Batemans XB Best Bitter

I squeezed into the newly refurbished Old Fire Station on Saturday evening before heading out to dinner with some friends. This is more of a bar than a pub and claims to have the best international beer selection in Hammersmith. I am not going to dispute this, but having megaswill from all corners of the globe is not really what I had in mind! Pre-refurb they used to have Warsteiner (Germany) and Steinlager (Kiwiland) on draught, but now they have Amstel, Heineken, Sagres and Fosters! The only ale they had on was Batemans XB Best Bitter (3.7% abv) which is a fairly standard best bitter that is really nothing to get excited about. I probably should not have ordered the bitter, as a quick look around revealed a predominately cheap lager loving clientèle. But as luck has it, the Polish guy behind the bar had to duck downstairs and put a new barrel on! So at least the beer was fresh and was actually in good condition. The beer is a deep copper colour and is dry, but moderately hoppy. It tastes a little boring, kind of like Young's ordinary did before they moved production. I probably wouldn't order it again, and I probably will not be heading back to the Old Fire Station in a hurry! Website