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The River Ale House (Free House)
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Brew York - Tonkoko |  | 2 |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | | 1 |
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA |  | 3 |
| Kent - Barbe Rouge | | 1 |
| Kent - Superdelicnectaron | | 2 |
| Anspach & Hobday - The Golden Bitter | | 1 |
| Church End - Stout Coffin | | 4 |
| Kent - Kent Golding Bitter or KGB | | 5 |
| Brew York - Maris the Otter |  | 3 |
| Oakham - Oranje | | 1 |
| Mighty Oak - Arcadian Ale |  | 1 |
| Burning Sky - What Gives? | Not Tried | 0 |
| Kernel (The Kernel) - Nitro London Stout (cask version) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Ramsbury - Hazy Daisy | Not Tried | 0 |
| Vibrant Forest - Pupa | Not Tried | 0 |
| Brew York - Duality Idaho 7 & Azacca | Not Tried | 0 |
| Oakham - Sun City | Not Tried | 0 |
| Bristol Beer Factory - Everytime | Not Tried | 0 |
| Oakham - Citra | Not Tried | 0 |
Stephen Harris
Visits Details
12 Aug 2025 (Hogan Sampling)
Busier footfall than earlier nights for last 30 minutes of serving. Charlton FC were at home again, following their home-game win against Watford FC on Saturday in the Championship League, and this evening won 3-1 against Stevenage in the English Football League. So, a few in after the match including the landlord.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brew York - Tonkoko | 4.30 | | Fresh on as just replaced the Church End stout is this York-brewed milk stout. A wonderfully creamy top to it. Head, very creamy, lacing, similarly creamy, and lasting, good. A coffee-infused first bite. A very malty mouthfeel about it mixed with toasted coconut, Belgian cacao nibs which are said to be considered a simpler, more wholesome option to dark chocolate, and Tonka beans containing an aromatic spice with vanilla, almond and possibly marzipan, cinnamon and clove flavourings. Extremely moreish with a dry malty fruit-infused sweetness sailing down my hatch! Not surprisingly described in the tasting notes as multi-award winning! |
| Kent - Kent Golding Bitter or KGB | 4.10 | | Now its third day on and still very good. This Birling-based bitter, north of West Malling, came with still good head and lacing and almost lasting throughout. A very dry bitter first bite. Aided by its Golding and Fuggles hops, a moreishly dry hoppiness climbing up. A malty note or two playing out and still got that lovely dry oily hoppy aftertaste! Almost a touch of resin to my taste buds from its hoppy oiliness like the Greek wine, Retsina. Very moreish and so once again stuck with it apart from a half of a new stout just on to end on. |
| Church End - Stout Coffin | 4.60 | Not Tried | Just gone. |
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA | 6.00 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Kent - Barbe Rouge | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Oakham - Sun City | 3.70 | Not Tried |
12 Aug 2025 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close. Noisy fiddlers' music night in back room.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA | 6.00 | | Holding up well |
| Brew York - Tonkoko | 4.30 | | 3rd pint of cask just put on. Fresh |
| Church End - Stout Coffin | 4.60 | Not Tried | Ran out |
| Kent - Kent Golding Bitter or KGB | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Kent - Barbe Rouge | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Oakham - Sun City | 3.70 | Not Tried |
11 Aug 2025 (Hogan Sampling)
Quiet footfall for last 30 minutes of serving with just the hardened on parade alongside the odd one or two more occasional.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent - Kent Golding Bitter or KGB | 4.10 | | Only its second day on. Head and lacing, still very good, and lasting, good. A very dry oily first bite from this Birling-based bitter, north of West Malling. A fruity bitterness veering up. Its Golding and Fuggles hops lending hoppy infusions with a gentle bitterness bobbing up and down. A very palatable dry hoppiness sliding down my hatch and lingering in my cakehole. As on Sunday, intensely moreish and so stuck with it but for half a stout for my tide to go out on. |
| Church End - Stout Coffin | 4.60 | | Now its third day on for this stout from Nuneaton, north-east of Birmingham. Starting to run out of steam. Head and lacing, good, holding it, fair. Still alive proven by its very malty first bite. A fruity bitterness rising with a malty note playing on aided by its dark berry flavourings in on the mix. A fruit-infused malty dryness lingering on. |
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA | 6.00 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Kent - Barbe Rouge | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Oakham - Sun City | 3.70 | Not Tried |
11 Aug 2025 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA | 6.00 | | Pretty much always reliable |
| Kent - Kent Golding Bitter or KGB | 4.10 | | Slight loss of condition since yesterday |
| Kent - Barbe Rouge | 4.50 | | No past experience to judge this on. Good condition but basically tasted of nothing |
| Church End - Stout Coffin | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Oakham - Sun City | 3.70 | Not Tried |
10 Aug 2025 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close. Just a smidgen of hard-core regulars seemed to be in residence.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA | 6.00 | | Always reliable |
| Kent - Kent Golding Bitter or KGB | 4.10 | | Reasonable head and lacing |
| Church End - Stout Coffin | 4.60 | | Needed more condition to really take off |
| Vibrant Forest - Pupa | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Brew York - Duality Idaho 7 & Azacca | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Oakham - Sun City | 3.70 | Not Tried |
10 Aug 2025 (Hogan Sampling)
Quiet footfall for the last 30 minutes of serving with just the merest few of the hardened in among the more occasional. The theme set by the now also more occasional Sunday "musical" barman in the sense he gives us a musical theme the week or so before for tracks to be played was "time". Pink Floyd's Time was played and superb! Parts of it were used in the 1973 tv programme entitled "In Search Of The Perfect Pint" and now found on YouTube and featuring Fyfe Robertson. Look up: 1973: In Search of the PERFECT PINT | Robbie | Classic BBC documentary | BBC Archive. That should find it. In this Robbie extols: "In my self-sacrificing search for the best, I have sampled a lot of beers. And I have found here as in a lot of other places too, my perfect pint, it’s a bitter. Maybe it would not be the best for you, because no one beer could be every man’s perfect pint. Just as no one woman could be every man’s perfect mistress. And the perfect pint needs to be more than beer, it needs the right setting, the warm sun and the proper frame of mind. The best beer can’t taste right if you have got lumps in the liver. This then is my choice: smooth, not too sweet, not too bitter, and it’s the real macoy. Not sterilised into deadness, but still alive but though more than willing to go down the hatch without a struggle. But you’ll need something else first of all, something every wise man should cultivate, the perfect thirst! Cheerio!"
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent - Kent Golding Bitter or KGB | 4.10 | | First day on and wonderful. One of my favourite local microbreweries is this one from Birling, north of West Malling. Very good head and lacing and lasting throughout its performance. A very bitter first bite. A lovely hoppiness rising ably assisted by its Golding and Fuggles hops. A malty note or two joining in to aid its voyage down my appreciative hatch! Very moreish and so stuck with it apart from a half of stout to end on. |
| Church End - Stout Coffin | 4.60 | | Second day on. Not as good as its first day sampled but still pulling a good punch on this stout from Nuneaton, north-east of Birmingham. Church End started in 1994 in an old coffin shop and so hence this ale's name no doubt! Thankfully a lively stout and certainly still holding its head and lacing well and lasting as served at 10.50pm-ish and not sampled until 11.25pm and some 15 minutes before going-home-time. A dry malty first bite with the odd dark berry in on the mix. A moreish bitterness rising. A mildly fruit-infused malty dryness playing out. |
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA | 6.00 | Not Tried | |
| Vibrant Forest - Pupa | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Brew York - Duality Idaho 7 & Azacca | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Oakham - Sun City | 3.70 | Not Tried |
09 Aug 2025 (Hogan Sampling)
Busy footfall for last 40 minutes of serving with the hardened Saturday regulars in among some of the footy supporters still in situ from the Charlton FC home-game against Watford FC, beating them 1-0 in the Championship League and which Charlton have just gone up into.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Church End - Stout Coffin | 4.60 | | Fresh on today and a lovely creamy head and lacing and lasting throughout on this Nuneaton stout, north-east of Birmingham. A dry fruity first bite with a hint of dark berries. A moreish bitterness emerging with a good serving of maltiness. A mildly fruit-infused malty dryness sailing off into the sunset. |
| Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.50 | | Also fresh on today, care of those thirsty Charlton supporters in earlier to toast Charlton's first game and win in the Championship League and which they have just been elevated into, is this Bermondsey-brewed hazy pale. Head and lacing, very good, and holding it, good. A grapefuity first bite. A pleasant hoppiness winning over assisted by US hops, Citra and Mosaic, and doing battle with the expressive English variety, Ernest. A dry hopped mix sailing off with the odd grapefruit or two gently bobbing along into the sunset. |
| Anspach & Hobday - The Golden Bitter | 4.00 | | Good head and lacing and lasting throughout on this Bermondsey-brewed golden-coloured bitter and on its first day on. A fruit-infused first bite. A gentle hoppy bitterness rising ably assisted by its two English hops, Ernest and Endeavour. A biscuity maltiness also veering up. Aided by a touch of dried fig and pine, a dry fruity bitterness lasting. |
| Oakham - Green Devil IPA | 6.00 | Not Tried | |
| Vibrant Forest - Pupa | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Bristol Beer Factory - Everytime | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Brew York - Duality Idaho 7 & Azacca | 4.50 | Not Tried |
08 Aug 2025 (Hogan Sampling)
Quiet footfall with just a sprinkling of the hardened regulars in among the more occasional for the last 30 minutes of serving. The landlord was also in and getting ready for Saturday's post-match invasion after the home-game for Charlton FC in their new division, having gone up a league to the Championship, in preparing no doubt a good few real ales to stand by on the touchlines back at the micro for after the early game.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brew York - Maris the Otter | 3.90 | | I think this York-based bitter had woken up from its early delivery the evening before. It now presented some head and lacing but not lasting still. A malty first bite. A gentle bitterness rising with a caramel-infused biscuity note. A dry bitter maltiness living on. |
| Oakham - Citra | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Burning Sky - What Gives? | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Kernel (The Kernel) - Nitro London Stout (cask version) | 4.60 | Not Tried | Just gone when I requested it. Had enjoyed it on Tuesday. No other dark ale ready in its place to end on. |
| Ramsbury - Hazy Daisy | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Brew York - Duality Idaho 7 & Azacca | 4.50 | Not Tried |
07 Aug 2025 (Hogan Sampling)
Ticking over with usual Thursday regulars on parade among the more occasional for last 30 minutes of serving.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent - Superdelicnectaron | 5.00 | | Head and lacing to note and now on my third attempt on this visit but a decant or two became necessary along the way on this Birling-based IPA, north of West Malling in Kent. A dry bitter first bite. A malty bitterness rising. This was then followed by an explosion of fruity hoppiness from its New Zealand hops, Superdelic and Nectaron, and so hence its name, erupting with tropical and ripe fruit flavours sailing down my hatch. |
| Brew York - Maris the Otter | 3.90 | | Head and lacing, poor, and unable to hold it. Unusual for Brew York to be like this as in rather flat. It was only its first night on. A very bitter first bite on this York-brewed bitter. A maltiness rising from its five different malts in on the mix. A dry hoppy bitterness lingering assisted by its three varieties of New World hops, referring to being primarily cultivated in the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. One sufficed as have had this tasting much better and in better condition and so to others to try. |
| Mighty Oak - Arcadian Ale | 4.00 | | Had the misfortune to have the last Essex amber bitter out of the barrel from this Maldon-based brew. Head and lacing, minimal, and lasting, no chance! Still a malty first bite and a citrus-infused fruitiness rising. A hint of hoppiness lingering from its UK First Gold, with hints of orange, marmalade and spices, and mixed with US Calypso and UK-based fruity Ernest hops. A mere shadow of its former self on Tuesday when last tasted and on good form. |
| Burning Sky - What Gives? | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Kernel (The Kernel) - Nitro London Stout (cask version) | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
| Ramsbury - Hazy Daisy | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Oakham - Oranje | 4.10 | Not Tried |
07 Aug 2025 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close. After generally unsuccessful ale choices ended with a bottle of Orval in magic condition.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent - Superdelicnectaron | 5.00 | | Held up quite well after a few days on |
| Brew York - Maris the Otter | 3.90 | | 4th pint out of a cash fresh on. Simply poured flat and stayed flat. No off flavours but a real chore to finish |
| Oakham - Oranje | 4.10 | | Faintest of orange peel taste |
| Burning Sky - What Gives? | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Kernel (The Kernel) - Nitro London Stout (cask version) | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
| Ramsbury - Hazy Daisy | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Mighty Oak - Arcadian Ale | 4.00 | Not Tried | Ran out |
About The River Ale House
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | 11 |
| 685 |
| 1709 |
| 500 |
| 41 |
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 1350 times, seen 1825 different beers and tried 1061 of them.
Postcode: SE10 0RJ