City Beverage EC1

London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Shoreditch and Hoxton

City Beverage Company, London EC1

Shop (Independent)
303 Old Street EC1V 9LA
T 020 7729 2111 w http://citybeverage.co.uk
Open 1000 (1100 Sun)-2130 (2230 Fri-Sat, 1900 Sun).
Cask beer None, Other beer 50+ bottles (London and other craft beers), Also 1,000+ wines, whisky, gin, sake, specialist tea and coffee, cigars.
Food Gourmet packaged snacks.
Monthly wine and beer tastings.

This independent drinks specialist has been operating locally since 1982, long before the area became the hub of urban cool that it is today. The original small wine shop and separate tea and coffee store have since merged to create something of an Aladdin’s cave of potable liquids, stretching a long way back from busy Old Street. Wine is the mainstay, with exclusive imports and en primeur offerings, but thanks to the personal interest of manager Graham, a developing range of fine beers goes some way to plugging the gap left by the departure in 2006 of the Pitfield beer shop and brewery round the corner. Pitfield beers are on sale, including several historical brews, alongside a choice of London beers from Kernel, London Fields and Sambrook’s and other British craft brewers like BrewDog and Moor. The rest are Belgian classics and US imports, the latter including some lesser known specialities from better known brewers like Anchor, Brooklyn, Goose Island and Sierra Nevada. And if your drinking interests run further than beer, you should find much else to tempt you.

National Rail Underground Old Street Cycling LCN+ 9 10, link to 0