Craft Beer Taproom Near Me: Cloudwater's Bermondsey Arch on Enid Street

Cloudwater runs its only London bar from a railway arch at 73 Enid Street, London SE16 3RA, about 650 metres from Bermondsey Underground, and the beer on its 19 draught lines is brewed in Manchester and sent south fresh. For anyone searching craft beer taproom near me in Bermondsey, this is the arch with the longest opening week on the Beer Mile: Monday 5 pm to 10 pm, Tuesday to Thursday 3 pm to 10 pm, Friday 1 pm to 10 pm, Saturday noon to 10 pm and Sunday noon to 8 pm. Cans to take away start at 3.60 pounds for the alcohol-free Fresh.

Paul Jones and James Campbell founded Cloudwater in Manchester on 13 January 2014, and the first beers were brewed on 14 February 2015. Campbell, formerly head brewer at Marble, left in 2018, and Jones has run the company since. The name pairs two plain English words, and it also translates the Zen term unsui, meaning cloud and water, a word for wandering monks. Brewing still happens in Manchester on a 24-hectolitre, three-vessel brewhouse with eighteen fermenters.

The London arch was announced in April 2018 with a simple goal: put beer in front of London drinkers less than a day after it was packaged up north. Jones said Bermondsey itself had been one of the reasons he started a brewery in the first place, and the taproom opened on 14 November 2018. Nearly eight years on it is the brewery's showroom in the south, a place to drink each new release the week it lands.

Behind the bar sits a cold store held at 5 degrees Celsius, and every line runs straight from it, which is why hoppy pales here taste brighter than the same beer from a fridge at home. There are 19 draught taps, one cask handpull and a rotating pour from the Barrel Project, Cloudwater's mixed fermentation and barrel-aged series. The draught menu does not list prices, and measures run from thirds up to pints, so ask for a third when the barrel beers or the 11 percent imperial stouts come on.

The fridge list is where the published prices live. Piccadilly Pilsner and the pale ale Happy are 3.75 pounds a can to take away, Fuzzy is 4 pounds, the nitro stout Green Lane is 4.40 pounds, and the big Mayan Continuous Improvement stout runs to 13 pounds. Guest cans include Duration's Bet the Farm at 8 pounds and a half-litre of Augustiner Hell at 4.50 pounds. Drinking a can inside adds 2 pounds per item, except on Tuesdays, when the takeaway price applies at the tables too.

The vault is hung with oversized fabric banners reproducing Cloudwater can artwork, so the room reads like a gallery of the last few years of releases. The space is step-free with an accessible toilet, something not every brick arch on this street can offer. Le Grappin natural wine, cider, soft drinks and spirits are on hand for anyone not drinking beer.

Food is limited to snacks, so eat before you arrive or pick something up at Maltby Street Market on a Saturday. The usual reason to come is freshness: a Cloudwater pale poured here days after canning, rather than one that has sat in a shop fridge for weeks. Regulars watch the tap list, which the bar updates online as new releases land, and time a visit for the week a favourite returns.

Children are welcome with their parents until 8 pm, and dogs on a lead are fine. The taproom takes standard and private bookings every day of the week except Saturday, when it is walk-in only. Fancy dress is not allowed, and hen and stag parties are turned away, a rule that keeps the arch calmer than some neighbours on a weekend afternoon.

For questions or bookings, email 73enidst@cloudwaterbrew.co, since the arch does not publish its own phone line. If you want a table for six on a Friday evening, book it, because Friday is the longest weekday session, opening at 1 pm, and the end-of-week rush lands on it. A booked table is not possible on Saturday, so a group set on a Saturday visit should aim for the noon opening.

Tuesday is the insider day. Cans cost the takeaway price even when you drink them at a table, the room is quieter, and the bar opens at 3 pm, so a late-afternoon session can work through three or four different cans for less than a Saturday round. Monday is also unusual on the mile, since many Bermondsey arches stay shut and Cloudwater opens at 5 pm.

Skip Saturday between 2 pm and 6 pm unless you enjoy queuing at the bar behind large groups. If the arch is full, the Against The Grain Cidery is roughly ten metres away at 76 Enid Street, open Wednesday to Friday 4 pm to 10 pm and weekends from 1 pm, and it makes a good holding spot until tables free up. Big Hug Social, which took over the former Gosnells site at 72 Enid Street in 2026, is right alongside too.

Enid Street sits in the middle stretch of the Bermondsey Beer Mile, so a sensible loop starts in the west at Druid Street, works through the arches around Maltby Street and finishes here before walking down to Bermondsey station on Jamaica Road. Going the other way, the Spa Road end of the arches leads towards Southwark Park, a pleasant place to sober up on a bright Sunday afternoon.

Tower Bridge is about a fifteen-minute walk north through Shad Thames, and the riverside path there is the obvious way to end a long session. Keep track of strengths along the way, because the fridge runs from a 0.5 percent pale up to an 11 percent imperial stout.

Address: Cloudwater, 73 Enid Street, London SE16 3RA, in a railway arch about 650 metres from Bermondsey station on the Jubilee line and roughly 1,300 metres from London Bridge. Hours are Monday 5 pm to 10 pm, Tuesday to Thursday 3 pm to 10 pm, Friday 1 pm to 10 pm, Saturday noon to 10 pm and Sunday noon to 8 pm. Cans to take away cost from 3.60 pounds, with 2 pounds added for drinking in except on Tuesdays. Children are allowed until 8 pm, dogs are welcome on a lead, and the venue is step-free. Bookings are taken Sunday to Friday via 73enidst@cloudwaterbrew.co.