Craft Beer Taproom Near Me in West Norwood: Gipsy Hill Brewing Co

Gipsy Hill Brewing Co's taproom sits at Unit 5, 160 Hamilton Road, London SE27 9SF, about 550 metres from Gipsy Hill station, and on a Saturday it opens at noon with the yard already set out with benches. If you are looking for a craft beer taproom near me in south London without the crush of Bermondsey, this is the neighbourhood option: card only, dogs welcome, families welcome, and step-free from the gate to the bar and toilet. The bar is open Thursday to Sunday, from late afternoon on Thursday and Friday and from noon at weekends.

The brewery takes its name from Gipsy Hill, the slope and station a few minutes up the road. Co-founder Charlie Shaw and his business partner Sam met in 2013 at The Rake, the tiny beer bar in Borough Market, and began brewing here in July 2014. Southpaw was the first beer out of the tanks and Beatnik followed, but the release that made the name was Hepcat, a session IPA launched when the first brewery taproom opened in 2015.

Growth came in steps the brewery's own history lists year by year: a fully accessible taproom in 2018, and the space doubled in 2022. Sunrise Alliance Beverages bought the company in October 2024, and in October 2025 the brewery announced that most production would move to Curious Brewery in Kent. Shaw said at the time that the team was investing heavily in the tap room and extending it into the neighbouring unit, so the Hamilton Road bar is the part of Gipsy Hill that stays in London.

Hepcat, a 4.6 percent session IPA, is still the brewery's bestseller and the obvious first order. Swell Lager is the crisp choice for a hot afternoon in the yard, Trail Pale sits in between, Bandit is brewed gluten-free, and HepcAF covers drivers and anyone pacing themselves. CAMRA counts up to ten keg lines and two handpumps, and the bar carries guest cask alongside the house range, so the board usually holds something from another brewery as well.

For a sense of value, the brewery's own webshop sells Hepcat at 2 pounds a can and Swell Lager and Bandit at 1.88 pounds a can in multipacks, which makes this one of the cheaper south London beers to take home. Order thirds at the bar if you want to work across the range, since the core beers are all moderate in strength and the differences are clearer side by side.

There is no kitchen of its own. Street food traders rotate through the yard, and Yard Sale Pizza delivers to the taproom for free every day it opens, so ordering a pizza to the table is the reliable fallback when the trader of the week is not to your taste. Indoor seating is generous for an industrial unit, and the yard outside takes the overflow when the weather holds.

Because the bar welcomes both children and dogs, weekend afternoons draw a neighbourhood mix rather than a pub-crawl crowd. The EAA Run Club meets here every Thursday at 7 pm, and big sporting fixtures go up on a big screen, so expect a louder room on match days. If you want quiet conversation, choose a weekend lunchtime with no fixture on the calendar.

The taproom takes table bookings and private hire through taproom@gipsyhillbrewing.com, and Instagram at @ghbc_taproom is where the week's food and events are posted. Payment is card only, so leave the cash at home. The bar and toilet are fully wheelchair accessible, which is rare among south London brewery yards built into old trade units.

A practical tip for groups: book by email for anything over six people on a Saturday, since that is the longest session of the week and the one most likely to coincide with televised sport.

Opening times differ between the brewery's own page and the CAMRA listing, which was surveyed in August 2026. Both agree the bar is shut Monday to Wednesday and opens on Thursday from 4 pm, Saturday from noon and Sunday from noon. On Friday, aim for 6 pm or later and you will find it open under either set of hours, with the evening running on to at least 10 pm.

Skip a Sunday visit that starts after 5 pm, since CAMRA has the bar closing at 6 pm on Sundays and you may arrive to the last orders bell. Thursday evening has the most going on, because the run club gathers at 7 pm and the week's food trader is usually set up by then.

Gipsy Hill rewards a short walk once the taproom closes. Walk up past the station to Great Southern at 79 Gipsy Hill, SE19 1QH, a bar that opens on Tuesday at 4 pm and from noon Wednesday to Saturday, with Sunday hours until 10:30 pm. A few doors further up the hill, Bull and Finch at 126 Gipsy Hill, SE19 1PL, is the tap of Bullfinch Brewery, opens Wednesday to Sunday and takes card only.

Bullfinch is a neat link to the Bermondsey Beer Mile, because the brewery once shared an arch on Druid Street before settling in south London. For daylight, Norwood Park is a short walk from Hamilton Road, and the climb up Gipsy Hill itself opens views north over the city before the train home.

Address: Gipsy Hill Brewing Co Taproom, Unit 5, 160 Hamilton Road, West Norwood, London SE27 9SF, about 550 metres from Gipsy Hill station. The bar is closed Monday to Wednesday and open Thursday from 4 pm, Friday from the evening, and Saturday and Sunday from noon. Card only. Dogs and families are welcome, and the bar and toilet are fully accessible. Food comes from rotating street food traders and free Yard Sale Pizza delivery. Bookings and private hire: taproom@gipsyhillbrewing.com.