Gipsy Hill Brewing Company - Taproom
Twenty barrels that used to hold whisky or red wine sit along the far wall with beer quietly ageing in them.1
Why go
One room, five minutes' walk from Gipsy Hill station, with the long bar and the visible cellar taking up the left-hand side and three fridges of takeaway cans behind it.1 Up to ten keg lines run alongside two handpumps, which are the only cask on the site. There is no kitchen: Yard Sale Pizza delivers free every day and street-food traders rotate through the yard, which is really the car park and is a decent place to sit in warm weather.2
The brewery it faces is winding down. In October 2025 co-founder Charlie Shaw emailed customers to say the majority of brewing was moving to Curious Brewery in Kent, both businesses now sitting under Sunrise Alliance Beverages, because rent rises at Hamilton Road had been continuous and sharp in nature.
3 He set one condition on the move: the Kent beer has to match the Hamilton Road standard first. The site keeps the specials programme and the R&D work.
Order this / avoid
- Order: Hepcat, the session IPA Shaw says grew 19 per cent year on year, or one of the two handpumps, which is the only way to drink cask here.3
- Avoid: Monday and Tuesday, when it is shut, and any weekday before 4pm. Card only, so leave the cash at home.
What locals & experts say
- CAMRA, South East London branch, on the room:
A not untypical one-room brewery tap directly opposite the brewery. A sizeable space with plenty of seating and tables. Its long bar and visible cellar occupies virtually the whole of the left-hand side as you enter with three large fridges stocking beers for take-away.
1 - Charlie Shaw, co-founder, October 2025, on the rent that moved the brewing:
Despite all the success we continue to have at Gipsy Hill, including a 19% year-on-year increase in sales of our flagship Hepcat this year, no amount of growth or improved efficiency can offset our escalating overheads.
And on the beer:We have never and will never make changes that compromise the quality of our beers. Whether that's slashing tank time or changing recipes.
3
Good to know
- Where: Unit 5, 160 Hamilton Road SE27 9SF. The brewery is Unit 8 across the way, so the two unit numbers are two buildings and both are correct.
- Hours: Wednesday and Thursday 4pm to 10pm, Friday 4pm to 11pm, Saturday noon to 11pm, Sunday noon to 8pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday.2
- Booking: tables go through the brewery's own booking link, and the room does partial or full private hire.
- Payment: card only.1
- Thursdays: a run club meets at 7pm and drinks afterward.
Verdict
could-visit — A one-room tap five minutes from Gipsy Hill station with up to ten keg lines, two handpumps and twenty ex-whisky and ex-red-wine barrels ageing beer along the far wall, which CAMRA's surveyor logged and the brewery does not advertise. Yard Sale delivers pizza free every day and street-food vendors rotate through the yard, so a long session works. The reason it is not higher is the reason to go soon: co-founder Charlie Shaw told customers in October 2025 that most brewing moves to Curious Brewery in Kent because the rent at Hamilton Road had risen continuously and sharply, so the brewery you are sitting opposite is winding down to specials, R&D and logistics until the lease runs out. Closed Monday and Tuesday, card only.