Hops, scotch and vines
Whether your group is interested in the history, technicalities or just the taste, learning about the production of beer, whisky and wine makes an excellent day out for all, as Luke Dodd discovers.
A visit to a brewery, distillery or vineyard allows groups to go behind the scenes to get a real taste of alchohol production and its history. Many venues also offer group packages including out of hours openings and taste tutorings.
A pint sized trip
Beer is one of the oldest man-made beverages and groups interested in its history and production are able to visit a number of breweries in the UK that offer guided tours.
A good resource for group organisers considering a tour is The Good Beer Guide, which is published annually by CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) and lists information on the UK�s beers, pubs and breweries.
Starting in Scotland, Belhaven Brewery is located in Dunbar, East Lothian and offers guided tours of the working brewing plant to pre-booked groups. Groups can see how the brewery’s beer is made and then packaged before being invited to a free tasting session. Groups with more than 16 people are split.
Travelling down the country into Cumbria, Jennings Brewery is located in the shadow of Cockermouth Castle. It employs traditional brewing methods, which groups are able to see in action during a guided tour, including the drawing of lake water from the brewery’s own well. The tour concludes with a tasting in the onsite Old Cooperage bar. Groups of 25 or more people are split.
Heading into Yorkshire and to the town of Masham, Theakston’s Brewery also welcomes groups with guided tours. Group meal options can also be pre-booked. Exclusive evening tours can also be arranged for groups of 20 or more.
In the same town, The Black Sheep Brewery offers ‘Shepherded Brewery Tours’ of the brewhouse and fermenting room. Groups can also enjoy an exclusive out of hours package, which includes a guided tour, a pint of beer and a hot meal in the onsite bistro. Both options must be pre-booked.
Staying in Yorkshire, Cropton Brewery offers guided tours twice daily, where groups can see 10 different varieties of ale being made. Members then receive a pint of their choice in the adjoining New Inn. Pre-booking is essential.
Travelling to Manchester, meanwhile, Hydes Brewery is operated by the same family who acquired the business in 1863. As well as a tour of the site, pre-booked groups can enjoy free drinks in the bar. Group catering options are also available.
To the west is the Robin Cain Brewery in Liverpool, where groups can learn more about the history of its founder Robert Cain. Groups are also introduced to all stages
of the brewing process by visiting the hops, fermenting and brewing rooms as well as the storage bay. Groups must pre-book.
Heading to Staffordshire, groups can visit Coors Visitor Centre & The Museum of Brewing, which houses collections of brewing artefacts. Pre-booked groups of 15 or more receive a 10% discount on admission in addition to the option of a ‘Games Night’, which includes a guided tour of the working onsite brewery and hosted pub-style games.
Groups can learn how Greene King ale is brewed at the company’s working Westgate Brewery in Suffolk on a tour. Groups must pre-book with exclusive evening tours available to 10 or more people.
Moving into the county of Oxfordshire, visitors to the Wychwood Brewery can see how organic beer is made. Once the tour is completed, groups are invited to taste Hobgoblin, the Brewery’s most famous beer. Pre-booking is essential.
In the neighbouring county of Buckinghamshire, group tours of the Chiltern Brewery include a complimentary drink and an introductory talk on the history of English beer brewing. Pre-booked groups can also take advantage of a series of catering options.
In the capital city, meanwhile, the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, which belongs to Fuller, Smith and Turner, also offers pre-booked guided tours.
Located in Faversham in Kent is the Shepherd Neame Brewery, where guided tours allow groups to see the journey made by natural ingredients to become ale and include a tutored beer tasting. Pre-booking is essential.
Travelling further west, groups can step behind the Victorian facade of The Northgate Brewery in Wiltshire and learn about the brewing methods employed by the company on a tour. Groups must pre-book.
Travelling to Dorset, guided tours offered to groups by Hall and Woodhouse also aim to teach visitors about the art of traditional brewing. Groups must pre-book.
Groups can learn about employees past at the St. Austell Brewery in Cornwall, a family owned brewery, in addition to seeing the brewing process for themselves. The tour concludes in the Hicks Bar, where complimentary ale can be enjoyed.
Dram up interest
Many of the UK’s whisky distilleries can be found in various regions of Scotland, with a few sprinkled throughout England and Ireland.
Beginning in the Speyside region of Scotland, the Cardhu Distillery, in Knockando, offers an hour-long tour for groups with the advantage of gaining a discount on whisky. The maximum group size for tours is 12 with larger groups split.
Moving to Dufftown in Speyside, the Glenfidditch Distillery offers groups a free ‘Distillery Tour’, which begins with a film followed by a viewing of mechanisms used in whisky production in the traditional warehouses. For an extra charge, the ‘Conossieur Tour’ provides a more in-depth look into the malting process and offers a tutored nosing and tasting session. Groups of 12 or more should pre-warn of a visit.
Staying in Speyside, in Rothes, groups will find the Glen Grant Distillery and Garden, which was built by Major James Grant. Groups can enjoy a guided tour of the site, which includes a dram tasting as well as a video presentation. Groups receive a discount on the price of tours.
Also offering groups the chance to learn about the history of whisky production, but not a distillery itself, is the Speyside Cooperage Visitor Centre in Banffshire. On a tour, groups watch an introductory film, see the Coopers demonstrating how to produce wooden casks for containing whisky and sample the whisky. There is also the chance to have a go at creating your own cask, if pre-booked. Groups receive a discount.
Staying in Bannfshire, groups can make a trip to the Glenlivet Distillery, the Glenfarclas Distillery and the Strathisla Distillery, which all offer guided tours.
On the Isle of Islay, groups can visit the Laphraoig Distillery in Port Ellen. During a tour, groups can enjoy a dram of whisky and view the machinery used in the distilling process. A complimentary miniature bottle of whisky is also part of the package.
Moving to Bowmore, the Bowmore Distillery was one of the first legal distilleries on the Isle of Islay. Pre-booked groups can enjoy the ’Craftsman’s Tour’, detailing the site’s history and offering views of the traditional floor maltings where barley is spread out before distilling. Groups are also provided with a dram at the end of the tour.
In Port Askaig on the Isle of Islay, groups can find the Bunnahabhain Distillery, which offers guided tours for pre-booked groups. During tours, groups get the opportunity to view the malting process and to gain an insight into the site’s history.
Nearby, on the Isle of Arran, the Isle of Arran Distillery also offers guided tours. Groups can view a whisky exhibition, set around a thirty foot indoor waterfall and the malting machinery. Groups receive a discount on tours.
In Ross-shire, the Glenmorangie Distillery offers tours with the price refunded if you spend over £16 in the site’s shop. Tours include the viewing of the distilling process and end with a complimentary dram of whisky. Groups can also combine a tour with a tasting led by an experienced whisky tutor at an added cost.
In Perthshire, The Famous Grouse Experience is home to the Glenturret Distillery and offers groups guided tours learning about how single malt is made. Tours also feature a 10-minute video, showing an aerial view of Scotland from the eyes of the ‘Famous Grouse’, and are available for groups of up to 20 with larger groups split.
Staying in Perthshire, groups can also visit Dewar’s World of Whisky, which offers two tours for groups; the ‘Deluxe Tour’ and the ‘Signature Tour’. Groups of 12 or more are offered a discount on tours with groups of 15 or more split. Admission is included in the price of tours.
In the Scottish capital, Edinbugh, The Scotch Whiskey Heritage Centre, although not a distillery, offers a wide range of experiences for groups to try. During tours at the Centre, groups can learn about the origins of malt whisky distilling through interactive displays and an introductory talk, accompanied by a dram. There is also a small-scale model distillery and a whisky barrel ride to enjoy.
Alternatively, near Glasgow, the Glengoyne Distillery offers a number of tour options for visiting groups including the Master Blender Session, which give groups the chance to create their own blend of whisky.
Across the sea in Ireland, The Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin produces Jameson Irish Whiskey. Private guided tours are available for groups and include a film and complimentary tastings.
Also producing Jameson Irish Whiskey is The Old Midleton Distillery in County Cork, which offers tours.
Moving away from whisky, Plymouth Gin is produced at the Black Friars Distillery and has been since 1793. The on-site visitor centre offers guided tours around the fully working distillery, giving an opportunity to sample some of the product. Groups are advised to pre-warn of a visit.
A good time on wine
Due to the climate, the south east contains the majority of vineyards in the UK, with most offering guided tours. There is also a smaller selection of vineyards further north.
Beginning in Kent, groups can visit Tenterden Vineyard, which is owned by English Wines plc, and produces Chapel Down brand wines. Guided tours are available, looking at the history of English Wines plc and the challenges of growing grapes in a cool climate. Tours end with a wine tasting.
Staying in the county, Lamberhurst Vineyards also offers tours for groups as does Biddenden Vineyards.
In East Sussex, at RidgeView Wine Estate, groups can take advantage of a tour of the vineyard and winery, which ends with a tasting of different wines. Groups are advised to pre-warn of a visit.
Staying in East Sussex, Sedlescombe Organic Vineyard, in Robertsbridge, also offers guided tours for groups.
Near Hastings, Carr Taylor Vineyards offers groups of 15 or more a tour, which includes visits to the vineyard, winery and bottling plant as well as a tutored wine tasting. Free coach parking is available on site.
In the neighbouring county of West Sussex, the Lurgashall Winery offers guided tours for groups to see the wine-making process. Groups are advised to pre-book.
In Suffolk, Shawsgate Vineyard offers a ‘Vine to Wine’ tour. During the tour, groups are told how the vineyard works and how the vines are grown, followed by a trip to the winery to see the wine-making process and ending with a tasting. Groups of 20 or more are offered a discounted price on tours.
Moving south, in Surrey, Denbies Wine Estate, in Dorking, offers two tours available for groups. Firstly, the ‘Wine Experience Tour’ includes a film presentation, a ride on a people mover through the working winery and ends with a wine tasting. Secondly, groups of 35 or more can enjoy a ‘Private Evening Tour’, which builds on the ‘Wine Experience Tour’ by including tailor-made additions such as specialised talks.
Meanwhile, groups visiting Wickham Vineyard in Hampshire can enjoy guided tours of the vineyard followed by a wine tasting. Group catering options are also available as is free coach parking. Pre-booked groups of 15 or more are offered a discount on tours.
To the west in Cornwall, groups can visit Camel Valley Vineyard, where two tours are offered to groups. On the basic ‘Guided Tour’, groups are shown both the vineyard and the winery, ending with a tasting. Alternatively, the ‘Camel Valley Gold Experience’ begins with coffee followed by a tour of the vineyard and the winery, ending with a wine tasting. Groups of 20 or more enjoy discounts on tours.
Moving north, Three Choirs Vineyard is located in Gloucestershire and offers tailor-made tours specifically for groups. Tastings are included. Groups of 15 or more can take advantage of a tour.
In the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, groups of 20 or more can enjoy guided tours and private wine tastings at Llanerch Vineyard.
To the east, in Cambridgeshire, the Chilford Hall Vineyard and Conference Centre’s guided tour begins with a tour of the on-site winery, followed by a walk around the vineyard ending in a wine tasting.
Meanwhile, in Staffordshire, at Halfpenny Green Vineyard, groups of 15 or more can enjoy a guided tour. Cultivation, trellising and grape varieties are described, followed by a tour of the winery, a wine tasting and a slide show.
In Leeds, Leventhorpe Vineyard offers pre-booked guided evening tours for groups, which can be arranged on weekdays at certain times of the year.
Finally, although not a vineyard itself, Vinopolis, a wine-themed attraction in London, offers four self-guided tours to groups; ‘Original’, ‘Discovery’, ‘Vintage’ and ‘Champagne’, all focusing on different types of wines and champagnes. Groups can also enjoy the ‘Bombay Sapphire Experience’, sampling a gin based cocktail as well as learning about gin production. Groups of 8 or more receive a discount on all tours.