Blurring the definition of Craft Beer further, Sambrooks Wandle makes it onto this list
"Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer."
-W.C.Fields
The trouble with this list is that it is all bottles. I haven't had bottled beer in a pub since Young's pubs were worth a visit and we came up with the idea of Winter Warmer with a bottle of Old Nick in as "the thinking man's brown and mild".
I've had six of them on cask and all I can say about Wandle is that it's better than Junction but shoudn't be on this list. Sambrooks do now do a good proper mild called Archer so there's hope for them yet. I suspect Wandle was just an imitation of Young's Ordinary, but as it came out before the London micro explosion it probably got a better reception than it would do today.
Really? I think the opposite. I didn't find Wandle with any flavour whatsoever in 3 attempts, right down there with gkipa, so sacked it. Junction, whilst only something I'd go for in adversity, at least displayed some vague malty character. I remain amazed that Sambrooks managed to inveigle themselves into so many outlets, and can only think they profited by pubs wanting to jump on the 'Locale' bandwaggon.
Being first out of the traps just ahead of the curve works wonders - despite their beer being, IMHO, fairly pedestrian they've established themselves as a 'brand'. So yer average licensee thinks "I want a London beer that isn't Fullers". The immediate answer is then Sambrooks cos they've seen it elsewhere regularly. Plus, there's still a large market for bog-standard brown beer.
It may be that Wandle is the sort of beer that goes down best as the first one of the day.
To me the Junction is far too sweet as to a lesser degree is their porter. Their mild is a genuine one and well worth a go.
Many of the newer London breweries make vastly superior beers to Sambrooks, and there's a whole load I haven't even tried yet!
I have had 17 of these beers and have had 2 saisons from Partizan but not that version.All have been on cask or keg and the 2 missing are the Victorian stout and the Triple.