The London brewing landscape, like much of the UK, is in a state of transition. While some breweries have gone, many new businesses have emerged while others have gained a new lease of life. At Bianca Road Brew Co, things are only just getting started.

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. 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.

“For me beer is a big tent,” says Ratliff. “Even though I’m more traditional in my taste preferences, beer is supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be enjoyable. So we’ll make the classics, and we’ll make the wacky stuff, too. There are over 200 recognised styles and then all of the subcategories beneath that. So you tell me you don’t like beer? What are you talking about! I promise there’s something out there for you.”

And if the swathes of patrons that frequent the brewery’s ever-popular Bermondsey spot are to go by, he’s not wrong. A range of rotating Bianca Road beers complement more regular numbers such as the team’s 4.8% Helles Lager Mirror Mirror, their Session IPA Long Play, the 5.8% IPA Daydream, Pale Ale Hay-Z as well as the brewery’s 4% Fruited Sour Razzmatazz.

Ratliff took his own first steps into the world of craft beer back in the 1990s. Based in the US, his eyes were opened to burgeoning craft beer revolution and all the weird and wonderful beers to emerge from it. “I was in the US Army and when you’re on post (your current assignment location), you don’t pay any taxes on the alcohol you buy. Travelling a lot meant I could try all these beers that were wildly different to the yellow, cold and fizzy liquid of my youth.”

He adds: “When I finished my service and started university I soon found out how much alcohol costs when you pay taxes on it! So back in 1996 I hit the public library and started learning more about how to make it myself.”

Fast-forward to 2001 and Ratliff found himself in Pittsburgh. He got a job working at Pennsylvania Brewing Company on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Roles washing kegs and progressing through apprenticeship programmes gave him invaluable experience in the trade before his wife’s work in the chemicals industry took them to Chicago.

Here Ratliff joined the team at Emmett’s Brewing in the western suburbs, a brewpub chain that produces beers such as Cow Tipper Milk Stout, Peace Keeper American Wheat Ale and World’s End, a New World IPA. But just as work had taken them to Chicago, London would soon come calling.

“In 2016 my wife had the opportunity to come here with work. As soon as I found out what was happening in the world of craft beer in London and the UK I was like ‘Ok, I’m in!’”

Ratliff would work as head brewer at Brew By Numbers then, after that, Partizan Brewing. Two Bermondsey mainstays for much of the Beer Mile’s initial ascendancy. “While I enjoy drinking the classics, working at breweries in the US, then here in the UK, has allowed me to turn my hand to Germany-style Lagers, to Saisons, IPAs and everything in-between.”

And now, as part of the new leadership team at Bianca Road Brew Co, he and the team are utilising their rich mix of experience to help lead the London brewery into its latest chapter. Ratliff is working with the other co-owners that include Matt Simpson, Jordan Fancey, and Terry Staples. 

“When Reece, the former owner of this brewery, decided to sell, we knew there was an opportunity,” says Ratliff. “As operations director Matt Simpson had been working alongside Jordan who was handling the head brewer role. So when Matt called, I said ‘Let’s take a look at the book to make sure things work out but yes – count me in’.”

He adds: “I know how much of an impact Jordan has had on the beers here. The quality had really, really improved. So combining that with someone like Matt who knows the business, a great sales colleague like Terry and Andrew who has so much excellent experience at larger breweries, we knew our backgrounds would complement each other very well. I knew it would work.”

Ratliff would initially meet Jordan Fancey at Riverside, a festival organised by Brew By Numbers. Then a part of Portsmouth-based Staggeringly Good, the duo hit it off early on. “There were lots of people to meet and then lots of bars and pubs to visit after. It was very fun but very blurry time. For me, at least!” recalls Fancey.

Now part of a new-look Bianca Road Brew Co, Fancey has enjoyed being part of a team that can now call itself co-owners. And that autonomy also applies to the beers he and the team produce. 

“We are now a brewery defined by continuous improvement. Whether it’s a new release or dialling in a core beer, we are fully-focused on making the beers the best they can be. That’s a journey that doesn’t stop,” he says.

“Working with great suppliers has always been a pleasure, too. From Niche Solutions to Yakima Chief Hops, Barth Haas and everyone in-between. They have helped improve our process and the beers we make.”

And these beers are enjoyed in the trade as well as the excellent new taproom. It’s that immediate market research is something that Fancey thrives on. “You start to make little relationships with people. And 99% of the time they’ll love the beer and want to say something nice to you.

“But there are other moments where you can decipher if they’re not fully-happy. That’s wonderful because you want to pick up on where we can improve and what we can improve on. These taproom spaces afford us that and that’s so important for the business to grow.”

It’s this new space, backed by an enthused, excited and driven team, that is helping propel the brewery into 2026 and beyond.

“Craft beer is still relatively young,” says Ratliff. “But people’s expectations have risen a lot in the last 10 or so years. You can no longer get away with selling beer at a premium and serving it in a cold warehouse with pallets for tables. That’s simply not going to fly, man.”

He concludes: “This time working with our team has been super rewarding. But we want to go onwards, upwards, bigger and better. I mean that. We are getting great feedback across the board, and I look at the room for growth in this world of craft beer. Maybe I’m an optimist but there is still plenty of space for us to grow into. As I said, it’s a big tent. There’s room for everybody – us included.”