PubsandBeer

History: Home > Bocas (formerly Simmons Old Street; Craft Beer Co.)

Bocas (formerly Simmons Old Street; Craft Beer Co.) (Free House)

Beer (sort)Average Score (sort)No. Samples (sort)
Pig & Porter - Secrets We ShareAcceptable1
Tiny Rebel - Tiny IPAExceptional1
Brewsmith - Oatmeal StoutNot Tried0
Dark Star - American Pale Ale (some has also been brewed by Fuller's)Not Tried0
Electric Bear - LivewireNot Tried0
First Chop Brewing Arm - HOPNot Tried0
Gun - S.M.A.S.H - Ahtanum/PropinoNot Tried0
Holler (formerly Holler Boys) - LootNot Tried0
Kent - Craft BitterNot Tried0
Kent - Craft PaleNot Tried0
Redemption - Fellowship PorterNot Tried0

Visits Details

22 Sep 2018 (Magnus Greel)
Late afternoon and very busy, standing room only. vacated tables were quickly pounced on, we bided our time and claimed a just vacated table at the rear of the pub. Not my kind of venue however the beer was faultless. The pub is located at Old Street, not Hoxton - I guess this is down to the postcode.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Tiny Rebel - Tiny IPA3.90ExceptionalLight dry fruity and hoppy ticked all the boxes
Brewsmith - Oatmeal Stout5.20Not Tried
Electric Bear - Livewire5.40Not Tried
Kent - Craft Bitter4.10Not Tried
Holler (formerly Holler Boys) - Loot5.50Not Tried
03 Oct 2017 (Stephen Harris)
Around 7pm on a Tuesday evening and there is a very busy rush hour crowd in here.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Pig & Porter - Secrets We Share5.20AcceptableGolden. Fruity and bitter, but something did not seem quite right and I did not much enjoy this beer.
Dark Star - American Pale Ale (some has also been brewed by Fuller's)4.70Not Tried
Redemption - Fellowship Porter5.10Not Tried
Kent - Craft Pale3.80Not Tried
First Chop Brewing Arm - HOP4.10Not Tried
Kent - Craft Bitter4.10Not Tried
Gun - S.M.A.S.H - Ahtanum/Propino5.20Not Tried

About the Bocas (formerly Simmons Old Street; Craft Beer Co.)

The pub sign. Bocas (formerly Simmons Old Street; Craft Beer Co.), Old Street, Central London

Summary of Beer Scores

 Total
Exceptional1
Excellent-
Good-
Acceptable1
Poor-

Website.

The pub is found in Old Street, Central London, EC1V 9HE.

Formerly called the Glue Pot, this is a 60s/70s building next to Shoreditch Fire Station in St John Street. It was a Watney’s house in its day and for a while was one of East London’s Murphy’s pubchain. The pub was renamed Nelson’s Retreat in 1996, possibly not unrelated to the renaming of the Lord Nelson across Old Street as Bar Aquarium. It was a staunchly old-fashioned pub attracting a local trade at a time when the area had become fashionable as an area of late night venues. In 2017 it re-opened as the latest Craft Beer Co. pub. There is a single, elongated room and some limited pavement standing at the front. Became a cocktail bar on 27th May 2021 with no real ale.

We have visited this pub twice, seen 11 different beers and tried 2 of them.

Map location

Postcode: EC1V 9HE