Bird House Tap Room, Herne Hill, SE24

One of two microbreweries in Herne Hill, opposite the excellent Brockwell Park, this is a typical example of a new London brewery maximising the potential of a railway arch to create their own slice of the craft beer market. Much like similar operations in Bermondsey, this bar makes use of a single arch, with a bare concrete floor and corrugated iron cladding. Canteen style tables fill the front part of the arch, offering the majority of seating options, but some pallets have been stacked in the front left corner with padding on top, making a sofa style seat. A small serving hatch to the left has a board behind it detailing the various beer and cider options available. To the rear is the inevitable brew plant, which is obviously cordoned off and imparts the smell of malt and hops through the room. Additional tables and seating options have been provided outside, mostly in the shape of more pallets with padded tops. We sat out here on a hot day and found it quite a comfy spot as far as this type of bar goes. A TV in the bar was showing muted coverage of an athletics meet whilst soul music played throughout. Toilet options were marginally better than in most of these brewery bars, with a single stall available for each gender. On the bar, there were eight different beers and a strawberry cider, all seemingly on keg dispense. Some of the beers appeared to be pouring a little hazy, but the IPA that I tried was clear and packed with flavour. I've tried a few of this brewery's beers in the last year or so and generally find them to be very flavoursome. The keg taps poured very slowly, so a large, slow-moving queue had formed at the bar. To be fair, customer numbers were boosted by the Lambeth Country Fair which was taking place over the road, so the queue may have been a one-off. I quite liked this place which felt like a more considered set-up than most of those on the Bermondsey Beer Mile. The creative use of space to maximise seating options worked well and the beer was very enjoyable. This type of place can never really provide the full pub experience, but on a hot summer's day, it was a great place to stop off and try some interesting local beer.