The Greenwich Union - Meantime India Pale Ale

On Sunday, after leaving The Hat and Feathers in Clerkenwell, we hoofed it down to Bank station to get the DLR to Greenwich. Spring has suddenly arrived in London, and the time to hide out in cozy pubs by the fire is over. Greenwich is a lovely part of London, with many attractions including the Maritime Museum, the Cutty Sark and the Observatory. We didn't let any of that get in the way of the drinking this time, though.

The Greenwich Union is Meantime Brewery's only tied house. It sits on a pleasant street, right next door to a Young's pub. This family-orientated gastropub is modern in style, with an emphasis on food as well as quality beer. The narrow interior is less appealling than the conservatory and beer garden to the rear. If I had kids and lived in Greenwich, I have little doubt I'd come here most weekends. Neither apply, but I always enjoy a visit here to try a range of Meantime beers, served fresh and unpasteurised from pressurised kegs (and sometimes on cask if you're really lucky). Meantime concentrate on emulating modern European and American styles, which adds diversity to the London brewing scene, but doesn't endear them to traditionalists.

We took up position at the end of the garden, and tucked into two pints of Meantime India Pale Ale. This 7.5% abv beer starts bitter and dry thanks to the hops, but leaves behind a remarkable and pleasant juicy fruit aftertaste. For a good IPA, balance is key, and they've got that right here. It's certainly very drinkable, although you wouldn't want to be knocking back the pints at this strength. Normally I'm not an advocate of keg beers, but because this one isn't pasteurised the method of dispense doesn't spoil the experience.

Restricting ourselves to one pint, we headed down the road to Greenwich Park, overlooked by the towers of Canary Wharf across the river. Our destination was Zerodegrees, a microbrewery in Blackheath neither of us had visited before. It's about twenty minutes brisk walk across the park and down to the heath. Mike McGuigan, who was once the brewer there, had been in touch via this site to recommend we try it out. A write-up of our visit will follow.

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Information:

1. The Greenwich Union is at 56, Royal Hill, Greenwich, London, SE10 8RT (Tel: 020 8692 6258, map).
2. Greenwich is accessible via DLR, underground, overland train and riverboat. The latter can be a good laugh on a nice day, but don't get on a boat with a commentary. There are a few other pubs in the town you can combine with The Greenwich Union for a pub crawl, although none have caught my imagination as much as The Richard the First next door (Tel: 020 8692 2996). This old Young's house retains a divided interior and a traditional pub charm. It's a very different place to it's neighbour.
3. Meantime Brewing Company, also in Greenwich, are online. The brewery featured in my January article, Brewing in London.