What constitutes a neighbourhood?  How far does it stretch?  I suppose it just depends to what extent you experience feelings of belonging to a place.  On some level, I feel that London is my neighbourhood although, within this broad sweep, I am conscious that there are vast areas that I have never visited and for which I have no natural affinity.  South London, for example.  Dalston, to name another.

Narrowing my boundaries somewhat, I would suggest that the northern frontier of my neighbourhood is somewhere around Mornington Crescent; the southern limit being the streets around Aldwych.  Honing in slightly further, I don’t actually roam much further than a few small, leafy squares in Bloomsbury, within the confines set by the Euston Road, Southampton Row, Tottenham Court Road and Great Russell Street.  This is my neighbourhood.  This is where I feel most comfortable.  Feel at home.

There are other factors that make a neighbourhood aside from pure geography.  People; tradition; beer.

40FT Brewery’s ‘Neighbourhood’––appreciate the UK spelling––is an American-style IPA.  It has a reassuringly golden-brown hue and a surprisingly punchy citrus kick.  I have seen it described online as a ‘session’ beer.  It tastes more powerful than that.  Lightweight though I may be, at 6% ABV, it is going to be a pretty short session.

The 40FT Brewery is based in Dalston.  It may not be my neighbourhood, but it is good to see that their ‘Neighbourhood’ can travel to my own one with such positive results.

Proof that beer has no boundaries.

© Beery Sue

Beery Sue believes in breaking boundaries.

Beery Sue is the author of One for the Road.