The Best Breweries to Explore in London

0
2221

London is filled with amazing breweries, thanks to a growing obsession with creating great beers, ales and more throughout the city. This is great news for visitors to London with a taste for trying the latest trends.

With such a huge selection of venues to choose from, its tricky to narrow it down to only a few great locations, but we’ve compiled this brief guide to the best breweries across London, giving you plenty to explore on your next trip…

Big Smoke Brew Co.

Surbiton

This brewery offers mostly vegan-friendly drinks, which makes it a great option for anyone eager to indulge in ethical practices while staying in London. This approach hasn’t negatively affected the taste, as evidenced by the popularity of the Big Smoke Brew Co.

You can visit all week, with opening times varying each day. We recommend a trip at lunchtime to have access to the full tasting menu.

Anspach & Hobday

Bermondsey

Located only a few minutes from London Bridge, this quirky brewery offers a selection of pale ales sure to impress even the most discerning fan. The brewery is open to the public at the weekend, with extended opening hours on Friday nights – making it a great venue for fun-loving visitors enjoying London hotel offers.

Brixton Brewery

Brixton

This venue is a family-run affair in the best possible sense, with generations all contributing to Brixton Brewery’s great success. The brewery has developed a great reputation not only due to its tasty beers, but also its emphasis on community spirit. You can try the menu for yourself every Saturday from noon until 5pm, making it perfect for an early-afternoon trip during a leisurely weekend away.

Fuller’s Brewery

Chiswick

A West London mainstay, Fuller’s Brewery has been making beer since long before many of the breweries on this list got started. There’s a delightful on-site shop for sampling some of the lesser-known treats on the menu, and the brewery also offers a tour complete with tastings for true enthusiasts.

Clarkshaws

Camberwell

The first of London’s microbrewery favourites to achieve a Vegetarian society accreditation for all of its products, Clarkshaws shares a tap room with the similarly petite London Beer Lab. Here you can enjoy a range of delicious drinks, or simply discover more about the brewery itself.

Opening hours are limited to Saturday afternoons, but this still leaves plenty of time for exploring a true microbrewery legend of the London brewing scene.

Hop Stuff Brewery

Woolwich

Only a short walk away from its own Woolwich brewery, you’ll find the taproom to Hop Stuff, which not only serves beers from the extended range created in this spot, but also plenty from neighbouring breweries and some delicious local food. The space is open all week, with Fridays and Saturdays proving particularly popular thanks to its midnight opening hours.

Camden Town Brewery

Kentish Town

This local brewery is a great place to sample Camden culture alongside the beers on offer, with a regular roster of events and a tradition of championing street food. The brewery only offers limited opening hours, which have a tendency to change for special events and occasions, so be sure to check the official website. However, as a general rule, the space is open on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, with additional opportunities to visit between Thursday – Sunday.

Brick Brewery

Peckham

The Brick Brewery was opened in 2013, and takes pride of place beneath the archways at Peckham Rye Station. There’s much to enjoy here, with a vast selection of bottled, cask and keg beers on the menu.

One of the most popular is the London Brick rye, which can be sampled on your visit during Brick Brewery’s opening hours. This space isn’t open all week, but accepts visitors between Thursday – Saturday.

Meantime Brewing Company

Greenwich Peninsula

With delightful tasting rooms and a futuristic feel, the Meantime Brewing company is a favourite for both local enthusiasts and visitors alike. On a trip here, you’ll have the chance to not only sample some of the best drinks on the menu, but an opportunity to see how the brewing process takes place. This makes it an entertaining and educational place to head for while staying at accommodation near Brewery Road.

Bianca Road Brewing Co.

Peckham

This South London brewery is one of the newest in London, but already has its own warehouse space and hosts a number of different gigs and tasting sessions on Fridays.

Each beer has been strongly influenced by Americana, and offers a low alcohol percentage and a great taste. We recommend heading here in the early evening for a great start to the weekend.

Beavertown Brewery

Tottenham

There are few breweries in London which can claim the same rate of development as this one, which has grown to encompass an enormous warehouse in a relatively short space of time. Combine this with the brand’s tendency towards strong flavours and its colourful, exuberant packaging, and you have a recipe for success.

The brewery is open every Saturday between 2pm – 8pm, providing the ideal early evening visit for guests at a Montcalm hotel in Moorgate.

Bexley Brewery

Erith

The only one in this London borough, Bexley Brewery is notable not only for its delicious beers, but for the labels, which are easy to spot thanks to the ring-necked parakeets on the bottle.

This is a distinctive feature of the brewery’s labelling, but also a feature of the local area. You can visit here every Saturday for a few lunchtime drinks.

Crate Brewery

Hackney Wick

Based in Hackney, this is one of the most unique spaces on our list, created entirely from materials which have been scavenged from the surrounding area. This includes railway sleepers and bed springs, which help form the backdrop for some truly delicious beers created both in-house and further afield.

Beers can be enjoyed alongside made-to-order pizza, providing a great spot for both drinking and dining throughout the week.