Sambrook's Brewery Taproom, Wandsworth, SW18

Went when it first opened so it was quiet onmy afternoon visit.Well described below.Found it a bit industrial and quite ugly really.They had a couple of cask beers from the barrel behind the bar and about 6 keg beers.Tried a couple of keg beers but they were a bit dull..Lots of outside seating so pleasant to sit in the sunshine.

Having outgrown their old brewery site in nearby Battersea, Sambrooks moved their operations to this new site in part of the old Ram Brewery in the heart of Wandsworth, and opened a taproom in July 2021. In many ways, this is yet another industrial-style brewery bar, but the location inside one of the capital’s most iconic breweries makes it stand out from a crowded market. You enter via an archway that runs through to the excellently named Bubbling Well Square - a large, attractive courtyard with a decent amount of seating giving you a view of the various other former brewery buildings. A door here leads you into the concrete floored room which boasts a mix of painted, metal clad, and bare brick walls. The bar is on the front wall, to your left as you enter, and has a curved modern counter with a pewter top and a rather drab bar back that is towered over by the evocative old bare brick walls. Most of the seating is to the left of the bar in the form of high tables and stools, although a narrow space to one side of the room sees plush button backed banquettes with chairs run along the roadside wall, albeit in a rather nondescript part of the room that feels a little disconnected from the main bar area. A pizza oven and serving area stands opposite the bar and was putting out some very tempting aromas which a lot of punters had succumbed to. There’s one huge brewing vessel alongside the bar and two more at the far end of the room, but these felt like they were mainly there for decorative purposes, and the brewing operation is completely separate from the taproom. Stairs near the entrance lead up to a mezzanine level which has a few rows of tables and chairs overlooking the bar area below, and can be hired for private events. Music was playing at quite a loud volume and this combined with the echoey nature of the room, created quite a lot of noise, which helped give the place a lively feel, despite a modest mid-week turnout. Beer menus on each table suggested that four cask ales are normally available, but I could only see Sambrooks Junction on the bar, with the other handpulls left unclipped (Wandle, Pumphouse Pale and Tomahawk were the missing cask options). However, there are plenty of Sambrooks keg products to pick from, so I opted for a pint of the Night Light Porter (6%) which came in at a fairly steep £6.00. The bar staff seemed pretty dismissive and begrudgingly served me in between making a load of cocktails. I didn’t make it to Sambrook’s former taproom, but I would imagine this is a significant improvement, making good use of an attractive old brewery building to create a modern bar in a style that seems to be very popular. I’m not a massive Sambrooks fan, but there seemed to be enough of a selection here to suit most people’s tastes and I came away feeling this was a good addition to Wandsworth pub scene.

Situated in the old Young's Brewery, Sambrook's new Brewery Taproom is a far cry from their old premises in Battersea. I quite liked the neglected feel of the old place, with workers from the brewery dispensing the ales. The new place has a far more polished corporate feel with professional staff and plenty of them. Food can also be ordered to accompany your Sambrook's beer, as you gaze over the brewing equipment. The two handpulls at the end of the bar had Wandle & Powerhouse Porter. Keg options were Sambrook's Nimbus, Session, Pagoda, Block Party, Imperial Stout & Night Light, Tap Social Toast , Truman's Marzenbier & Windsor & Eton Eton Mess. As this was the last pub of the day, I decided to finish my afternoon's crawling of South West London on the 10.5% Imperial Stout, and finish me it did (well, almost)! Despite it being very different from the brewery's original taproom, I quite enjoyed my visit here and will undoubtedly return (one day).

Official site of Sambrook's Brewery Taproom - www.sambrooksbrewery.co.uk

Official site of Sambrook's Brewery Taproom - www.sambrooksbrewery.co.uk

Due to open on 17 July.