The Museum Tavern, opposite the British Museum, is one of those rare beasts – a decent pub in a tourist trap location. It’s always amusing to sit/stand at the bar and watch a succession of bewildered visitors cope with concepts like mushy peas (“They’re peas, but they’re mushy”, as the barmaid helpfully explained).
In fact, it’s often quite heartening. People usually want to try something British, and the bar staff are pretty friendly and willing to recommend one of the six ales on tap, which are kept in great condition.
We popped in specifically for some Old Peculier, but were distracted by Cain’s dark mild. This packs a huge amount of flavour for a beer that is barely alcoholic (3.2%). Coffee and caramel, in an extremely potable form.
Another sub-4% cracker was on offer, “GMT” from Stockport’s 3 Rivers brewery. This was the first time we’ve tried any of their stuff, and we’ll be looking out for them in the future. GMT (which stands for the three rivers in question — Goyt, Mersey & Thame) is a lovely crisp session beer with hints of orange.
Finally, the Old Peculier. This is such a marvellous beer from the cask — extremely fruity, a little sour, with a butterscotch aftertaste. It’s almost Belgian in its richness. You could certainly serve it in a la-di-da chalice glass and fool a few people if you were so minded. The bottled version really doesn’t compete.
Jeff recommended this place months back when we were after Old Peculier on tap in London, so thanks to him for the tip.
