Beer Rebellion, Sydenham, SE26

Beer Rebellion is a pretty new addition to Sydenhams drinking scene. Once inside there is a small single oblong shaped room which runs to the rear,there are normal tables and chairs on the right side,the bar is on the mid left side with the beers in barrels on stillages to the front left. There was a decent choice of real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Late Knights Crack of Dawn which went down very well,the other beers noted were Late Knights Morning Glory/Worm Catcher and Brighton Beer Vermont IPA. Background music was playing and the bar was quite busy on my late Saturday afternoon visit. I found this to be a very friendly place to have a drink in. And Sydenham was a destination for a pub goer like me. Pub visited 14/5/2016

Following on from their successful bars in Gipsy Hill, Brockley and Peckham, this is the fourth South London pub from the Penge based Late Knights Brewery. As with these aforementioned bars, this is a simple shop conversion set in a former bookmakers. The single room is pretty narrow and has a very basic servery on the left hand wall with a row of tables and plastic chairs down the right hand side. The concrete floor has been left bare and the walls have been painted in grey and red shades. Once past the bar, the pub smartens up a little, with a pleasant seating area centred around a couple of low tables which are served by some well worn armchairs and rickety old chairs and stools. Shelves back here hold board games, books and various bits of Late Knights merchandise and a group of people were engaged in a boisterous game of cards in one corner of the room. There was a lot of bunting hung around here, the ceiling had some rather nice retro patterned tiles and one wall was decked with a string of empty beer bottles, all of which combined to make this quite a pleasing, cosy little spot to relax and certainly a lot more comfortable and homely than anything you'll find in their other local pubs. To the rear there is an open kitchen which, on this visit, was operating as a pop-up venue, with proceeds on my visit going towards the restoration of the South London Theatre in West Norwood. A chilled soundtrack played throughout my Friday evening visit and there was a good crowd of people in, without it getting uncomfortably busy. Cask ales here are served straight from the barrel, thanks to stilage to the left of the bar. Options on this visit were Late Knights Crack of Dawn and Morning Glory plus Brighton Beer Vermont IPA (£3.80) and Mino English Bitter. The keg taps had four Late Knights brews and four cider and perry options and the friendly bar staff were happy to talk through the different styles and merits of each beer and offered tasters where appropriate. I tried both Brighton Beer brews plus a keg stout from Late Knights. The beer quality was a bit variable, with the Mino English Bitter probably in the best condition. I quite like the bars opened by this small chain, without really loving any of them. I find them quite nice, buzzy places with a good vibe and more often than not, good beer. This one seemed a bit more fully realised than some of their other bars and perhaps hints towards a progression for future bars. Sydenham isn't an obvious destination for the pub-goer, so this place is a definite boon for the local drinking scene.

Official site of Beer Rebellion - www.lateknightsbrewery.co.uk

Official site of Beer Rebellion - www.lateknightsbrewery.co.uk