Your favourite micro-brewery outside of sussex?

[DerbyGull]

Obviously most of you are impartial towards Harvey's or darkstar. But what is your fave micro-brewery from the wider country? Maybe you've encountered then on the road, at an away game for example.

My favourite has to be the The Headless Brewing Co.

Others being: marble brewery, townhouse brewery, exmoor ales, darkstar.

I'm currently in York and drinking the York Brewery's 'Guzzler'. It's not bad but nothing special.

Anyone care to share theirs..

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

Well outside of Sussex - Dogfish Head Brewery, Delaware USA and Full Sail Brewery in Oregon USA. Both wipe the floor with Harveys IMHO.

 

[Norman Potting]

Not sure what constitutes "micro" but Hopback Brewery, the inventors of the legendary Summer Lightning, would get my vote. Very partial to a drop of Titanic stout from the Titaninc Brewery of Stoke on Trent I believe. Not sure how micro they are either as this ale is available in Morrisons.

 

[DerbyGull]

Not sure what constitutes "micro" but Hopback Brewery, the inventors of the legendary Summer Lightning, would get my vote. Very partial to a drop of Titanic stout from the Titaninc Brewery of Stoke on Trent I believe. Not sure how micro they are either as this ale is available in Morrisons.

I guess micro's wouldn't be selling bottles in supermarkets. They tend to keep it small scale. And by keeping it small scale they keep that home made flavour rather than the horrible mass produced flavour that those who sell out tend to end up. Titanic is a good one

 

[IKDRF]

any number in and around somerset...some great cider producers

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Is the Three Tuns at Bishop's Castle, Shropshire, still brewing?

 

[fataddick]

Hard to define microbrewery really, Harveys would certainly be viewed as a regional independent, as would Dark Star possibly, but then microbrewery is an American phrase (less than 15k US barrels which is under 13k UK barrels per annum) and I don't know the brewing output of said places.

I'll stick with the easier definition of pubs that brew on site, and go with these:

SOUTH EAST
Meantime's new microbrewery in Greenwich (Brewing company in London. Microbrewery at the The Old Brewery in Greenwich). Though the main brewery is a warehouse in Charlton, they have just opened up an experimental microbrewery in the Royal Naval College, supplying their new onsite bar/restaurant. Also, as others have mentioned elsewhere, Harveys have now started an experimental microbrewery on the ground floor of their Lewes brewery, which I got a brief glimpse of on an tour late last year. Even Guinness have started a small microbrewery on their huge Dublin site, so clearly even bigger brewers see this as the way forward for niche 'boutique' brews.

REST OF UK
Marble Brewery in the Marble Arch pub in Manchester (ace ginger and chocolate beers that can now be found in discerning pubs all over the UK). Honourable mentions for the Coach & Horses (Chalk Hill Brewery) in Norwich, Fat Cat (Kelham Island Brewery) in Sheffield, and The Brewery Tap (Oakham Ales) in Peterborough.

EUROPE
The 7Stern brewpub in Vienna (Welcome in 7 Stern online!) walks this. The coppers are in the middle of a circular bar and brewers have to barge past you to check on the fermenting. They specialise in a mental chili lager-beer, and a hemp/cannabis beer. The runners-up are both from Dublin: Messrs Maguire brewpub in Dublin (now also exporting to UK pubs) wins it for overall beer selection, and the Porterhouse chain (three pubs in Dublin, one in Covent Garden) make the best stout - Wrasslers XXX - in the world. Guinness is shit by comparison.

REST OF THE WORLD
Dominated by the USA, obviously, I favour Boston Beer Works (two brewpubs in Boston, one in witchity Salem, all brew on site) which always have 12+ of their own beers on, usually - in true American microbrew style - including several fun flavours, eg pumpkin, blueberry, vanilla, maple syrup, etc. Chelsea Brewing Company in NYC is a more flaccid second place.

Of non-brewed in a pub 'microbreweries', Cantillon (Brussels), Dogfish Head (Delaware), Rogue (Oregon) and Brewdog (Aberdeen) rule most of the schools...

Thanks for asking x

 

[CheeseRolls]

1 Sarah Hughes Brewery at the Beacon Hotel Sedgeley. Always enjoy a pint of Dark Ruby, whenever I come across it.

2 Palmers of Bridport, my favourite IPA.

3 Donnington beautiful spot and the beer isn't bad

 

[Beeercan]

Cropton Brewery, Cropton N.Yorks

Their "Yorkshire Warrior" beer is loverly best enjoyed straight from pump available in their brewery pub only. It was made in aid of the Yorkshire Regiment and helps out wounded soldiers and their families. Does come in bottles but its not quite as good

 

[Mackenzie]

Wye Valley in Hereford do some really nice beers. Butty Bach is exceptional.

 

[topdollar]

Red squirrel in heartford do a range of cracking hoppy golden beers as well as their London porter which is quality! Also have to agree with the marble brewery, their beer named pint is quality and very similar to Oakham jhb. Oh and not forgetting thornbridge at 7.7% their halcylon is strong but amazingly hopped.

 

[The Peanut Roaster]

Very partial to a drop of Titanic stout from the Titaninc Brewery of Stoke on Trent I believe.

Always goes down well.

 

[Gwylan]

2 Palmers of Bridport, my favourite IPA.

That's a lovely pint - and available* in The Swan at Falmer if anyone fancies a pint after going down to the see the stadium.

(* or was just in November, haven't been back there since then)

 

[middletoenail]

The Eden Project have their own brew called 'Eden Ale' which I quite like, worth a try if your're down that neck of the woods.

 

[Joe Gatting's Dad]

Try "Gem" from Bath Ales (brewed a mile down the road from me) - available in bottled form from Waitrose in Brighton.

 

[Curious Orange]

I can't remember who brewed it, but I came away from the "Sing Ye from the Hillsides" festival at the Tan Hill Inn a couple of years ago with a whole case of British Ale Power! Delicious.

 

[The Large One]

Wye Valley in Hereford do some really nice beers. Butty Bach is exceptional.

Agreed. Had some in the local next door to the in-law's cottage down that way.

Then I got into a conversation with the locals...

 

[attila]

Thornbridge (their Jaipur IPA is ACE, and they now have a reciprocal agreement with Dark Star so we should be seeing a lot more of it down here)
Oakham (for JHB and Bishop's Farewell, not just the Attila, which is lovely but 7.5%....)
Wye Valley (always brings back happy memories of the Hereford game!)

 

[Mackenzie]

Try "Gem" from Bath Ales (brewed a mile down the road from me) - available in bottled form from Waitrose in Brighton.

Bath Ales are another of my favourites. A couple of pints up at Bath races is always a good day out.

 

[Mackenzie]

Agreed. Had some in the local next door to the in-law's cottage down that way.

Then I got into a conversation with the locals...

Did you remind them of 'that' game?