The London beer scene has transformed over recent years led by a surge in microbreweries and hipsters’ love of craft beer. All this means there’s more opportunity for beer tastings and brewery tours in London than ever. So spoilt for choice is the average pinter that we thought we’d take on the arduous task of heading out into the depths of London’s brewery scene and finding the best beer tasting and brewery tours London has to offer.
Hiver have been making waves on the London craft beer scene for a while. Their incredible honey-beer (using only honey from urban beekeepers) simply can’t stop winning awards. And you can head on down to their glorious taprooms to try their delicious brew for yourself. You’ll get 3 different beers to sample as you learn about the history of honey-brewing and AVA members even get extra beers to take home. Of course, you can settle in at their taprooms after you finish your tasting if you’d rather not part ways from their sumptuous suds.
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The Bermondsey Beer Mile
So good it’s now nearer 2 miles of Bermondsian beer Bermondsey, £
The Bermondsey beer mile is rapidly becoming a London institution. Nestled under trainline archways just south of the river you’ll find all manner of brewers, breweries and beers.
These are pretty much all working breweries but on a Saturday they open their doors to create one hell of a crawl. Take your pick from the likes Fourpure to Hawkes with many of the brewers offering tours and tastings around their microbreweries. Whether you organise your own crawl or set up a more official tour you’re guaranteed a good time.
Meantime Brewery Tour and Tasting
You better grab your best drinking buddies for this one! Greenwich, ££
The Bermondsey beer mile is rapidly becoming a London institution. Nestled under trainline archways just south of the river you’ll find all manner of brewers, breweries and beers. These are pretty much all working breweries but on a Saturday they open their doors to create one hell of a crawl. Take your pick from the likes Fourpure to Hawkes with many of the brewers offering tours and tastings around their microbreweries. Whether you organise your own crawl or set up a more official tour you’re guaranteed a good time.
Meantime Brewery really led the way when it came to craft beer in London. So we’ve got a lot to thank them for! And they’ve opened the doors to their Greenwich brewery offering one of the most complete tours going. With a purpose-built location that boasts special bars, tasting rooms and some quality food they really don’t disappoint. We’ve teamed up with meantime to offer the Ultimate Brewery Tour which will see you and your mates get your very own private tour of the brewery, a tasting of at least 4 different beers, the chance to pour your own pint and access to the infamous Malt Loft Bar.
It's certainly one of the best brewery tours in London and hsa even been voted in the top 10 brewery tours in the world! View on AVA IndieBeer’s Beer and Cheese Tasting More beer than you can shake a stick at Holloway, ££
Indiebeer are building a bit of a reputation up in the North of London for their immense array of beers (over 250 at last count) and beer-related knowledge. You can pop there to marvel at the quite remarkable number of beers they have or just to stock up if you like but they also do some fantastic tastings too. For those that get peckish after a pint or two, how about matching up 4 niche beers with 4 complimentary cheeses at one of their beer and cheese tastings. As well as the beer and cheese you’ll be privately hosted by one of Indiebeer’s beer connoisseurs for all your beer-related questions. View on AVA Fuller’s Griffin Brewery Tour If it’s beer heritage you’re after look no further than Fullers Chiswick, £
Head down to the banks of the River Thames in Chiswick and you’ll find yourself at Fuller’s Griffin brewery. Indeed, you’ll have found brewers down at the Griffin site since the 1600s so steeped in beery history is the location. Now it’s home to Fullers makers of the infamous pint of London Pride. Step inside their gates for a bit of brewing history, an understanding of the brewing process and of course, plenty of samples of their produce. Check them out Camden Town Brewery Tour Camden’s calling Camden (obvs), £
Founded officially in 2010, Camden Town Brewery has shot to prominence across the capital and is now a permanent feature in many of London’s best pubs. A short tube trip north will land you at their brewhouse where you’ll get to tuck into a bunch of their beers, take a tour of the brewery and sample some beer fresh from the tank, learn about their artwork as well as receive a load of goodies and some pints afterwards too. It’s a hells of a tour… Check them out Crate Brewery Tasting & Tour Canal-side brewery tour and tasting Hackney, £
Settle in with Hackney’s hipsters for a tour and tasting on the canal at Crate Brewery. This tour is the full works, you’ll get the history of brewing, craft beer, brewing itself and access to areas not usually open to the public. Once you’ve drunk in some new beer knowledge you’ll be kept topped up with Crate’s craft beers and some of the delicious ingredients that go into them so you can taste the transformation for yourself! And for those that are still peckish their premium tours come with sumptuous sharing platters Check Them Out London Beer Lab Become a brewer yourself Brixton, ££
Not your average brewery, in fact, not really a full brewery at all. But well worthy of our list is the London Beer Lab down in Brixton. Here you can delight in a range of brews in their taproom, enjoy a 10-beer tasting experience or (for something a little different) you can learn to brew your own beer with one of their brewing workshops. Who knows, maybe it will be your brewery on this list in a few years’ time! Check Them Out
