#200 | Bianca Road Brew Co

If you’re looking for a way to demonstrate how the UK craft beer scene has changed and evolved in the last decade, then the Bermondsey Beer Mile is a pretty good place to start. 

An amalgamation of breweries, taproom and bars that stretch along much of Enid Street and Druid Street in London SE1, businesses have come – and businesses have gone since The Kernel started brewing back in 2009.

While a lay person might not have heard of your favourite brewery or your favourite brew, the success of the Bermondsey Beer Mile meant it entered the lexicon of many outside of the craft bubble.

The wealth of hospitality environments, not all exclusively beer-forward, have helped create a destination for thirsty patrons. And if you’re remotely interested in the world of beer and great liquid then you’ve undoubtedly got your own anecdote about a visit to this part of Southeast London. If not, you certainly know someone that does.

While establishments such as Partizan, Brew By Numbers, The Bottle Shop, Hawkes Cider, uBrew, Affinity, The Outpost and Fourpure have all vacated these environs during this period, the mile – now realistically closer to being the Bermondsey Beer Two Miles – has welcomed newer names, too. Mash Paddle, Craft Beer Junction, It Ain’t Much If It Ain’t Dutch and The Kernel’s celebrated new Spa Road location have joined establishments like Cloudwater, Southwark Brewing, Anspach & Hobday, and Kanpai Sake in recent years.

And another business that has been part of the Bermondsey fabric since 2019 is Bianca Road Brew Co. Founded by engineer Reece Wood, the brewery began trading from a unit in Bianca Road, Peckham back in 2016. A move to Bermondsey followed a year later before securing its current home on Enid Street some six years ago.

Much has changed in that time, though. The brewery would initially call Brew By Numbers and The Kernel its neighbours. Though the former’s beers are now brewed outside of London by Keystone Brewing while The Kernel has its aforementioned new home a minute up the road.

And earlier this year, Bianca Road Brew Co would announce a significant milestone – with a new ownership structure taking on the Bermondsey business. As of 2025, the brewery is co-owned by Matt Simpson, Jordan Fancey, and Terry Staples – familiar faces who have helped shape Bianca Road from the inside over the years. They were joined by respected figures in UK brewing including Dennis Ratliff who brings extensive experience and a fresh sense of purpose to this new chapter. 

Ratliff was previously head brewer at Brew By Numbers and Partizan and is known for his precision, balance, and commitment to brewing quality.

And central to this evolution is the production of the core beers fans love, a wealth of seasonal and limited releases and its recently-opened new community-focused taproom. Thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign earlier in the summer, the team were able to relocate and redesign their taproom operation.

As a result, they’ve created a space with more comfortable seating and capacity for live events, while also freeing up critical space inside the brewery to install a dedicated cold store – a move that will allow for increased production, tighter cold-chain control, and even higher quality standards. And the new taproom, which is now fully up-and-running, is already proving to be the perfect showcase for the beers the team brew.

With that in mind, we recently caught up with Dennis and Jordan to discuss their own journeys, the new-look Bianca Road Brew Co, the importance of their taproom and their plans for the road ahead.