The Epic Pub Crawl of St Albans

St Albans is a town of many pubs, in fact its one of the highest ranked towns in the country that has the greatest density of pubs and wherever you are in the town, you’re never less than a 1/10 mile away from a pub. So one Sunday, myself and a couple of friends decided to take the train to St Albans and have a epic pub crawl around the town’s finest pubs. Unfortunately, the weather was against us that day as Storm Darragh decided to pop by, yet undeterred by the showery conditions we persevered nonetheless. Our first port of call was The Lower Red Lion, dating from 17^th century, it is the last of three Red Lion pubs in the town, and according to Paul Ainsworth, it was given the distinctive name in order to differentiate from it's other namesakes. The pub is a Grade II listed building, divided into two seating areas including the small bar and the large bar. The pub is centre around a central bar counter, which is accessed via serving hatches on either side of the two seating areas. The pub boasts an extensive range of cask and keg ales from a number of breweries, most of these are guest ales, though Side Pocket for a Toad (3.6% - Tring) is reguarly sold here. I latterly went for Blackshore Stout (4.2% - Adnams), although a keg beer, I find that this medium suits Stouts as it enables them to retain their head and exude a creamier mouthfeel, which would be more-or-less absent in cask. The beer was smooth in texture, and despite being cold, the flavours were distinctly present, with strong notes of roasty and toasty malt with a sharp bitterness coming through in the background. Alas we were soon on our way again, after meandering around the sodden backstreets, we found the Portland Arms, a small community pub, this was by its very identity a local’s local tucked within a residential area, which is otherwise hard to find if you don’t know your way around the area. A Fullers pub, it has three drinking areas, including a large dining area surrounding the main bar, a snug on the right-hand side of the front door, and a back room that houses a big screen TV. Old pictures of St Albans line the walls, and whilst the central oak panelled bar and gantries are original, the latter is marred with a coating of royal blue paint. Having tried a number of Fullers beers in their pubs, I wanted to try something different, so I went for Gale’s Seafarer’s Ale (3.8% - Fullers), a blonde ale formerly from Gales, which Fullers took over and closed back in 2006. It was light and refreshing, yet the flavour was disappointing, with an odd tangy malt aftertaste that tried to compensate too much on the lack of strength.

When we visited, the pub was extremely busy with Sunday trade, with an emphasis on sports being a popular draw. This was in stark contrast to The Farriers Arms nearby in Lower Dagnall Street, which close to empty when we visited, which made it seem sparser and bleaker. Relatively new for a pub in this area, it was originally a Grocers / Butchers which was subsequently converted into a pub during the 1920’s. The pub has distinctive architecture, from its unusual split-level layout, with a small wood panelled bar, and a raised back room with original wooden benches and tables, this is complemented by the decorative carpet which is likely to be a later addition. The lighting is also original, over the bar area there are lights with ornate art-nouveau designs, whilst the ceiling lights in the back room have a distinctive stained-glass art deco feel to them. Not only is this place has a 2* historic pub interior, it is also the location for the first ever branch meeting of the Hertfordshire branch of CAMRA in 1972. Food choices are on the light side compared to other pubs and the outdoor toilets are an oddity that is seldom found in most pubs nowadays. The drinks selection is sparser compared to other pubs in the area, with the likes of London Original (3.7% - Young’s) and Citra (4.2% - Oakham) being regularly on tap, with one changing guest beer, in this case Landlord (4.3% - Timothy Taylor). After much dithering I went for Citra, a pleasant session IPA, the use of Citra hops plays a large part in forming the distinctive flavour profile, with strong notes of lemons, malt and hoppy bitterness that makes it seem stronger than its relatively low ABV would suggest. It is easy to see why this beer is so famous, although from a personal view I think it lacks the character and depth of its stronger older brother Green Devil (6%). As it was mid-December, darkness was being to fall as we exited the pub and headed towards our next port of call. Nestled in the shadow of the cathedral, resides Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, although long presumed to be one of the oldest pubs in the country. Records of the pub operating as a public house are muddled, the current building dates from 1485 where it contained an Inn and latterly a cock fighting arena, though records of the place operating as a public house only date back to 1756, which doesn’t make this establishment even the oldest pub in town. Nevertheless, it is a distinctive round shaped building and unusually shaped for a pub, this place is predominately catered towards the restaurant trade with a large oval shaped dining area, a smaller dining area accessed by stairs going down from the bar, a back room also dedicated to dining and a rather small drinking area with stools by the front entrance. Due to the immense size of the pub, it has two bars in order to maximise on its frequently; it also features a low hanging, wooden slatted ceilings can be a hazard for taller people, although it is a neat original feature that boasts the pub’s historic architecture. The pub also boasts some grand fluted fire-places, an oak-panelled bar area (likely to date from the Victorian era) and the toilets boast the names Cock and Hens, in keeping with the pub’s poultry theme. The beer selection is vast, with plenty of guest ales to sample, I went for Honey Porter (4.9% - Milestone) which was disappointing to say the least. Although it had plenty of bitter and roasted malt elements going for it, the dry mouthfeel and the distinctive lack of sweetness makes one wonder if any honey was thrown into the brew in the first place?

 

After a brief soggy detour to see the Christmas lights displays around the High Street, we sought refuge at the White Hart Hotel. Historically a coaching inn dating from the 16^th century, it is situated along Watling Street, once a major coaching route towards London. A grade II listed building, the distinct wooden lattice work on the frontage is a notable feature, whilst the interior is relatively more modern with wood panelled walls installed during the 1930’s. The Tudor theme is played up here to the max, featuring such ornaments including a scale figure display of Henry VIII and his six wives, a replica sword used to behead two of his wives and a pair of replica royal thrones, which is quite possible a unique feature for a pub. There is a strong emphasis on dining here, and the bar area is relegated to a small insignificant area near the front door. The beer options were on the light side, although Good King (5% - Vale) was available on tap, five pubs into the walk I finally encountered a Christmas beer which is frankly astounding for this time of year. It was a pleasant premium bitter, with a profound malty backbone, a balanced bitterness with some notes of orange and spice in the background, in order to remind the drinker that this is a Christmas beer. Following this, we took a detour down Albert Street which passes along The Garibaldi, although we didn’t go in, the pub notably backs onto the beer garden to The White Lion on nearby Sopwell Lane. The rear entrance was open at the time, so we amusingly walked through this unusual shortcut towards the next pub. The building is on the small side, it is divided into two areas with a large dining area on the left-hand part of the building, and a smaller area adjacently on the right dedicated to drinking. Incredibly within the two sided bar, it has keg beers in the dining section and handpumps for cask ale in the pub section, as if it were a concerted method to keep the two parties segregated which is a tad extreme if true. The smaller drinking area is a veritable Aladdin’s cave with the walls covered in pump clips that shows off the pub’s long dedication to serving a wide range of cask ales over the years. The bar counter didn’t disappoint, there were four beers available and two cask ciders for those who prefer an alternative. I went for the guest beer Farmer’s Belgian Blue (4.9% - Bradfield), the brewery’s iconic festive beer known for its unusual blue tinged head, hence its name. I have tried it before in bottle but never in cask, I found it distinctly malty, with rich berry notes, a pronounced nuttiness and a balanced bitterness that made it a thoroughly quaffable drink.

 

The rain had finally subsided as we meandered our way through the streets in order to find our next pub The Great Northern. This pub was named after the nearby branch line that formerly stretched between Hatfield – St Albans, which can still be accessed as a 6 mile walking route known as The Alban Way. A Grade II listed pub, it was extensively renovated in 2015, with its distinctive semi-circular bar removed in place for a more conventional one placed by the entrance. Although it won’t make any pub heritage lists, it is a decent modern looking pub with two drinking areas, accessed by a hallway. A range of posters and niknaks line the walls including an intriguing display of various shot glasses collected by the landlord over the years and some saucy posters featuring various types of Shags and Tits, birds that is. Although the pub is predominately catered towards the restaurant trade, despite the changes it hasn’t entirely removed the pub aspect, there were a couple of real ales available including London Pride (4.1% - Fuller’s), Good King (5% - Vale) and Tonkoto (4.3% - Brew York). Out of curiosity I went for the latter, which for a beer is well known for its distinctive taste, a milk stout flavoured with tonka beans, cocoanut, Madagascan vanilla pods and cocoa nibs, this confusing mixture of flavours would probably make any real ale purist out there wince at the thought of it. Although it borders on being classed as a pastry stout, the flavours are deftly balanced and work well together; even-though there is a discernible sweetness, it isn’t sickly and overpowering as it allows the roasted elements from the malt to come through, the use of cocoanut gives it a nutty counterpoint that helps meld the flavours, and there are hints of treacle in the background which help keep it all grounded. After visiting seven pubs, we were a bit weary by this point, although the strategy of only drinking half pints and vigorous walking did pay off at least. For our final port of call, we visited The Robin Hood which is only a few hundred yards away from the rail station. An independently owned community pub, it does what it says on the tin, it’s a small yet simple construction centred around a central bar that offers a good selection of lagers, real ales and a notable wall of ciders and perries, which you’d probably not find anywhere else west of Somerset. The pub has a few facilities to entertain visitors and regulars alike including a jukebox, selection of boardgames, dart board and table skittles, the latter example is rarity in pubs nowadays. The pub is very much catered towards serving the local community, and they hold various events including regular folk evenings every Wednesday. It is easy to see why this pub with its warm and engaging atmosphere has been voted South Herts CAMRA's Branch Pub of the Year in 2021 and Cider Pub of the Year 2023 & 2024 respectively. Although well known for being a northernly outpost for Sussex Best (4% - Harvey’s), I went for their festive guest beer, the hilariously named Do You Know the Muffin Man? (4% - Wantsum). A play on the famous catchphrase from the film ‘Shrek’ (2001), it is a dark mild flavoured with heaps of ginger thrown in, living up to its name as a Gingerbread Mild. It was light in mouthfeel yet thorough malty, spicy with a distinct warming element coming through the backend, although it was one of the lighter beers I tried that day, it was a richly satisfying finale to my epic conquest around the pubs of St. Albans.