Nethergate Brewery Tap + Brewery Tour!

Based in the Stour Valley region, which I now know is the divider between Suffolk and Essex, is Nethergate Brewery. Nethergate are a brewery that I feel like I’ve grown up with, during my near ten year (legal) drinking life. Their beers including Stout Valley Gold, Suffolk County and Umbel Ale have been favourites of mine for a long time. I’ve probably drank hundreds of pints of Nethergate beer, mostly in the Live:

But despite the brewery being sort of nearby I hadn’t been, until now. The brewery tour was a late birthday present for my dad, and finally we found a day to go and do it!

We were warmly welcomed into the taproom and given our first halves of beer, Suffolk County. A chestnut coloured malty and bitter beer, despite the heat it went down a treat. We then met the other people on the tour, total group size was five and headed for a chat about the history of Nethergate Brewery and brewing itself. Our guide, whose name I’ve forgotten already, was knowledgable and concise with the way she delivered the history lesson. I was really impressed with the way complicated things, the brewing process, were explained with such ease. We then headed into the brewery.

I hope that this isn’t a weird thing to say, but I do love smelling the fermentation tanks. Does that make me sound like a fermentation tank pervert?

It was very hot in the brewery, so I was happy to get back to the taproom for some refreshments.

A half of each ale is included in the tour. They were all in perfect condition, except Old Growler, which is the only negative thing I can say about this experience. The Old Growler smelt acidic and had an acidic, pear like taste.. Our tour guide was no where to be see, so I couldn’t ask them. The beer was changed for a different one.

That was a small blip in what was otherwise a really good afternoon out. I highly recommend the brewery tour and place it amongst the best brewery tours I’ve done. The taproom is excellent and I look forward to returning.

Thanks for reading!

Comments

Smile Like You Mean It: The Story of My Friendship With Rach, Mental Health and Our Latest Adventure.

I’m very fortunate to have great friends in my life, I don’t think you can put a value on good people. People who have your back, make you laugh, pick you up if you need it, advise you, complement you and at times challenge you. I’m not a great lover of texting or messaging, because it just isn’t the same as being together in real life. To me, a sign of a great friend is someone you can spend weeks or months away from, but when you do meet again, it’s like you were never apart. People come and go, the best people stay. In 2011, whilst at secondary school, I was elected to Sports Council. At this time I was failing to accept that my rugby playing days were nearly over. I have a lifelong problem with my back, it was getting worse. I was seeing two physios a week, hours of laying on my front having my back looked at, coupled with loading up on whatever pain relief the Dr would prescribe me. That was all to try and get through the rugby matches. Eventually, my consultant, Dr Jen...

A RADical Improvement To The Cambridge Beer Scene: The Rad Preview Night!

It’s so good to see Cambridge’s smallest pub back open! I was invited to the preview night and had a great time. For most of my drinking life, this pub was fairly rubbish. The beer, although cheap, was terrible. Most of it came from a brewery, which no longer exists. I don’t miss it. Enough about rubbish beer though, what’s the new Rad like? Well, in my opinion, it’s just what Cambridge needed. The beer scene in Cambridge is sadly dominated by Greene King, there are too few places where you can get both a good range of beer and beer served in good condition. The Rad had one of the best ranges of beer, I’ve seen in ages. There was literally something for everyone. From sours, to various types of IPA, impy stouts, lager and bitter! There were some preview night teething issues with the beer screens, but it’s so good to be able to see the beer list, style of beer and strength so clearly! The condition was excellent, as expected. I sampled beers from Marble, Two Flints an...

Moose On The Loose: Manchester - February 2024: This Is The One

Manchester is probably the most diverse beer city in The UK. It’s got traditional pubs, taprooms and trendy ‘craft’ places, the vast majority of places I’ve been in Manchester have been excellent! This is the story of my second pub trip to Manchester and I’m joined by legend of blog, Rach! The trip started with a massive error, and it’s not having a night out before an away day, because that is always a good idea. It is using trains. I should have driven, still I got do my first delay and repay. Anyway, on to the beer! We started at Hops & Boogie, as we needed to do some shopping in Sale. The Squawk Porter went done a treat! We then hopped on the tram and headed towards a strong contender for best taproom in The UK, Track. Rainbow beer board! My least fave type of glass Track’s taproom is spacious, light and has good seating options. Oh and great beer! What more could you want? Living my best life. We then headed to another taproom, Suresho...

Beer Moose

Search This Blog