The Quest for the Holy Grain - Best Microbreweries
England

 

 

 

Mash Paddle Brewery
92 Enid St
London SE16 3RA

Staying with a Bermondsey Beer Mile theme, here is a new one. 

The Mash Paddle is a brewery that lets one rent small-scale equipment to make one's own beer. They will sell one a kit, and show how to use it. There are about 7 beers on tap, as well as some guest bottles. They have seating inside for maybe 40, and 6 picnic tables out in the small entryway. 

The cookers produce 20 litres. When Mash Paddle finds one they like, they have it contract brewed. Only 2 of the taps are actually theirs, the rest are guests. So…they don't sell the beer they make, and they don't make the beer they sell !!

Some extras would include Beer & Cheese Tastings and Live Music at times.
Aside from beers, Mash Paddle also offers a variety of wines and cocktails.
Mash Paddle also has snacks, for those who get hungry when they drink.
Snacks include Crisps, Nuts & Biltong.
And for those imbibers who become even hungrier, The Flow Pizza truck, with their own Italian Pizza Oven will be there on Saturdays!

Other news. The beer mile is successful. Many places are open Friday evenings, some even Thursday. This is an improvement from my visit of one year ago!

 

 

 

 

German Kraft Brewing -
Elephant & Castle
42 Newington Causeway
London SE1 6DR
United Kingdom

German Kraft is a microbrewery in a labyrinthian food court in the Elephant & Castle neighborhood of London.
There are several other “craft beer” stands as well as probably 40 international food sellers in several rooms and passageways in this marketplace known as Mercato Metropolitano.
German Kraft's main bar space is about 15 feet across by 8 feet deep.
The actual brewery is in another room and is impressive in its size.  There are another set of taps there. 

According to German Kraft's mission statement, " German Kraft was born out of the desire to revive the ceremony that traditionally surrounds beer drinking in Franconia; to create a locally brewed beer, full of character and drink it fresh from the tank.  Our highly controlled brewing process with state-of-the-art equipment allows us to create consistently high-quality brews; unfiltered, unpasteurised and without additives or preservatives."

German Kraft is often referred to as one of the best venues for German Beer in London.

 

 

 

Brixton Brewery
Arches 547+548
Brixton Station Road
London SW9 8PF

The Brixton Brewery is a microbrewery in a train viaduct arch in downtown Brixton, South London.

Brixton is small, about 25' x 25', with a modest amount of seating.

They have been successful enough to have moved their production to larger facilities.  So this is a tap room. Brixton has about a half dozen of their own brews pouring and several guests. 

Brixton's beer is hand-crafted in small batches and is always unpasteurised and unfiltered for maximum flavour.
They like to add a modern twist to traditional brewing styles, using the best ingredients obtainable, whether sourced from local markets, or much further afield.
The resulting beers are bold, modern, and always perfectly balanced for easy-drinking.

 

 

 

London Beer Lab
Taproom
Arch 41 Nursery Road
SW9 8BP London

London Beer Lab is in Brixton, just down the street from Brixton Brewery, and has found it necessary to brew at a larger facility, making this location a taproom.
Like the other bars and breweries under a railway arch, they have a space that measures about 25 feet on a side.
London Beer Lab has expanded operations at this site to offer up to 30 draught lines featuring their beers, exclusive nano brews and guest beers plus a large stock of cans and bottles to take home.
They are one of the very few venues in London to supply home brewers with hops, malt and yeast.

 

Bermondsey Beer Mile
Southwark, London

For those of you who don't know: the Bermondsey Beer Mile is a loose amalgamation of brewery bars and bottle shops, located along a stretch of railway arch that's closer to two miles long nowadays.
The one thing they have in common is that they're all open at roughly the same time on a Saturday afternoon, giving those of you who fancy some exercise the chance to indulge in a rather fine pub crawl. As long as you can find your way between all the bars, of course.
There are numerous microbreweries built into the railroad viaduct arches.  Thus, each is exactly the same width, about 25 feet.  They are different depths though.  Some go all the way back, with the brewing operation in an adjacent arch, others just have a smaller space in front for taps. All have seating outside. 

Some have about 10 taps, most have less.  The bad thing is, all are open only on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, making it tough for a Questor to get to them all.  
But give it a try.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bianca Road Brewing
83-84 Enid Street
London, SE16 3RA

For a Questor ambling along the Bermondsey Beer Mile, they will know they are halfway along when they encounter Bianca Road.
The brewery and taproom are set in a large double-fronted arch with lots of space and natural light. The flagship beers and seasonal specials will be available in draft, can, or tasting flights for those that don't want to have to choose!
For the hungry, street vendors will be available on Sundays.
The brewery is a 25-hectolitre system and Bianca Road brews in such a way that they are sustainable and eco-friendly.

 

 

 

Cloudwater Brewing - London Taproom
73 Enid Street,
London, SE16 3RA

Cloudwater Brewing's London Taproom is another one of those intriguing craft breweries snuggled under a railway arch along Southwark's Bermondsey Beer Mile.
Cloudwater features a bar with 20 draft taps for their fresh releases and barrel-aged beers. There is a shop to take home cans and bottles.
The draft lines are all direcly drawn from a 5ºC cold store right next to the bar, with all of its lines insulated and chilled until it reaches the tap.
Their larger brewery is in Manchester.
As of Spring, 2022, Cloudwater does not permit customers wearing costumes.


 

 

 

 

BBNo Brewing
Arch 79 Enid Street
Bermondsey
London SE16 3RA

The co-founders of BBNo (Brew By Numbers) met whilst rock climbing in Asia, and shared a love of beer. They were committed to learning how to brew, and taught themselves the craft using books, the internet, and the advice of friends in the trade.
Their efforts were largely experimental, and they numbered every batch so that they could reproduce them when necessary...thus the name Brew By Numbers.
They have now released over 350 different beers over a vast range of styles, and are known for their diversity...farmhouse ales, coffee beers, nitro stouts, and highly hopped pale ales and IPA's.
BBNo's beers are known to be balanced and drinkable, and they were ranked in the Top 100 Breweries in The World by RateBeer.
The Bermondsey brewery produces pilot beers which it serves in their taproom.
Their larger brewery is located at Morden Wharf in GReenwich.

 

 

 

 

London Beer Factory - Barrel Project
80 Druid St.
London SE1 2HQ

Located on the famous Bermondsey Beer Mile, The Barrel Project serves house barrel aged & craft beers...24 taps worth!
Barrel Project has an in-house kitchen, a constantly changing schedule of events, and Maltby St. Market on the doorstep...all nestled under a Victorian rail arch, containing 200 oak barrels for aging.
Barrel Project also has the UK's first purpose-built vehicular coolship, looking like a pick-up truck. It travels the UK capturing wild yeast that are naturally-occuring. These are then used to make beer!


In their own words, their goal is " Blending the traditional & modern. Each beer a unique expression of time, place, provenance, and attention. Aged in our collection of 200 oak barrels."

 

 

 

The Arch House - Anspach & Hobday
118 Druid Street
Bermondsey
London, SE1 2HH.

Anspach & Hobday have three unique venues, all in South London, serving Anspach & Hobday beer amongst guest beer, cider, wine, spirits and more.
One of these venues is the Arch House, a taproom located in the arches on the iconic Bermondsey Beer Mile where craft magic happens.

Hungry? We recommend trying some local flavour from the nearby Maltby Street Food Market or Druid Street Food Market and enjoying them in The Arch House taproom with yet another freshly brewed cold beer.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

The Outpost -
Three Hills Brewing
7 Almond Road
Bermondsey
London SE163LR

Founded in 2017 Three Hills Brewing is named after local Neolithic Tombs. Experimental at the core, they produce small batches, in a variety of styles, pushing boundaries to create interesting drink for craft beer drinkers to enjoy.

The Outpost brewery w/ taproom is on the Bermondsey beer mile. ‘The Outpost' has 20 taps pouring a wide range of drinks including a tank dispensed house saison, nitro-dispensed BPAVK, guest beers, Aperol Spritz & Gin & Tonic. The Outpost has both indoor & outdoor seating with pianos, chess & games to play.

 

Three Hills HQ is based in the countryside of Northamptonshire where they have the 600l Brewhouse, counter pressure canning machine, laboratory, barrel ageing program & cold store.

 


 

 

 

Partizan Brewing
Brewery & Taproom
34 Raymouth Road
South Bermondsey, London
SE16 2DB

According to the philosophy of Partizan's founder and owner Andy Smith, “It is perhaps a better time than ever to be making beer!
The last two decades have seen the development of thriving and burgeoning scenes the world over, populated by those who, as independents, wanted to take control of what the people of their communities were eating and drinking; to offer an alternative to big brands and the bland sterility of homogenization.”

 

 

 

 

Spartan Brewery
8 Almond Road
London, SE16 3LR

Spartan Brewery is a tiny brewery based in South East London on the infamous “Bermondsey Beer Mile”

Spartan focuses on using the best, local ingredients to recreate traditional styles with modern flavour profiles.

The ongoing development of British hops helps us with this aim and we proudly use them in every beer they make.

In their own words, "Nothing encapsulates our ethos more than our first commercial brew; a light mild."

 

 

 

 

"They who drink beer will think beer ." ....Washington Irving