A railway arch in Bethnal Green is about as hipster a location you can get when it comes to choosing locations for a tap room and bottle shop, and Mother Kelly's doesn't disappoint. The bar itself is inspired by New York, so you can expect lots of pared-back wood, a vaguely industrial feel, and lively, buzzy atmosphere each evening. 19 beer taps and six enormous fridges full to the brim with bottles of both well-known beers and more esoteric choices mean you'll never be far from finding something to tickle your fancy. There's no kitchen (the team decided it would take up too much space for beer), but the tap room hosts some of London's best street-food traders every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. What's more, Mother Kelly's has two bottle shops, in Stoke Newington and Homerton, where you can stock up on beers or take part in tasting events.
Sitting at the start – or end – of the Bermondsey Beer Mile, the Fourpure Tap Room has gone from strength to strength since it was founded in 2013. It offers six main beers – pils, American pale, a session IPA, IPA, flatiron red and oatmeal stout – inspired by the founders' travels, as well as various seasonal specials. The team takes extreme care over its products, and only cans its beers because they believe it keeps the liquid fresher and more flavourful. You can get the beers on tap here, though, as well as at a few pubs around London – keep your eyes peeled. The tap room is open on Fridays and Saturdays, with bar snacks and the occasional food truck.
A picturesque red-brick pub and brewery in West London, Ealing Park Tavern aims to create modern, honest beers. The result are four different pours, from the IPA OK (a tribute to American IPAs that uses US hops for a tropical flavour with a sharp, bitter finish) to the Shadow Wolf, a smoked oat stout that's made with beechwood-smoked malt, as well as a range of seasonal specials. The whole lot are available in cask, keg and bottle at the pub, and – thanks to the brewery being located in the pub garden – you can even pop in for tours, tastings and food and beer pairing dinners.
With burgundy ceilings, amber lighting and wood-clad walls, The Hops & Glory is as cosy as boozers come. The building itself dates back to 1890, and it's always been a taproom – which makes its modern incarnation as a pub and dining room linked to the Hops & Glory brewery a fitting one. The bar serves the eponymous IPA, and the newly refurbished kitchen dishes out proper British grub like Welsh rarebit, grouse and beef.
The Sun Tavern knows a thing or two about beer, hand-selecting local brewers to showcase in its Bethnal Green pub. It's so passionate about the good stuff that it created 'single serve drinks', bottling any of its draught ales for you to take away – likely to be limited-choice beers that you'll never find in bottle form anywhere else. The boys at The Sun know a thing or two about poitin, too, and you'll find one of the finest selections of the Irish spirit in London on its shelves. Famous for its high strength, poitin's ABV ranges from 40 to 90% ABV – steady on.
If you're a beer fan, head to the Beer Edit at London Beer Week, where you'll be able to sample beers from each of these brands. It's taking place at Bethnal Green's Oval Space from 16-18 March. Tickets cost just £10 – you can buy them from DrinkUp London.
