Beer Guide London Visits 24 – Deptford & Peckham
The day started out with a long train journey out to Bexley to pay a visit to the Bexley Brewery followed by a number of Guide visits out in this part of London. I got to the Brewery to find it firmly closed, a rooky error meant that I had missed the announcement that it was closing the previous Saturday for an undisclosed period of time. D’Oh! Unfortunately none of the other places earmarked were scheduled for an hour or so. Time for a hasty plan B. I headed back to the station, jumped on a London bound train and eventually decided to jump off at Deptford and visit the numerous Guide entries in close proximity to the station.
So, eventually, the first stop of the day became the second branch of Hop Burns & Black. An impressively large range of bottles crammed in to a small arch. On a nice day, and today was glorious, there are benches outside where you can sit and enjoy your beer whilst watching the world go by. Despite being an avowed beer ticker there are times when you just fancy one of the classics and today Saison Dupont hit the spot perfectly.
Deptford is blessed with a number of good bars in close proximity to the station and so it was just a case of staggering around the corner to what used to be one of the Hopstuff taprooms but now branded as Salt Craft & Pizza (Deptford) following the acquisition of the brewery by Yorkshire based brewery Salt. They are planning on brewing in London, but enquiries on this occasion led to the information that it hadn’t started at the time. Other than the range of beers on the bar the place hasn’t really changed – the smell of pizza is still wonderful!
From here I made the ten minute walk out to my third stop, Little Faith Taproom. This is a smart taproom in an arts complex. There were initially plans to install a brewery on site but these plans have been put on hold, with their beers instead being brewed elsewhere. In a move that others would do well to copy they are more than happy to tell you which beers have been brewed at which brewery. Refreshingly honest.
I headed back to the Market Yard area around the station to check out what appeared to be a bar that I was previously unaware of Jars Bar. Another arch bar with an emphasis on spirits and cocktails there were half a dozen beers available in what turned out to be No Boring Beers presence in Deptford. It was an enjoyable visit, but ultimately fell just short of meriting a Guide entry, but it’s always worth following your nose and checking places out.
There was just one last Deptford entry to visit so it was a walk under the railway to the arch that houses Villages Brewery Tap. A nice taproom, but beware of the narrow road outside which appears to be a popular rat run when traffic is bad in the area. Up to 8 of their own high quality beers on tap. My choice was their collaboration beer with Buxton Brewery, a hibiscus saison, and it was very good indeed.
Having finished here I decided to take the short hop to Peckham to visit the Guide entries there starting at Beer Rebellion. This is a minimalist shop conversion serving 8 or 9 draft beers with a small number of packaged beers available. The list is pretty good, but back in the days of Late Knights it was better. Hopefully this is just due to getting back to normal after the restrictions and hopefully the next visit will reveal an upturn once more.
Onwards to the second brewery of the day, this time the rather splendid Brick Brewery. A rather ramshackle exterior and entrance gives way to a large beer garden and arch venue showcasing their range of beers. The brewing kit has been moved to new premises which has allowed the taproom to increase it’s space and it was very busy on my visit. Expect up to twenty of their beers to be available.
My next stop has provided me with a very good reminder as to why I should try and get these write ups done sooner after the event than currently. I went to the Greyhound and I honestly have no recollection of why! It’s not in the Guide, but it is entirely possible that last April it was on the to-do list. All I can really recall is that it was a pleasant enough London pub with a better than average beer range, but obviously not good enough to make the Guide grade. If indeed that was what I was there to check. I have to hold my hands up on this one and say it is a complete blank in my memory bank!
I headed onwards to my last stop of the day, fittingly the original Hop Burns & Black in Peckham. A much larger venue than it’s Deptford sister with seating inside and out, and of course the same excellent selection of packaged beers. I’d started the day at HBB with a classic Belgian beer and ended it at HBB picking up a new, to me, German brewery. The ticker was back!
