London – Hackney (Borough of) – Hackney Wick – Beer Merchants Tap

This is another recommendation from Nathan and he’s on a roll with these now…. This craft beer bar in Hackney Wick looked exciting from its selection on Untappd and it has a sizeable can and bottle selection. It’s a reminder of what can be done with a couple of fridges and some beer knowledge.

The welcome was friendly, the pub was clean and the reviews are all positive. The pub is using Untappd as its menu system, which made things much easier, with food also being available in the form of toasties and cold platters. There’s an on-trend feel to nearly everything going on here.

But, the most exciting thing about the visit for me was that they had Mexican Cake from Westbrook Brewing Co in the United States. This is a delightful stout with an array of flavours which almost fight for attention in the aftertaste, and, yes, this is a ridiculous statement, but I’m going with it. The taste of habanero peppers is there, along with chocolate, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, biscuit and I think that’s it. Decadent and delightful, I can see why this is one of the best rated stouts in the world. I only had a third of it, namely because that’s all I could afford, but that was sufficient as it was rich and smooth. Or, in short, this was bloody lovely.

I don’t feel I’ve written enough about this beer yet. To have tastes which are subtle make a beer more delightful, but it’s easy for one to over-power the other. I now feel I need to go to South Carolina to visit their tap room, I get the impression that I’d very much enjoy that.

So, all told, this was an excellent bar and this is one of the best beers that I’ve had. Right, I’ll shut up now.