Victory Storm King; Shaky Bridge; Fanny’s Bramble; Maui Big Swell: if you’re headed for William Hill, that’s not my 1-2-3-4 for The Derby. A sceptical Taurean, I some while since bet a tenner on Astrology at 25/1 for the big race. Beer and cider lovers will recognise those four brands as highly desirable, if hard-to-find, drinkables. On a particularly iffy stretch of Brixton Road, beyond jerk chicken shack, Paradise Cove - not this cove’s idea of paradise - and an outfit selling superfly pimp gear, I discover all four and lots more. At the no-frills, nicely-striped-back-to-its-bare-brick Crown and Anchor, a new sister pub to Stokie’s Jolly Butchers, there’s hoppy goodness - around twenty brews on tap - to swell happy beer-swillers’ bellies. Derbyshire brewer Thornbridge’s Sequoia, Kipling and Topaz; lots of local London interest; Scottish punks, BrewDog; and from a Belgian Trappist abbey, Rochefort 10 - a monk’s naughty habit at a whopping 11.3% abv? From a snappy menu of just-what-you-fancy scran that includes arancini, mussels in cider and rhubarb crumble, I order juicy 8 oz Brixton burger and double fried chips (£9.95). Hopefully, Astrology’s jockey will stick to salad.
246 Brixton Rd SW9 6AQ www.crownandanchorbrixton.co.uk/
