'Best pint of stout or porter you can buy in Britain'

'Best pint of stout or porter you can buy in Britain' - and it's not Guinness Newspoint | 01/03/2025 13:39:14

Beer fan Jason Hackett, with a hefty following of over 145,000 on , is known for his dedication to critiquing beers, stouts, and porters sampled on his travels. A self-proclaimed Guinness enthusiast, he's now touting a new beverage as "the best pint of stout or porter you can buy in Britain".

During a visit to The Arch House, the Bermondsey taproom of Anspach and Hobday brewery, Jason encountered the London Black, a "nitro porter", which left such an impression that he returned post-haste after a midweek football match to confirm its excellence. To his delight, the brew was "even better" on the Saturday revisit.

Taking to Instagram, Jason said: "When I arrived it was still drinking superbly, at least as good as on the Wednesday, an absolute creme de crème of creamers. I did review in other London pubs that weekend and, even though I had some great pints, nothing came close to this.

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"I know kegs and pints can vary from day to day and you may or may not get a pint of this magnificent magnitude every day but I think only once on my many visits here to The Arch House has the pint been anything less than an absolute creamer, especially with the 80/20 nitro/CO2 dispense."

If you're passionate about stouts and porters, then this might just be the news you've been waiting for. Fellow beer fans have been raving over this particular brew that some boldly claim rivals even the iconic Guinness.

London Black by Anspach and Hobday, especially when served at The Arch House with an added boost of nitrogen. One stout enthusiast said: "I've said it before and I'll say it again, London Black by Anspach and Hobday as served at The Arch House with the extra nitrogen is the best pint of stout or porter that you can get in Britain. In fact, anywhere I've drank outside Ireland."

The 4.4% stout has garnered praise not just from casual drinkers but also from categorical experts in the field. TikTok's Dan One-Minute Beer Review said: "It's chocolatey, it's coffee-y, it's vanilla-y. It's almost like wafers. It's got a wafer ice cream cone flavour to it, it's gorgeous. I could drink a lot of that, it's beautiful."

Complementing these glowing assessments, Glasgow Beer Guy added: "On the nose, it's very poter-ish, the malt's there, the dark malt. The first thing to say is it's so smooth it's unbelievable. It's got a wee bit of smokiness as well. Now those who have been following me a while know I don't like smoke in beer but there's a wee hint here and what I'm thinking is it's more about the toasted malts. It's really nice, really smooth to drink."

Anspach and Hobday, the proud creators of London Black, established their craft in Bermondsey, London back in 2013 but they aren't the only contenders looking to dethrone Guinness. Dom Drinks Beer, another TikTok drinks reviewer, shared his encounter with O'Hara's Irish Stout which had been recommended to him "hundreds of times".

After finally getting his hands on it, he had no doubts, proclaiming he was "100%" certain it outshone Guinness. Echoing Dom's sentiments, Glasgow Beer Guy also endorsed O'Hara's, and added: "I'd say this is better than Guinness."

O'Hara's is a product of the Carlow Brewing Company, located in County Carlow, Ireland. Interestingly, they didn't start brewing their first beers until 1998.