Kmflett's Blog

Drinking Bass

I drank Bass in the Railway Tavern in Crouch End at the end of the 1970s. It was sold in what were then the numerous Charrington’s pubs in London, but actually only some of them. Mostly Charrington IPA, then brewed in Birmingham from memory was the cask on offer.

I’m not sure I was a huge fan but I did enjoy drinking Bass in the mid to late 1970s in the Sun Inn in Stockton where the pints were banked. That is sold with a very un-beard friendly large foamy head.

After that certainly in North London little or nothing was seen of Bass for a very long time. In the 1980s and 1990s the most reliable purveyor of cask beer was Wetherspoons and they did not and still do not sell Bass. Charrington’s pubs disappeared when M&B moved out of brewing.

Now however Bass is back. In something that could only be Big Beer its owned and actually promoted by ABInBev but brewed by Carlsberg in Burton. Brewing on the Burton Union system which was the cause of what was known as Bass Bum, has long gone.

The demand for Bass was created not by Big Beer but by rank and file drinkers publicising it via a Facebook site. It details where in the UK Bass can be found either as a permanent beer or a guest.

It is I think quite easily available in the Midlands but in London demand is currently exceeding supply. This is rather a rare thing for cask beer in 2026.

I eventually tracked it down at the independent Coach and Horses on Stoke Newington High St. The pub has a Bass mirror and beermats so its likely to be on more often than not (£5.40 a pint). I tried a couple of pints. My initial view- not bad. I’ll sample more when I find it.

In the meantime it’s a rare tribute to campaigning by ordinary beer drinkers making an impact that Big Beer ultimately could not ignore.

And yes its still 4.4% in draught.

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