We get asked this a lot by first-timers booking onto the Beer Mile: "so what exactly is a taproom, is it just a fancy word for a pub?" It's a fair question, because from the outside a taproom and a pub can look pretty similar — bar, taps, people with pints. But a taproom is a genuinely different kind of venue, and understanding what makes one different is half the fun of a day spent visiting several. Here's what a taproom actually is, how it differs from a pub or bar, and exactly what to expect when you walk into one of the six we visit on our guided tour.
What is a taproom, exactly?
A taproom is a bar run by the brewery itself, usually built into or right alongside the space where the beer is actually made. Instead of buying in kegs and casks from lots of different producers the way a typical pub does, a taproom mostly — sometimes exclusively — pours its own brewery's beer, often just metres from the tanks it came out of. Many London taprooms sit inside railway arches or industrial units that double as working breweries, so you can genuinely see the brewing kit through a window or an open archway while you drink.
The word itself is old: a "tap room" was originally just the room in a brewery or pub where the cask was tapped and served directly, long before the modern craft beer scene borrowed the term. What's changed is scale and intent — today's taprooms are purpose-built as a brewery's own shopfront, a way to sell beer at its absolute freshest and build a direct relationship with the people drinking it, rather than a byproduct room tacked onto production.
Taproom vs pub vs bar: what's actually different
The easiest way to think about it is who owns the beer and who owns the venue:
- A pub is typically an independent business (or part of a pub chain) that buys beer in from many different breweries, often through a distributor, and might have a dozen or more brands on the bar at once.
- A bar is broader still — cocktails, wine, spirits and beer from wherever, with no particular connection to any one producer.
- A taproom is owned and operated by a single brewery, pouring mostly (or only) its own beer, frequently on-site at the brewery itself. Fewer taps, but everything on them was brewed by the people serving it to you.
That direct link is the whole point. In a taproom you're often served by someone who genuinely helped brew the beer, or who at least works for the people who did, rather than a bar staff member managing dozens of unrelated brands. It tends to show in how knowledgeably questions get answered.
What to expect when you walk into a taproom
Taprooms vary in style — some are polished, some are deliberately no-frills railway arches with bench seating and a hatch — but a few things are usually true. The beer is as fresh as it gets, often just days out of the tank. The range changes regularly, since small breweries brew short, seasonal batches rather than one fixed lineup all year. And you can usually see, or at least glimpse, the actual brewing equipment, which is something you'll never get in a standard pub. Food is hit and miss: some taprooms run their own kitchen, others rely on a street-food trader parked outside at weekends, and a few have nothing at all, so it's worth eating first or checking ahead.
Opening hours are the other big difference from a normal pub. Because taprooms exist to sell a brewery's own beer rather than to be a full-time hospitality business, many only open a few days a week — Friday evening and Saturday being the classic pattern along the Bermondsey Beer Mile, with some also opening Sundays. Turning up on a Tuesday hoping to find six arches open is a common rookie mistake.
Do you need to book a taproom visit?
For a casual pint on an open day, no — most London taprooms are free to walk into and you simply pay for what you drink, the same as a pub. Where booking matters is for anything more structured: a formal tasting flight, a brewery tour of the kit itself, or a group visit, which some breweries ask you to arrange in advance so they can plan capacity. If you want to visit several taprooms in one day without worrying about which ones happen to be open, that's exactly the gap a guided crawl fills.
What to expect at our six stops on the Bermondsey Beer Mile
Our guided Bermondsey Beer Tasting Tour (£49pp, 2–3.5 hours, tastings included) takes you through four independent taprooms along the railway arches of South East London, with a local guide walking you between them and explaining what makes each one tick. We meet at Southwark Brewing Co, 46 Druid St, and from there you'll move through a genuine mix of taproom styles — some sleek and modern, some scrappy arches with a hatch and a few picnic benches — tasting a beer at every stop rather than just wandering past. We've been running the tour since 2014 and host private groups from 6 up to 60+, so it works equally well as a first proper introduction to taprooms or a group day out. See our Beer Mile route guide for the full stop-by-stop rundown, or our roundup of the best breweries area by area if you want to explore beyond Bermondsey afterwards.
Taproom etiquette: a few tips
- Order at the bar, not table service. Most taprooms work like a self-service bar — walk up, order, pay, find a seat.
- Ask questions. Staff genuinely know the beer and are usually happy to explain a style or suggest what to try next.
- Check opening days before you go. Unlike a pub, "shut on a Wednesday" is completely normal for a taproom.
- Bring cash as a backup. Most take card, but a small float is handy at busier street-food stalls outside.
- Pace yourself across several stops. Thirds and halves let you taste more without overdoing it — useful advice for any day that involves more than one taproom.
Why taprooms took over London's beer scene
A decade or so ago, most small breweries sold almost everything through pubs, bottle shops and supermarkets, keeping only a token corner for visitors. That's flipped. Selling direct from a taproom means a brewery keeps a bigger share of the price, gets instant feedback on new beers, and builds a following that will follow it from batch to batch. It's a big part of why the Bermondsey Beer Mile exists at all — a concentration of small breweries that each decided their own arch was worth opening up to the public, and collectively turned a stretch of railway arches into one of the best beer destinations in the country. If you're curious what actually separates that kind of independent operation from a mass-market brand, our what is craft beer explainer covers the size, independence and ingredients side of the story.
Make a full day of it
Taprooms are best experienced in a run rather than one at a time, which is really the whole idea behind our tour. Pair it with our free self-guided heritage walk through Southwark's brewing history, or finish with our Saturday cheese, meat & beer tour to see how taproom beer pairs with proper food. Between the three, it's a genuinely complete day built entirely around independent brewing.
Gift a taproom day
If you know someone who'd love a proper introduction to taproom culture rather than another bottle of beer as a present, our gift vouchers are delivered instantly by email and never expire, so they can pick their own date. It also makes a solid pick for a work social — see private & group tours for details on booking a group of 6 to 60+.