The London beer festival calendar tends to become more sparse in the last couple of months of the year, so our roundup of beer drinking opportunities in November is quite modestly-sized. The outermost regions of the metropolis seem to be hosting most of this month’s beery action, so load up your Oyster card and get out there. As always, let us know in the comments if we’ve missed anything notable.
5-7 November: Watford Beer Festival
Watford’s annual CAMRA beer festival returns for its 21st installment towards the end of this week, filling the West Herts Sports Club’s function room and marquee with more than 80 real ales, ciders and perries. The drinks will be sourced from around the UK, with a focus on those from local brewers, and an award for Hertfordshire Beer of the Year will be presented on Friday evening. Festivities kick off at 4pm on Thursday and should wind up at 11pm on Saturday. Entrance costs a mere £2.50, or nothing at all if you’re a card-carrying CAMRA member.
5-8 November: The Mulberry Tree Beer Festival
Also kicking off this Thursday is an interesting-looking beer festival at Twickenham’s Mulberry Tree pub. At the time of writing, it looks like the pub will be serving a curious handful of robustly-flavoured cask ales and a couple of ‘craft keg’ monsters (as well as a selection of bottled beers), although the event’s pages on Facebook and the pub’s website are being regularly updated, so the beery lineup may change. Barbecued food is also threatened.
13-15 November: The Sussex Arms Ale and Cider Festival
Also in Twickenham, the ever-excellent Sussex Arms will be conducting its own beer (and cider) festival over the second weekend of November. Something in the region of 60 ales and ciders, live music, an outdoor marquee and al-fresco-cooked food (including a hog roast) are promised.
18-21 November: Waltham Forest Sports & Social Club — Beers From The Potteries
For the latest instalment of their biannual beer festival (PDF), Waltham Forest Sports & Social Club is focussing on beer from the Potteries (a region of Staffordshire, for the uninitiated). Promising 20 real ales (and the obligatory ciders and perries), the festival will hopefully cover most of the region’s beer-makers (including, we would speculate, the rather prolific Titanic Brewery). Entrance costs £3 after 7pm (unless you’re a club or CAMRA member, in which case it’s free), and they will be charging a mere £2 for a pint of festival ale on the Saturday.
28 November: London Brewers’ Market
No fewer than 26 London brewers are set to showcase their wares at the London Brewers’ Market, which returns for its Christmas instalment on the last Saturday of the month, from 11am to 6pm. Once again Old Spitalfields Market will host the festivities, with brewers selling draught beer for consumption on the premises, and cans and bottles that can be taken away. As with several of the previous London Brewers’ Markets, musical accompaniment will be provided by Independent Label Market.
If you’re a lover of beer or pubs, check out our ever-expanding database of the best pubs in London.
