Cloudwater Tap Room, Bermondsey, SE16

This single-arch taproom is just what you would expect on the Bermondsey Beer Mile, although the cream paintwork and colourful ceiling banners certainly help to brighten up the interior. Has a reasonable amount of seating, although the toilet block takes up some floorspace, and there are a few wooden benches out front. Up to 19 craft keg beers on tap, mostly the brewery's own, plus one handpump which was serving the guest Rocksteady best bitter from Bull of the Woods (£5.00).

With just a single hand pump (offering a 3.4%er on my visit), it's clear that Cloudwater would prefer you sample the keg. These cover the usual range of styles and prices as you'd expect, but at least with a bit of guaranteed quality. There's trains rumbling overhead several times a minute (though the sound is not intrusive), and uncomfortable wooden seating throughout, meaning it's not really a place to relax over your pint (or it may be a 2/3). However, it does open longer hours than most nearby, so you probably should take a look if you're visiting the numerous under-the-arches and more venues in this part of town.

Another arch worth the visit due to the excellent beer available, this time from Manchesters Cloudwater, another brewer at the top of their game. There were 20 beers in total including 4 guests and 3 collabs. Pretty popular on an early Thursday evening which comes as no suprise.

One of a couple of non-London based interlopers on the Bermondsey Beer Mile, Manchester’s Cloudwater have created a stylish interpretation of the railway arch taproom model. On the surface, there’s not much difference between this place and it’s contemporaries - the concrete floor, corrugated metal clad walls and high vaulted ceiling are all present and correct - but the room has been fitted out with smart contemporary furniture and decor that sets it apart from its peers and almost makes it somewhere you feel you could spend a bit of time. To the front, hard fixed bench seating down the right-hand wall quickly gives way to angled parallelogram shaped high tables served by stools with unusual frames each with an unusual geometric design in the shape of its legs. The bench has a lot of cushions along its length, in an attempt to make things a bit more comfortable, but having sat there for a good 25 minutes, I can safely say this was a failed mission. The front left of the arch is home to all the beer fridges, after which the toilet block appears, cutting off the midsection of the left-hand wall, before giving way to a terraced seating arrangement in the rear left corner, similar to those found in certain branches of Brewdog. Large banners down both sides of the room add plenty of colour and there are some bright, colourful art prints, done on a large scale, which contrast a collection of more traditional paintings along the exterior of the toilet block, whilst copious amounts of hops have been strung across the walls and ceiling. The bar is in the rear right corner and has an unusual wavy counter front with a lighting strip beneath the bartop. A beer board on the back wall was a little bit too small to comfortably read from all points of the bar and could do with a bit of a rethink. The keg taps are all discreetly hidden beneath the counter top and there is a bright neon brewery sign to the rear, next to various bits of Cloudwater merchandise. A cool indie soundtrack accompanied my visit and this was far busier than just about any of the other venues I visited along the mile on a cold, wet Sunday afternoon. A closer look at the beer board revealed seventeen cloudwater beers on keg, plus three guests. A very friendly barman chatted about the brewery and other venues along the mile, before serving me a half of the Higher Than The Sky (£3.00), which was a terrific beer worthy of a few more pints had I not been on a crawl. This place doesn’t quite shake off the railway arch problem, but does at least attempt to provide something a bit different and more stylish than its surroundings naturally allow for. This, coupled with the fact that they brew some of the best beer you’re likely to find along the entire mile, marks this place out as a must-do for anyone undertaking the crawl, or indeed for craft beer fans in general.