Historic breweries, coppers gleaming under oak-timbered ceilings and mystic brews frothing in antique stone ‘squares’, micro breweries with state-of-the-art stainless steel.
Take your pick of brewery tours nationwide – a visit to Fuller’s in Chiswick starts in their friendly pub. Magnificent Shire horses delivered barrels in Victorian times; see their descendents at Youngs in Wandsworth, and Yorkshire’s Samuel Smith’s. ‘Research’ your favourite flavour – taste a Fursty Ferret from Hall & Woodhouse, sip a Boondoggle or Old Thumper from Ringwood. Learn the language of the malts: caramel crystal, dark-roasted chocolate – they smell delicious.
The cooper – the craftsman making classic wooden barrels – has a hard apprenticeship, and any graduating at Theakston's celebrates with a ‘bath’ in a barrel of beer.
The Ploughman’s lunch – a glass of cool ale, tangy regional cheese and perhaps a pickled onion or two is the ideal lunch for a day exploring, or a ‘Pie and a Pint’ – tasty, restorative food. However you enjoy your beer, it’s a taste to savour!
Use the links below to find out more about some of England's brewery tours...
Bath Ales
Based between Bath and Bristol, Bath Ales are an independent micro-brewery that has been established since 1995.
Black Sheep
Situated at the gateway to Wensleydale, Masham is the home of the Black Sheep Brewery, which contains a Visitors' Centre and a bistro.
Cains
The Dusanjs are the first Asian family ever to run a British brewery, the brothers are building on the fine traditions of excellent quality ales and the entrepreneurial spirit of Robert Cain.
Chiltern
Founded in 1980, The Chiltern Brewery was one of the first of the "new wave" micro-breweries in England.
Fullers
The Fuller's brewery tour offers beer-lovers the chance to see just how great beer is brewed. The Griffin Brewery tours shows modern machinery combining with traditional brewing methods to produce Fuller's award-winning ales.
Greene King
Greene King has operated pubs and brewing for over 200 years, and has grown steadily from its base in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk to become a leading pub retailer and brewer.
Hall & Woodhouse
Badger, one of Britain's most respected independent brewers, has brewed fine distinctive ales for well over 200 years. Today the company is run by the fifth generation of the Woodhouse family.
Hydes
Established in 1863, Hydes Brewery, the Manchester Brewer is one of the few British regional breweries that is still owned and managed as a family business.
Marston's
Marston's Brewery was built in 1834 in Burton-upon-Trent, the town that is traditionally seen as the home of British brewing.
Ringwood
Ringwood Brewery was founded by Peter Austin in 1978, a man who is revered as "the father of British micro-brewing".
St. Peter's
St Peter's specialises in the finest quality traditional & speciality beers and ales brewed in the heart of the Suffolk countryside.
Wadworth
Founded in 1875, Wadworth in Devizes, Wiltshire boasts an enviable tradition in the brewing of fine beers. The Northgate brewery, with its impressive Victorian façade was designed and built by Henry Wadworth and is still run as a family business. The Visitor Centre opened in December 2008 and Brewery Tours are now available.
Woodforde's
As well as using water from their own spring, Woodforde's use only the finest local ingredients including Norfolk-grown Barley, malted in Norfolk by Simpson's Malt and Crisp’s Malt.
Zerodegrees Restaurant and Microbrewery
Zerodegrees is a pioneering drinking and dining concept at the forefront of the emerging trend towards fresh, handcrafted beers brewed by microbreweries.
