Take a load off at these taprooms in the South West and swig fresh-from-the-barrel homegrown brews: from experimental stouts and sours, flagship ales and IPAs, to leftfield porters and pilsners
DEYA, Cheltenham
It’s never a quick drink when you drop into DEYA’s taproom in Cheltenham. The dizzying amount of choice includes 25 draft lines of DEYA brews, tinnies featuring its fresh releases, as well as softies, natural wine and ciders for those who are hopped out.
The indie brewery specialises in hoppy beers, lagers, traditional-style sips and mixed fermentation ales. May Hill is a great example of one of its more off-piste pours: the mixed fermentation ale is brewed with wheat before its fermented and conditioned with a mixed culture of yeast and bacteria, then aged in oak for a year. Following this process, it’s refermented for 12 weeks with local Blaisdon plums and the resulting drink yields notes of plum, cherry, fizzy cola bottle sweets, strawberry bootlaces, lemon sherbet and cranberry.
The taproom is at the heart of its operation and is where the crew regularly throw events in the industrial-cool space, collaborating with DJs, musicians and food trucks.
Driftwood Spars, St Agnes, Cornwall
Driftwood Spars’ brewery and pub might be across the road from one another, but we’re still counting it as one of our favourite taprooms in the South West.
Visitors to this rugged patch of the north coast rarely leave without having formed a soft spot for the coastal microbrewery, where small batch brews are handcrafted a stone’s throw from the dramatic cliffs and crashing waves of Trevaunance Cove. Tours and experiences at the brewery are available, while the pub awaits for more pints and pub grub feasting.
Driftwood has been making waves on the brewing scene since it launched on the millennium, thanks to its consistently high quality ranges of beer, crafted from premium British malts and using the finest hops the brewers can get their hands on. Dyed-in-the-wool beer drinkers will appreciate Driftwood’s classic range, while those who prefer contemporary styles will want to crack open a cold one from the Cove range. A winter winner is Midnight Skinny Dipper: a smooth and rich milk stout with sweet and satisfying flavours of chocolate and caramel.
Lyme Regis Brewery, Dorset
This courtyard taproom is a treasured find for quaffable craft beer in Lyme Regis.
Managed by four beer-loving locals, the Jurassic Coast brewery produces a vast array of drops which are available to imbibe in the taproom, in addition to guest brews the team have recently discovered and deem new and noteworthy.
Expect to whet your whistle with the likes of Longshore Lager, a pour inspired by the local landscape that takes its name from the sweeping shoreline of Lyme Bay which spans from Start Point in the west to Portland Bill in the east. The lager delivers a taste of the terroir thanks to its use of quality English malted barley and hop varieties.
Food Lifestyle tip: live music sessions in summer dial the experience up a notch.
Electric Bear, Bath
For nearly a decade the Electric Bear gang have served up flavour-forward pints at their taproom on the outskirts of Bath.
While ownership of the brewery has changed hands over the years, the Electric Bear MO has remained unchanged: to encourage customers to break free from the shackles of identikit beer experiences delivered by the chains and introduce them to the joy of supporting an indie brewery that celebrates craft and creativity through great tasting beer.
The taproom calendar is always chocka with events (the monthly pub quiz is a permanent fixture) and is a great space to expand your beer drinking horizons via a line-up of ten craft beers.
Verdant Taproom, Penryn, Cornwall
A love of hoppy beers and a distinct lack of them in the area inspired homebrewers Adam and James to pursue a career in craft beer.
In 2014, the pair launched Verdant Brewing Co. in Penryn and, with the help of craft brewers and friends, were soon pushing the boundaries of traditional Cornish brewing via their range of unfiltered hazy pales, IPAs and DIPAs. The brand has rapidly grown in the past decade and has four taprooms to its name – Verdant Taproom in Penryn, Schooners in St Agnes, and The Seafood Bar and The Seaview Inn in Falmouth.
Visit the Penryn outpost to enjoy Neapolitan-style pizza washed down with a crisp glass of Verdant’s finest lager. Sixteen beers on-tap, four cask lines, a range of bottles and cans plus a curated selection of spirits, wines and premium soft drinks makes it a crowd-pleasing hangout for discerning drinkers.
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