Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Random news of the day with Mobyduck
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Basecamp Taproom, Bermondsey, SE16
SE16
SE16 3LL
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Basecamp Taproom
Depending on which end you start, this may well be considered the first stop on the famed Bermondsey Beer Mile. For us though it was the last stop, and I thought that worked quite well as it is much more of a large pub as opposed to a brewery or warehouse that just happens to sell beer, and I thought it made a good end to our session. Unlike most of the others which are housed in tunnels under the railway arches, this is located on a deserted (on our Saturday evening visit anyway) industrial estate and looks quite anonymous from the outside.
Once you get through the door though it was a real contrast, opening out in to a large split level pub that was buzzing. Although the décor was still rather industrial at heart with some sort of concrete screed on the floor and a corrugated iron roof, it at least had a bit of character to it rather than being quite soulless as many of the brewery tap outlets on the mile can be. The bar counter was a central island in the middle of the pub, clad in more corrugated iron, whilst light fixtures and foliage were strung from the roof. A mezzanine level floor ran around much of the perimeter of the pub and most of this had exposed brick work walls, although some of the white brickwork elsewhere looked rather fake. A large bank of ‘fridges just inside the door held cans of beer to purchase and there was further merchandise for sale such as hats, t-shirts and glasses. A few barrels on stillage were at the back of the pub, although I assume that these were decorative rather than functional.
Beer choice was displayed on video screens dotted around the pub, and on this occasion consisted of Hemisphere, Easy Peeler, Juicebox, Shape Shifter IPA, Last Train, Flatiron Red, Imperial Beartooth, Into The Woods, Lost At Sea, Typhoon Hazy IPA and Nightcap, with Little Creatures Pale Ale as the sole guest offering. Overall, I quite liked this place with it’s buzzy atmosphere and thought it well worth checking out, despite the somewhat desolate location.
On 5th February 2020
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1953 recommendations about 1866 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Fourpure Brewing Co
Tucked away on a non descript industrial estate just north of South Bermondsey station, Fourpure is the biggest and probably the most professional set up of all the small brewery operations on the Bermondsey beer mile. Having visited the Bevertown and Pressure Drop set ups in Tottenham on several occasions I’m used to wandering through deserted non descript industrial estates on a Saturday to visit breweries and this one comes somewhere in the middle of those two for size and set up.
Basically the same as described below except that the keg tap wall behind the serving area has now expanded to 20 taps and most of these had something coming out of them if I interpreted the flat screens above the bar correctly. The first eight taps had their usual beers and then the rest seemed to be small batch experimental runs with plenty of stouts and porters. As much as I like dark beers this was the last brewery visit of a long day so I ducked the Vanilla and Bourbon Barrel Milk Stout and went for one I have had before in the shape of their Easy Peeler Citrus Session Pale and very fruity and drinkable it was.
Late afternoon by this stage and a sizeable crowd were in situ but not too busy that we could not bag one of the internal tables. As well as lots of shiny computerised brewing equipment a small but not insignificant point was that it also had the best toilets of all the Bermondsey brewers we visited on the day.
The price levels are now £3.40 for 2/3rds of their standard beers on or below 5.5% and £3.80 for those above. This one is open Tuesday to Sunday from midday (11 am on Saturdays) until 8.00pm at the weekend and 10.00pm midweek.
Of course it’s not your traditional pub drinking experience, but as far as tap rooms connected to the actual brewery visits go, this was a good one.
On 20th June 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2129 recommendations about 2004 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about Fourpure Brewing Co
Very good taproom and great beer but its hard to visualise what it will be like in the winter.
very busy on my visit and I had the brewery tour which was a bit shambolic.The give you 6 beers while you get a talk about the brewery but you are seated above the brewery and the noise from the drinkers below meant the guide had to shout to make himself heard.Drank the beers and abandoned the tour. Met the head brewer who bought us a drink and had a chat.Great stuff.Review of taproom only.
On 10th November 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Fourpure Brewing Co
It seemed a bit odd wandering through a semi deserted trading estate looking for a small brewery, once I got there at around 11.30 I found it to be very well attended,and once seated with my beer I noted a steady stream of punters to and fro for the remainder of my stay. It's still pretty much as described by PSM below, without the extra entertainment as this was a normal weekend, the beer prices were still the same at £3.00 for two thirds,not a bad price given general craft beer prices nowadays, the beer I chose was Snake Shifter IPA at 5.9% a little hefty for the first of the day but it turned out to be one of the best.
It was a very good start to the beer mile crawl.
On 30th April 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1879 recommendations about 1852 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Fourpure Brewing Co
For most people, this brewery in a railway arch near South Bermondsey station represents the start or end point of the Bermondsey Beer Mile - a crawl of seven or eight micro breweries along the arches in the this part of town. My visit coincided with London Beer City - a craft beer festival of sorts, which the Fourpure Brewery had brewed a beer especially for as well as arranging a few bits of entertainment to celebrate the occasion. It was therefore a little tricky to gauge what the place might be like on a normal weekend. I arrived at the second attempt (having earlier been turned away because someone forgot to bring the keys and they were running late with their opening, forcing me to start at the Partizan Brewery and then retrace my steps here) to find a large industrial unit, perhaps the largest of the day, with plenty of pallet seating and folding tables outside and a proper bar inside, with TV screens listing all the beers available. A particularly interesting feature was the large map of the world behind the bar, which showed where the hops from each of the available beers came from (only one from the UK, sadly). Various bits of merchandise were also being sold, a DJ was setting up in preparation for a set later in the day and there was a makeshift tent outside selling food. The unit itself is pretty unremarkable, other than for its size, with the bar hidden away around a corner, forcing you to walk into the heart of the plant before you find it.
There were eleven Fourpure beers in total, all keg, listed on the aforementioned TV screens, with thirteen taps protruding from the typically craft beer style white tiled bar back. I tried the Session IPA, which cost £3.00 for two thirds of a pint (you need to get used to this impractical measurement if you intend to complete the Beer Mile) and was, as the name suggests, a pretty good session beer, if perhaps lacking the punch you associate with modern IPA's. Staff here were particularly friendly and the general vibe was relaxed and enjoyable.
I felt this was one of the stronger bars on the Beer Mile, although none of them really offer the comfort and warmth you would associate with a pub. The beer range was comprehensive, the service friendly and the operation seemed pretty slick and professional (late opening aside!). Won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it was a highlight for me.
Open Saturdays only from 11:00 - 17:00.
On 20th October 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]