiter | 3.50 | | Gold/copper colour with lasting beige head. Earthy hop, some toffeeish malt on aroma. Pleasant in mouth. Some crisp drying hop on finish. Pleasant drinkable session bitter. |
| Milton - Pegasus | 4.10 | | Copper colour with lasting thick beige head. Malty, but well balanced hop with it too. I like it. Simple, but balanced and drinkable bitter. |
| Milton - Gargantua | 5.60 | | Gravity. Gold/copper colour with no head. Some hop on aroma, bit of minerality. Some decent sherberty hop. It's ok, but expected it to be hoppier from the description at the festival. Resiny hop is understated. |
| Milton - Elysium | 5.40 | | Gravity. Black colour with thin beige head. Coffeeish aroma. Grainy. Nice intensity, bit of hot alcohol. Pretty good stout. Malt is ok. Maybe vanilla. Bit of whisky malt? |
| AllGates - Brightblade | 4.00 | | Gravity. Ginger, spice aroma. Gold colour, no head. I like ginger beers, and this one is not biscuity but more root ginger. Nice spicy finish. It's a very good ginger beer. Quite earthy with stem ginger on finish. |
| Milton - Eleutherios | 3.60 | | Gravity. Gold colour with no head. Cat's pee hoppy astringent aroma. Bit watery in mouth but good strong hoppy finish. Lovely well made beer, just a bit light in mouth. |
| AllGates - Hasty Knoll | 4.20 | | Gravity. Copper colour with thin disappearing head. Minerally good bitterish beer. Some stonyish minerality, some decent hop on end. Well balanced bitter. |
| Nottingham - Rock Mild | 3.80 | | Very deep ruby/brown with lasting bubbly tan head. Slightly milky lactic mild. Not to my taste, really way too milky. Not as I remember it at Nottingham BF in 2005. Some roasted malts, but that lactic thing is just too much. |
| Jarrow - Old Cornelius | 4.80 | | Very dark brown/red colour with beige bubbly head. Dry malt aroma, fine malty beer in mouth, some juicy raisin. Fuzzy hop on end tingles the tongue. Fine and an ok premium bitter. |
| Brewster's - Cheval Mort | 4.00 | | Very deep chestnut colour with lasting bubbly beige head. Quite a malty bitter. Malt aroma, malt and a bit of choc in mouth. Decent malty bitter. |
| Milton - Jericho | 4.80 | | Gold colour with bubbly white head. Diacetyl toffee butter aroma. OK in mouth, but spoilt by the diacetyl. Bit earthy on end. |
| Northern (see also Blakemere) - Mighty Crowded | 4.30 | | Gold with thin white head. Bit of diacetyl maybe, bit of plastic, not that great. |
| Northern (see also Blakemere) - Kingfisher | 4.10 | | Gravity. Golden colour with disappearing white head. Diacetyl on this one too. In mouth, some hop, some tea. Still too much butter throughout. Hay style hop on finish is quite strong. |
26 Jan 2007 (Ian)
I cycled up from Waterloo East station, took a couple of wrong turns in the City, but found my way via some cycle routes to Hackney Town Hall. After that it was only 5 minutes up to the pub. I was the only one in at about 14.15 so I sat at the long bar talking to the barman. A couple more people wandered in and out along with a group of students, but otherwise it was a quiet Friday afternoon. This gave me the chance to try all of the beers on view and chat with Ben the barman too, who was very helpful. Beer festivals on in March and November. Will definitely be back.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milton - Marcus Aurelius | 7.50 | | Black with tan head. This barrel came on on 20th January. Intense roasted malt aroma, charcoal. The most light and agile imperial stout type beer I've had. Great intensity. Very tasty. Very dark bitter choc like Green and Blacks dark choc, intense bitter dark choc. Bit of velvet. Very intense balanced smooth dry wonderful. One of my favourite British beers. |
| Milton - Mammon | 7.00 | | Very deep ruby colour with thin deep beige ehad. Some nice choc, some sourness on aroma. Like a choccy old ale. Sourness is nice. Heavenly beer, like Goachers Old. Superb complexity. More grainy. Some sour dark cherry, dark choc. Dryish finish. Superb, bit of alcohol heat. |
| Oakham - JHB | 3.80 | | Still some of that odd yeasty aroma that this beer has developed since they had to move the brewery. But the palate and finish are improving, more citrusy hop tingle on end. |
| Milton - Colossus | 5.60 | | Amber colour with bubbly beige head. Some hop, bit of staleness, but is soon fades (was actually towards end of barrel, went off soon afterwards). Whisky malt in mouth, similar in flavour to the Sparta, nice tangerine. Good strong bitter, dryish finish. Another well made beer from Milton |
| Milton - Minotaur Mild | 3.30 | | Very dark brown colour with lasting tan head. Lovely burnt malt aroma, chocolate is great. Lovely mild roastiness in mouth. Some thinness in mouth (it is only 3.3%), but stunning roasted finish. |
| Milton - Sparta | 4.30 | | Copper/gold colour with disappearing off white head. Grassy hoppy aroma, some tangerine fruit in mouth, suppable citrusy orangey beer, some juicy malt. Finish is very pleasant, not harsh, just tingly and satisfying. |
| Milton - Nero | 5.00 | | Black colour with lasting tan head. Subtle roasty/toasty aroma. Quite chewy in mouth, some sourness, liquorice. Quite a harsh stout. Very interesting though. Nice but not my stout of choice. |
| Caledonian - Great Scot | 4.40 | | Mid brown beer, bubbly beige head. Toffeeish aroma. Some hop on finish. Pretty standard bitter with toffeeish edge. Good condition, just not my kind of beer. Disappointing malty finish. |
About The Pembury Tavern
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 9 |
| 90 |
| 66 |
| 34 |
| 11 |
The pub is found in Hackney, Greater London, E8 1JH.
This pub was built in around 1866 and for many years was a Truman’s house. By the 1970s it was best known as a live music venue. The pub was refurbished in 1983 and by 1986 had been acquired by Banks & Taylor Brewery. Closed for five and a half years from 1998, it re-opened but led a precipitous existence until acquired by Milton Brewery in 2006. In May 2018 the keys passed to the nearby Five Points Brewery. It is a large, stone and brick building on a busy junction near Hackney Downs and Central railway stations. The long wooden bar has 6 handpumps (down from 16 in Milton’s time). There is a bar billiards table, a pizza kitchen and a small outside seating area beside the road junction.
We have visited this pub 85 times, seen 231 different beers and tried 163 of them.
Postcode: E8 1JH