Howling Hops

As usual... StonedTrippin' is ahead of me, here by 7 years. But he is still correct. Howling Hops is totally cool and refined... in its particular sort of ways.

For me, a better Vibe is nearly impossible: right next to the Hackney Wick station for the Overground ... (The system is one of London's great values for transit and taxpayers and regenerating neighbourhoods.) Hackney is the next community over from Stratford (my new home that was a derelict light industrial area until this Century when the Olympic campus was centered there; making it now London's 4th largest urban area.) Anyhow, Howling Hops also helped start Hackney Wick's shot of redemption some 14 years ago. Neither has lost its funky feel. Howling's larger success is attracting several food vendors. Howling itself has a community beer hall feel with long picnic tables, painted orange and etched by hearts, poetry and you name it. Character spelled in all caps.

Howling makes the legitimate Quality claim that the 10 Tanks behind their bar serves the freshest beer possible. It also is high quality, having had a flight of five. Howling seems to specialise in the off-beat, three gluten-free and two no-low alcohol brews of the 10... or at least they seem to love to experiment. But all five of the flight were good to me.

Service was great. I arrived at 1600, so the bartender had plenty of time and answered all my questions about Howling's history and evolution. And if he didn't know the answer, he'd ask someone who worked there longer.

Selection seems semi-curated. While only their 10 beers were on tap and they have another dozen brews canned to-go, they had thoughtfully selected ten wines to go with their foods, three ciders, house and premium spirits.

Food I didn't want to eat. But the Latino Fusion menu was so interesting, I ordered the Crispy Cauliflower Bites and they were excellent. The bartender also told me that Howling's founder also has two authentic English gastropubs that also favour Howling's beers... which I also hope to participate in soon, as I dig into my new culinary home.

a rad little brewery here that i had never heard about at all before our trip to london. we walked over here from the crate brewery, which is basically adjacent in the old olympic part of town. its a neat old building, kind of damp and dank, partially a cellar feel to it, and they present themselves as the first tank bar in the uk, meaning all their beer is served directly from the bright tanks that are situated right behind the bar. they have some cool and colorful art on them, and its a neat mix of old and modern coming together. there is a little food window in here with an intriguing menu, but we didnt eat. the space is big but mellow, a little run down in a way thats sort of endearing, and its almost like youd have to know about it to find it. they had an awesome selection of beers, and i liked the hoppy stuff the best, lots of hazy new england types, but all seemed well refined, thoughtful, and relatively delicate as they go. my favorite was a vic secret pale, which was among the best hoppy beers i had in all of london, but i didnt dislike any of them, and frankly they beat out the beers we had at crate pretty easily, but we didnt have a ton of time in either place, so just an observation not a criticism there. long picnic tables set up for seating in the taproom, a beer hall sort of vibe, relaxed and fun, and the service was sensational. the beers were right up there with kernel as my favorites we had, and the space is real inviting, definitely get this place on your list if you are brewery hopping around london!

 

 

This is the evolution and relocation of Howling Hops, formerly located at The Cock Tavern in Mare Street, London, to Hackney Wick as a stand-alone brewery and tank bar ("The uk's first dedicated tank bar"). Great selection of their own beer, and a cool scene at the tank bar in Queen's Yard, with "Billy Smokes Barbecue" inside (which we unfortunately did not get to try on our visit).

Incidentally, it is in the same Yard as Crate Brewery, so a great (daytime) destination.

 

The vibe at Howling Hops was pretty good. It's in a cool East London location, adjacent to canals that are riddled with cool graffiti. The selection is, as the name suggests, hop forward, so not so great if you don't like hops, but the quality is there. A good brewery to visit.