London experiences,
September 17 2023
We are a nation of craft beer fans, and, apparently, 65% of British drinkers prefer craft beer to mainstream pints. And not a nation to miss a trick, there are now exciting new independent microbreweries and brewery tours popping up across the capital. You can learn the art of beer making and beer tasting and discover a new favourite tipple along the way. This is our selection of the best brewery tours in London.
Brewing craft beer since 2013, Hackney’s Five Points Brewery & Taproom is an independent brewery that sells over 3 million pints a year. It hosts a two 90-minute brewery tours on Saturday afternoons, with beer experts taking you around the brewhouse, barrel-ageing project and packing lines. You learn about the history of beer, the science of brewing and taste four Five Points beers fresh from the tank to finish your beer experience in London’s coolest neighbourhood.
Fuller’s was founded in Chiswick in 1845, brewing from the historic Griffin Brewery. It’s also famous for its award-winning global brand beer, London Pride. And you can learn how they do it on a Fuller’s brewery tour. London’s historic Griffin Brewery has a rich brewing history, and you’ll see how brewing methods have evolved here. This Chiswick brewery tour lasts 1 hour 45 minutes and gives you time to sample the full Fuller’s range of beer and ciders at the Brewery bar.
An elevated version of a pub crawl, this Bermondsey Beer Mile tour takes you along a stretch of railway arches with 15 independently run taprooms and breweries. It’s a route you can do yourself or you can join the Bermondsey Cheese Meat & Beer Tour for an organised group trip. These craft beer sites open their doors to the public on a Saturday afternoon, so this is the time to go. You can start with some food at Maltby Street Market to line the stomach then go along the arches down Druid Street, Enid Street and Almond Road.
See craft brewing in action in Brixton, where every member of staff knows their stuff, and each beer name has a Brixton connection. This brewery tour tells a story of how friends with a passion for home brewing started something special. They experimented and expanded before a partnership with Heineken scaled up their brewing dreams. The Brixton Brewery Tours are every Saturday at 4pm and end with a taproom tasting session.
More of a lager fan? Then this tour is for you. Pillars Brewery is London’s first craft lager brewery and taproom, and it’s run by a team of family and friends. On a mission to improve the reputation of lager, the folks at Pillars let you see how they create their beer in a traditional Bavarian-style brewhouse and tailor the water profile to the beer. There’s a beer sommelier to help you pair food and lagers and a trip around the brewery as part of a 2-hour tour.
If you’re feeling a little wobbly on your feet after your beer tasting experience. London’s Thistle Hotels are ready to help you take a load off and give you a great night’s sleep.
