The Lavender Hill Mob

Much as we all love the fact that London now has more microbreweries than ever, I have never been a huge fan of Sambrooks ('brewed in the heart of London', which is pushing it a bit given that this is actually a brewery in Wandsworth, which by my reckoning is the outer western suburbs). I have nothing in particular against them except that their Wandle and Junction brews have always seemed just a little cloying with a tad too much malt that makes them not very refreshing.
Their latest creation, however, Lavender Hill, named after a street in southwest London made famous by a classic Ealing comedy from 1951 starring Alec Guinness, is a real gem: malt and hops blended to just the right degree, and happily without any hint of lavender (which I had feared, whether or not it is included in the brew). A genuinely interesting, well-rounded tipple. I should know: I had four pints of it last night in my local, The Dean Swift, in Shad Thames. (Now that IS the heart of London)