Sambrook’s Brewery
Wandle
3.8%
Battersea, London, UK

Sambrook’s having been brewing beer since 2008, well before craft beer was even a “thing” in London. They are one of the older breweries in London (crazy) but make quality ale and Wandle was their first ever beer and it’s a belter.

Rewind five years when Corona was my go to beer something like Wandle would’ve been alien to me. But it was one of the beers I first tried fresh out of University and with binge drinking well behind me. Along with things like Greene King and Adnam’s it changed my view on beer. A few laters and the beer scene has absolutely exploded in south London and Sambrook’s have most definitely influenced so many breweries in Bermonsdey and beyond. Wandle is a great bitter ale that if I spot in a pub amongst other breweries I always trust it.

It’s a great bitter and I’m not a huge fan of bitters but it is on a par of a more recent contemporary in Crate. It’s a golden ale that has almost no sweetness, as expected from a bitter ale. These days I stray away from ordering bitter or golden ales because I find them a little bland compared to more hoppy beers. However, there’s a big part of me that loves a classic bitter like the Wandle.

OVERALL: 2.5/5