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The London Borough of Lambeth first stretches along the River Thames from Southbank & Waterloo, then Lambeth and Vauxhall before then encompassing the area all the way south through Clapham and Brixton. Most visitors to the borough head to the busy tourist areas such as the London Eye & National Theater just across from Westminster & central London. However, it also includes trendy neighborhoods like Brixton, which has one of the largest concentrations of breweries & beer bars in London. Here are the best places for craft beer in Brixton, as well as the rest of the Borough of Lambeth (Vauxhall, Waterloo, Clapham, & Lambeth), including craft beer bars, bottle shops, breweries, and taprooms.
The Best Craft Beer Bars in Brixton – Lambeth – Clapham – Vauxhall – South London
Ghost Whale
If Ghost Whale doesn’t have London’s largest craft beer selection, it must be pretty close. The front room is a massive bottle shop, with refrigerator after refrigerator of some of the best craft beer from around the UK, as well as great imports (especially from the United States).
However, Ghost Whale is more than just a bottle shop, it’s also a craft beer bar with 6 taps to go with the huge bottle & can selection of around 400-500 different beers. While the shop does do a strong off-license takeaway trade, all of the beers can also be enjoyed inside or out in the back beer garden.
In addition to their Brixton beer bar & bottle shop, there’s a 2nd Ghost Whale location in Putney.
Address: 70 Atlantic Rd, London SW9 8PX, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest station: Brixton
Mother Kelly’s
Mother Kelly’s is an excellent craft beer bar & bottle shop in Vauxhall, located underneath a railway.
The bar has a great selection of 33 craft beer & cider taps, plus hundreds of cans and bottles. As with their original Bethnal Green location, Mother Kelly’s has meat & cheese boards as well as other snacks. This location is even bigger than the original, with tons of inside seating in the large archway.
Address: 76 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest station: Vauxhall
The Craft Beer Co.
The Craft Beer Co. has locations all over London, including one in Brixton.
The Brixton Craft Beer Co. location has 20 keg lines, 10 cask pumps, and over 200 cans & bottles. The cans & bottles are helpfully displayed in front of the bar, unlike at some beer bars where the fridges are not as easy to see.
Craft Beer Co. also has a small range of pub snacks such as pies, scratchings, and crisps.
Address: 11-13 Brixton Station Rd, London SW9 8PA, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest station: Brixton
The Clapham Tap
The Clapham Tap used to be a Craft Beer Co location. The beer bar has 16 taps & 5 casks. There are large beer gardens in the front and back of the premises.
Address: 128 Clapham Manor St, London SW4 6ED, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest stations: Clapham High Street, Clapham North, & Clapham Common
Waterloo Tap
Waterloo Tap is another beer bar owned by the same people who own Euston Tap, Pelt Trader, Hackney Tap, & more. The railway arch taproom has 20 kegs & 6 casks that frequently rotate.
Address: Sutton Walk, London SE1 8RL, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest station: Waterloo
Beer Hawk, Southbank
Beer Hawk is one of the most centrally located bottle shops in London. But it’s not just a bottle shop, it’s also a craft beer bar, with 12 taps in addition to a large selection of cans & bottles. The taproom is the first physical location of the AB InBev-owned online retailer Beer Hawk, with another having opened in Leeds.
Address: Unit 6, The Gallery, Stamford Street South Bank Tower Estate, London SE1 9LS, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest station: Southwark
Hop Locker
The Hop Locker is a Southbank Centre beer bar that you can potentially find in 2 locations, depending on the season. There’s one spot inside the market near Royal Festival Hall, while during the summer months, there is a Hop Locker riverfront popup underneath Hungerford Bridge. The craft beer bar & bottle shop has 9 taps, plus 60+ cans & bottles from a variety of top British breweries.
Address: Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, London, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest stations: Waterloo & Embankment
The King & Co.
The King & Co. is a Clapham beer bar with the feeling of an old pub that’s been refurbished into more of a hipster sort of place with mismatched furniture & indie music playing.
The pub’s selection of 18 taps & 6 casks leans eclectic & European, but there’s plenty of local beer, including several taps from Portobello Brewing, which now owns the bar. The kitchen features rotating pop-ups.
Address: 100 Clapham Park Rd, London SW4 7BZ, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest station: Clapham Common
The Grosvenor Arms – Affinity Brewing Company
The Grosvenor Arms is a bustling brewpub in Brixton’s northern area. The bar is also the home of Affinity Brewing Company. From the outside, it looks like a traditional pub, but following the gutting of its Victorian heritage & subsequent rescue from development, it’s now a more modern taproom inside.
The brewery & beer bar has 25 taps & casks of craft beers & ciders (about 5 or so are from Affinity), plus pizza.
Address: 17 Sidney Rd, London SW9 0TP, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest stations: Stockwell & Brixton
The Best Breweries in Brixton – Lambeth – Clapham – Vauxhall – South London
London Beer Lab
Located down a side street off Brixton Road, London Beer Lab is a local hub for beer lovers in the community. London Beer Lab opened in 2013 as the first craft brewery in Brixton.
It has a bit of everything. Amongst their up to 30 taps, you’ll find selections from London Beer Lab’s larger production brewery, but many are also from one-off in-house batches or from guest breweries. There are also fridges with cans & bottles. London Beer Lab also hosts beer-making workshops & guided tastings. For those who want to brew at home, they sell home brewing supplies.
Address: Arch 41, Railway Arches, Nursery Rd, London SW9 8BP, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest station: Brixton
Dogs Grandad Brewery
Dogs Grandad Brewery is a fantastic little spot underneath a railway arch in Brixton. It’s one of several nanobreweries in the area, making for a nice brewery crawl along what is becoming known as the Brixton Beer Mile.
It was as if the brewery had personally been built for me, with a stellar black IPA as one of its 6 taps (plus cans), Rancid playing on the stereo, and an arcade machine. And there were even dogs to pet out front.
Address: Arch 550 Brixton Station Rd, London SW9 8PF, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest stations: Brixton
Brixton Brewery Taproom
The next spot just a few arches down on Brixton Beer Mile is the Brixton Brewery Taproom.
The taproom with wood chip on the walls has 10 taps, plus cans to take away. You never know what interesting experimental beers you might find at Brixton Brewery. For example, there’s the Pista Badam, an Indian sour with rose water & pistachio almond & cardamom.
Address: Arch 548 Brixton Station Rd, London SW9 8PF, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest station: Brixton
Friendship Adventure Brewery & Taproom
Friendship Adventure Brewery specializes in refreshing sessionable beers.
Their dog-friendly taproom at Coldharbour Works has about 10 taps, with a mix of their own beer & guests. Each beer is served with some popcorn & water, which is a nice little touch. In addition to having board games, the brewery also hosts events including quiz nights, yoga, jazz, other live music, & comedy.
Address: Unit G1, Coldharbour Works, 245a Coldharbour Ln, London SW9 8RR, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest stations: Loughborough Junction & Brixton
Clarkshaws Brewery
The word “nanobrewery” might make Clarkshaws Brewery sound larger than it actually is. The tiny under-the-railway spot at Loughborough Junction has just a few seats inside and out, serving 3 taps & bottles of vegan craft beer on Saturday afternoons.
Address: 497 Ridgway Rd, London SW9 7EX, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest stations: Loughborough Junction & Brixton
Bullfinch Brewery
Follow Norwood Road south & you’ll reach Bullfinch Brewery.
The brewery often features black IPAs, which grabbed my attention. Additionally, they have guest taps, plus cans & bottles, including German & Belgian imports, all of which you can drink in their sunny beer garden.
Address: Rosendale Rd, Norwood, London SE24 9EH, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest station: Herne Hill
Bottle Shops in Brixton – Lambeth – Clapham – Vauxhall – South London
Art & Craft Beer & Bottle Shop
Art & Craft is a bottle shop & bar in Streatham. Owned by The Inkspot Brewery, Art & Craft has over 400 different craft beers available in cans & bottles, plus taps for drinking in or takeaway growlers.
The bar also has art from local artists on the walls, available for sale.
Address: 2a Streatham High Rd, London SW16 1DB, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest station: Streatham Hill
Craft Metropolis – Brixton
Craft Metropolis is first and foremost an online beer shop, but they also operate two bottle shops & taprooms in London. Their Brixton location has 10 taps plus dozens of cans & bottles from excellent breweries around the UK, plus imports.
Address: 129 Castlehaven Rd, London NW1 8SJ, United Kingdom (map)
Nearest station: Kentish Town West
If you have any other favorite places for craft beer in South London, let me know in the comments!
For more great London beer, see my related posts:
- The Bermondsey Beer Mile in London
- The best craft beer in Central London – Westminster – SoHo – Covent Garden – Pimlico – Mayfair
- The best craft beer in the City of London, England
- The best craft beer in North London – Camden – Bloomsbury – Kentish Town – Hampstead
- The best craft beer in the East End of London – Bethnal Green – Tower Hamlets
- The best craft beer in East London – Hackney – Shoreditch – Dalston – Hoxton – Clapton – Stoke Newington – Hackney Wick
- The best craft beer in Walthamstow – Blackhorse Beer Mile – Waltham Forest – Leyton – Leytonstone – Chingford – Northeast London
- The best craft beer in Stratford – Newham – Canning Town – West Ham – East Ham – East London
- The best craft beer in South London – Brixton – Lambeth – Clapham – Vauxhall
- The best craft beer in Richmond, London, England
- The best craft beer in Greenwich, England
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