Brockley Brewery Bar, Brockley, SE4

Visited 12/03/26. Visited previously 22/04/22. Three hand pumps serving their own Fresh Hop, Pale Ale and the Harcourt Red. Keg offering from the taps on the wall behind the bar counter of away plays of Umbrella Apple cider and Signature Brew Lo-Fi and then six of their own, the Table Beer, the Session IPA, the Unfiltered lager, the Hilly Fields IPA, the Winter Pale and the Stouter. Typical non-arch brewery tap room where you could imagine you were in the vehicle repair space of your local garage were it not for the kegs lying around rather than spare tyres. This one has a painted concrete flooring with the usual array of trestle style tables and benches plus a few makeshift small tables and stools that were kegs. The bar counter is in the rear right-hand corner and there are a couple of tall stools to sit at the bar counter. The ceiling is plastered with strand upon strand of warm white fairy lights and there is a screen on the wall opposite the bar counter presumably to show live events. On my visit the chat amongst patrons was punctuated by a reggae soundtrack.

Set in what appears to be a pretty ramshackle old shed, not too far from Brockley station, this is a small bar operated from the premises of the eponymous brewery. The sheds have a concrete floor with the brewing vessels all crammed in the right hand half of the building, directly opposite the entrance, leaving the left hand side and narrow front area for the bar and seating areas. Seating is limited to two long tables with rickety looking benches which run along the front wall and another similar set-up squeezed into a gap between all the brew-plant. The bar is along the rear wall in the left hand corner and offers a few bar stools along its length, whilst a few padded kegs are dotted around here and there, but aside from these limited offerings which fill up pretty quickly, it's standing room only. The walls have been lined with hop sacks, which probably obscure the crumbling fabric of this building, and paper lanterns hang from the ceiling beams whilst hops trail along the front and left hand walls. The one other feature of note is the large display case to the left of the room which was full of bottled beer available for off sales. There seemed to be some sort of party going on when I arrived, as everyone on the long front tables seemed to know one another, making the place instantly packed and incredibly hot on a warm summer's day - a problem not aided by the fact you're not allowed to take your drinks outside. I suspect this is not the norm here though and that nor is the flotilla of pushchairs that this group added to an already packed out room. Decent music played throughout my stay and there were plenty of staff on to keep things moving at the bar. Four Brockley ales were available on handpull - Pale Ale, Max Ale, Summer XPA and Red Ale - all priced at £4.00 a pint, whilst three keg options including their lager, rounded out the draught options. I tried the Summer XPA, which I quite enjoyed although I spent more time worrying about where to stand without getting in anyone's way than I did actually enjoying my pint. I think this place showed a lot of potential and is a much needed addition to the rather limited beer scene in Brockley. I would imagine a visit on a slightly cooler and calmer day would've made this far more enjoyable than it was and with that in mind, I'd be keen to return again the next time I find myself in the area.

Official site of Brockley Brewery Bar - brockleybrewery.co.uk

Official site of Brockley Brewery Bar - brockleybrewery.co.uk