Brewers in the UK

Finding a good brewery to visit in the UK

Britain has more than two thousand breweries, most of them small, and a taproom is now half the point of one: a bar in or beside the brewhouse, open on set days, pouring the beer at its freshest with food trucks, music and dogs, and a shop selling cans, bottles, minikegs and merchandise to take home. Many run tours — the mash tun, the fermenters, the story, and a tasting flight — and tastings, brew days, festivals and private hire; the larger and older breweries do it on a grander scale, the cider makers on farms do it with orchards.

Visiting well means checking the days, since taprooms open Thursday to Sunday at many breweries and tours run at set times; booking tours and brew days, which sell out; sorting the driver, since a tasting is a tasting and taprooms are often on industrial estates; and buying at the source, where the beer is freshest and cheapest and the brewery keeps the margin. Beer festivals, tap takeovers and the brewery's own events are on the listing and the brewery's social feeds.

The listings here show each brewery's beers and taproom days, tours and tastings, shop and events, hire and contact details, so you can see what is nearby, who has a taproom open this weekend or runs tours, and where people in your town drink the local beer.

These small, independent breweries are what most people mean by 'craft brewery' — the term has no legal definition in the UK, but it is this taproom-and-tour culture, not the handful of national brands, that it describes.

What breweries offer

Taprooms: the brewery's own bar pouring the range fresh, open on set days with food trucks, music, dogs and families welcome at most.

Tours and tastings: guided tours of the brewhouse with the brewer and a tasting flight, tutored tastings, and brew days where you make a beer.

Shop and take-away: cans, bottles, minikegs and growler fills, gift packs, merchandise, subscriptions and local delivery.

Events and hire: beer festivals, tap takeovers, quiz and music nights, and private hire of the taproom or brewhouse for parties and corporate days.

Cider and beyond: cider farms with orchards, tours and tastings, and the distilleries and meaderies sharing a yard with the brewery.

Before you visit a brewery

• Check the taproom days and hours; many open Thursday to Sunday only.
• Book tours and brew days ahead; they run at set times and sell out.
• Sort the driver or the bus; taprooms are often out of town.
• Ask about food; most taprooms rely on food trucks or let you bring your own.
• Check dogs and children; most taprooms welcome both until the evening.
• Buy the beer at the door; it is freshest, cheapest and keeps the margin with the brewery.

What a brewery visit costs

As a rough guide, a brewery tour with a tasting costs £12 to £25 at small breweries and £20 to £40 at the larger ones, a tutored tasting £15 to £35, a brew day £80 to £150 with beer to take home, and taproom entry is free with pints at £4 to £6.50, usually below pub prices; cans and bottles in the shop £2.50 to £5, minikegs £20 to £35, and private hire from £200 to £1,000 depending on the space and the bar tab. Festivals run £5 to £20 entry with tokens.

A pint at the taproom costs a pound less than the same beer in the pub down the road, and it has travelled twenty feet.