Friday 9 December 2011

BrewDog Camden

BrewDog Camden is open.

A corner bar, on a Camden side street by the tube and away from the over-crowded market (Bayham Street - less than a minute walk from the underground), it's industrial, simple and smart and bright light shines out onto the passing street, above which the familiar blue shield glows. There's a bar upstairs and one down. It has the potential for 26 different draught lines, though most of the time it'll be a little less (26 is the reserve for special events, of which a few are already planned). As for beer, there's all the BrewDog range, amazing draught imports (when I went the Port Brewing's Wipeout was superb, as was Stone's Sublimely Self Righteous) and fridges filled with some of the best beers in the world (bombers of Racer 5!). Want more? The kitchen does burgers and pizza. And the sound system is cool. And the staff are great.

Draught BrewDog is from £3.50 a pint (Punk is £3.95); draught imports can be double that but will mostly be drunk by the half; samples are freely given (my advice: exploit this); bottles peak just under £20 but most give change from a tenner. It's not cheap but it's not unusually expensive for London, especially considering that some beers are only available in the UK at the BrewDog bars (and more great beer from around the world is in various states of transit BrewDog-bound).

With The Black Heart just around the corner (and Camden Town Brewery 10 minutes away...), Camden just got a whole lot cooler for great beer.

Will it immediately become the go-to beer bar in London alongside Craft Beer Co? I definitely expect so.

18 comments:

  1. I'm jealous you've managed to get there already - very much on my must-visit list, hopefully before Christmas!

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  2. Shit fuck that's pricey. Most bottles give change from a tenner! I think I'll pass.

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  3. Went past tonight - both the staff and the beer selection was awesome!

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  4. Hopefully I'll be able to get down to London after Christmas as I love brewdog. This has to be done.

    My issue, however, is when Breweries sell their own beers from their own bars with barely any difference in price to elsewhere.

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  5. "Self Richeous"? Is that something to do with enriching oneself?

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  6. I thought that the correct term for the staff of any BrewDog operation was "awesome".

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  7. If the prices are the same as the Edinburgh bar then they're quite reasonable really, most beers being intended to be drunk by the half or third rather than the pint (this being sensible given the strength of the majority of BrewDog's range). Bottles are a bit pricey though, even BrewDog's own (£3.50/bottle or can for most brews, making draught much better value).

    Will be making a trip down soon i think.

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  8. Went down there today and it's definitely going to be a major player in the London craft beer scene. Their direct relationships with US distributors is a big advantage and that's before you open the door on what is a very cool bar in a great location, with passionate staff who care about the products they're selling.

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  9. 'Course, when you say "draught"...

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  10. You're welcome. Don't mention it.

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  11. Pete - Get there asap, it rocks!

    Ed - £4 a pint is pretty standard for those beers now.

    Nate - The thing is (as I said on twitter) is that Brewdog can't sell their beer at £2.50 a pint in their bars because it completely undercuts their customers (the pubs who buy their beer). They have to price it according to how much it would cost anywhere else. Plus, I don't think those prices are anything other than what I expected.

    Stringers - Thanks for that - missed that one when I was writing it on the train! Sorry I didn't respond earlier, only had time to update the post and run! And no need to be rude, is there?

    Stu - Prices are fine. If you see a bottle of rare US or NZ or Japanese beer and are happy to pay £10 for it then it's ok, right? If you don't know what it is or it's too expensive then there's plenty of other beers to drink, that's how I see it!

    Andy - Exactly! They are bringing in beers direct from breweries all over the world, which is great!

    Phil - Yes, keg. What do you think it means?

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  12. Well, "draught" always used to mean "cask", in a shibboleth-y kind of way. I'm not overly attached to it.

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  13. As a point of interest, are they serving - and promoting - two-thirds pint measures?

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  14. Good question, Curmudgeon - I didn't see any mention of a two-third. They definitely do one-third though.

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  15. should check this place out.

    BTW, What do you mean by "undercutting customers?"

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  16. Anon - By undercutting customers I'm talking about the pubs who buy the beer and not the drinker. Even serving BrewDog for £3.95 a pint undercuts most pubs and the prices they can serve it at.

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  17. You have to wonder if Brewdog will not just stop selling kegs to bars if they are supplying 8 or 9 of their own bars.I've heard situations where Scottish Brewdog bars have run out of Brewdog beer and been forced to sell the imports only. That was before the new bars were opened and as far as I know no great expansion of the brewing facilities has been built. Surely something has to give and its not going to be their own bars

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