A band comprising of
several mates were playing a gig in the basement of The Slaughtered Lamb in
Farringdon a while ago. I wanted to go and watch them as I hadn't seen
them since they played at their drummers 30th birthday
party. They do covers in a cheesy kind of 80's yacht rock style, very
good though. I managed to swap some shifts around and got that
evening off.
Being such a last
minute thing my mates were surprised to see me there. I was also
quite surprised to see so many of my friends there, some of which I
hadn't seen in a few years at least. After saying a very brief hello
I went to the bar. It was my turn to be served but I hadn't any idea
what I was going for, there were so many beers to chose from. In a
panic I ordered a hand pulled cask ale, from my lack of memory of it,
it couldn't have been that fancy or anything otherwise I would have
surely remembered it.
My second pint was
different, it was one I definitely remember, drank for the rest of
the night and still drink it now if I ever see it on tap anywhere. A
good friend of mine works at a company that has some kind of
connection to Camden Town Brewery and this pub happened to have a few
of their beers on tap. He told me all about the team, the ethos and
the beers, but what good is it if a company is run by great blokes
(or gals), has a great ethos but the beers just don't live up to it.
Camden Town Brewery is not that at all. The beers, the ones I've
tried are all lovely and perfect representations of the styles. I
went for the Pale ale, at 4.8% it's not really a session beer but
because of how nice it was I just couldn't resist and I tried my
best.
I never used to like
what I would class as 'American Style Pale Ales' but over the years
my tastes have changed and the ones that aren't overly hopped or too
high in ABV are marvellous wonders of the brewing world. The balance
and complexity of some never cease to amaze, the Camden Pale Ale is a
fantastic example of this with a dry hoppiness and a long mellow yet
slightly floral finish.
The band were
tremendous as to be expected, the front man dancing very
un-energetically in front of the band. The lead guitar/keys player
seems to have an endless amount of ability and the band of the whole
were brilliant. Cheesy covers done in their own signature style.
I got a bit too drunk
and being tired and very hungry abruptly left without saying goodbye
to anybody or anything. I spent over £70 that evening, I'm sure a
lot was on the beer at £4.20 a pint but I did get the occasional
round in.
Camden Town Brewery website
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