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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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Brew By Numbers, Bermondsey, SE16
SE16
SE16 3RA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Brew By Numbers
Having managed to somehow avoid the Bermondsey Beer Mile until now, I arrived at this Brew By Numbers taproom (not the only one in the capital) at their published opening time of midday on a Sunday, as part of a much larger party. Other customers had also arrived, but the barman and another member of staff weren't quite ready to accept customers.
Once inside this typical brewery taproom set in a railway arch, a blackboard displays the Brew By Numbers keg beers (there did not appear to be any cask). Options were Gose, Bimber Imperial Stout Barrel Aged 2021, Farmhouse Peach & Apricot, Double IPA Azacca & Citra, Galaxy IPA & Triple IPA Sabro & Mosaic.
Prices are steep and there was a further wait whilst the barman had to change the gas on my beer. Seemingly he was not ready to welcome us after all.
Bench tables are available both inside and also outside next to the arches. With the sun out, we decided to sit outside.
If you like Brew By Numbers beers, you'll be happy here. I'm sure I'll also try a few more similar brewery bars along the same stretch at some point or other. It can certainly be included in a good crawl.
On 14th April 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Brew By Numbers
One of many similar establishments forming part of the famous Bermondsey Beer Mile, like many of the others this is located in the arches under the railway track, and is of course a brewery tap rather than a pub, and this is reflected in the somewhat industrial style décor, if one could go so far as calling it that.
The flooring was some type of concrete screed, whilst the usual white corrugated iron of these establishments was cladding the ceiling and walls in order to channel the continually dripping water from the tunnel roof away from the punters underneath. Some of the other nearby establishments have made a bit of an effort to create some atmosphere or comfort, but here it remained very industrial and you really felt as though you were just sat in the middle of a warehouse, which of course you effectively are, with the very limited number of benches surrounded by pallets containing sacks of raw ingredients. The rear half of the pub was clearly the working brewery with large stainless steel and wood vats as well as associated pipework and so on.
Beers on tap were all keg rather than cask and consisted of Mosaic Session IPA, Amarillo New Brown Ale, Imperial Stout and Pale Ale. Unlike many of the nearby establishments, 1/3 pint measures were not available. Overall with the lack of much in the way of any beer choice and the very industrial setting, I thought many of the other options nearby were more appealing.
On 5th February 2020
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1947 recommendations about 1860 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Brew By Numbers
Very popular on my visit to this double railway arch brewery,there was a constant queue of 20 people plus at the bar during my stay,the music playing was on the loud side, but then so was the babble of the numerous attendees.I had the session IPA at £3.00 for two thirds, there was a returnable £3.00 deposit on the glasses. Another winner for me.
On 30th April 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about Brew By Numbers
Is it a bar or a pub or just an afterthought.A few canteen style fold up tables and benches make up the furniture.Only a few customers on my Friday night visit.Barman eating fish and chips while serving seemed to reinforced the non professional side of this drinking barn.Top beers though and reasonably priced.
On 26th March 2016
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Brew By Numbers
Another corrugated iron-clad railway arch in Bermondsey and another microbrewery within, selling beer from the tap each Saturday to an eclectic range of beer tourists, hipsters and curious locals alike. This was the first place that I encountered that had been set up to, in someway, replicate the look of a traditional bar, with lots of canteen tables and benches to the front (and pallet seating along the pavement outside), providing ample space to rest, a proper servery to the rear and the brew plant all tucked away behind. A few beer related bits hang from the walls and there were some hearty (and pricey) bar snacks available alongside their own range of beer (My steak and ale sausage roll was sensational but still not really worth £4.00). The place even has an off-sales counter, so that those turning up for some take-outs don't have to join the ten minute queue for the draught beer. This was the second busiest bar I visited during my Beer Mile crawl, perhaps due to its proximity to the packed Kernel bar a little further down the arches. The place seemed relatively able to cope with it, employing doormen to manage the queue in a jovial and friendly manner, and adopting a £3.00 glass deposit scheme to discourage people from taking the branded glassware home with them as a souvenir (nowhere else on the Beer Mile seems to have this problem - don't forget to hand your glass back at the bar when you leave). Standing at an upturned barrel near the entrance, I was able to watch the residents on the balconies of the neighbouring blocks of flats, who were in turn watching the crowd of half-cut people beneath them with a mix of intrigue and confusion.
The draught range was a little more limited here than in some of the other brewery bars, but they gave the impression that the range changes quite frequently. Options on this visit included Session IPA Amarillo and Simcoe, Session IPA Mosaic, Saison Wit and Black IPA - each to be ordered by their number, rather than their name. I tried the Amarillo and Simcoe IPA which was pretty good, maybe a little over-carbonated and probably the cloudiest beer of the day (this brewer is well known for its use of the term London Murky, so be careful what you get served here).
I quite liked the layout and feel of this place, but it was far to busy to properly savour and enjoy and is only likely to be more so now that the Kernel have closed their bar. You're only really likely to be here as part of a wider crawl, in which case it does its job without troubling any of the stronger venues on the crawl.
Open Saturday only - 10:00 - 17:00
On 20th October 2015
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]