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Brewery / Factory Tours - Have You Been On Any Good Ones?

Mendonca In AsdasMendonca In Asdas
edited January 2012 in Not Sports Related
Seeming as beer seems to be a quite popular theme on here ;-0 i just wondered if anyone had been on any good Brewery Tours in the Uk or other 'interesting' Factory' tours (Food Manufacturers!)

I've only been to Westons in Hereford (Cider) which doesn't really count as its not beer & Cadburys World! (Not Beer)

I understand Shepherds Neame have one in Faversham , but have not been before http://www.shepherdneame.co.uk/brewery/tours/  Has anyone been and is it any good?


Would love to hear if you have been to one / are planning to go to one , Beer or Non Beer related.
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    Covered EndCovered End
    Guinness factory in Dublin. Worth a visit if you're there. But you wouldn't go there just for that.
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    RedArmySE7RedArmySE7
    Carlsberg in Copenhagen.
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    SheffieldRedSheffieldRed
    Black Sheep (North Yorks) & Carlsberg (Copenhagen).

    I found them interesting but I suspect if you went to a few they would start to blur into one. I think these tours work best when they tell you about not just the beer & the beer making but also the history of product / area / people.

    If you go to Carlsberg tell them you're British & a good customer and they will double the free beer you get at the end.


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    StigStig
    edited January 2012
    Heineken in Amsterdam years ago.  Were were lucky that there were loads of families visiting when we did, and they didn't want their beer vouchers - we did.

    Guinness Storehouse in Dublin is better, mainly because Guinness is a nicer drink, but you don't actually get to see the action in the brewery, it's more of a museum.

    Always fancied going to the Adnams Brewery at Southwold (told it's very good) not made it yet though.
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    Big WilliamBig William
    Fullers at Chiswick was good, meet in the pub next door, do the tour and at the end they take you to their cellar bar to sample the goods. Did occur to me that it was the sort of place you'd pay them to let you work there...! Think it was a tenner all in.
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    Off_itOff_it
    edited January 2012
    Have been round the Budvar brewery and Carlsberg in Copenhagen. 

    Have been in the Adnams and Palmers brewery shops but was too late in the day and missed the tours.

    Was gutted that the Youngs tours were all booked up as soon as they announced they were leaving the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth. Gutted.
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    JorgeCostaJorgeCosta
    Years ago I went to the Ushers brewery on Trowbridge. Great tour, good beers and local history lesson. At the time (1998) the new owners had made it the most modern plant in the UK. Sadly it closed within a few years.

    Also did the Wadworth brewery at Devizes. I think they are the last brewers who still use dray horses to deliver the beer.
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    aliwibblealiwibble
    Guys at work had a very good time on the Fullers Brewery tour, but you probably want to wait til the problems with the Hammersmith Flyover have been sorted out as the traffic round there is murder at the mo.
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    Darty ValiantDarty Valiant
    Theakston's, Masham. N.Yorks was a good trip, but I did it some years back. I have also heard good stories re Fullers.
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    SheffieldRedSheffieldRed
    Theakston's, Masham. N.Yorks was a good trip, but I did it some years back. I have also heard good stories re Fullers.
    Theakstons are in the same village as Black Sheep
    (started by members of the same family)
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    KillarahalesKillarahales
    Years ago I went to the Ushers brewery on Trowbridge. Great tour, good beers and local history lesson. At the time (1998) the new owners had made it the most modern plant in the UK. Sadly it closed within a few years.

    Bizarrely, the former Ushers brewery was sold to the North Koreans. They stripped and took everything, including things like cabling which are usually simply scrapped.

    If you are ever in Brisbane you can visit the XXXX brewery, and Boag's do a good tour in Launceston, Tasmania 

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    SwisdomSwisdom
    Mercedes-Benz factory just outside Stuttgart when I picked my new car up 2 months ago

    Bloody brilliant weekend away
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    kodfishkodfish
    Bentley factory in Crewe. So clean you could eat food off the floor. Great day out.
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    Stuart_the_RedStuart_the_Red
    Mercedes-Benz factory just outside Stuttgart when I picked my new car up 2 months ago Bloody brilliant weekend away


    Did that one as well. Well worth a visit together with the new museum.

    As far as food and drink is concerned:

    Distilleries:

    Caol Ila whisky

    Bowmore whisky

    Ardbeg whisky

    Laphroaig whisky

    Oban whisky

    Asbach Uralt brandy in Rüdesheim

    Moet Chandon champagne cellars in Reims

    You may notice a particular direction in which my interests go ;o)  

     

     

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    harveys_gardenerharveys_gardener
    Guys at work had a very good time on the Fullers Brewery tour, but you probably want to wait til the problems with the Hammersmith Flyover have been sorted out as the traffic round there is murder at the mo.
    Driving to a Brewery tour? LOL!  I've heard the Fullers is a good tour.  My old man used to get a batch of their yeast to make his homebrew.  I went on a Youngs tour alas no more, also the John Roberts Brewery in Bishops Castle but only because the guvenor is a mate.  Also a couple of micro-breweries.
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    MCSMCS
    Done the Shepperd Neame tour, was wry good, got on the Hurlimanns after and got angry with my family and mrs! Was proper.

    Speak to @Ketman he may be able to point you in the right direction he is there solicitor/financial advisor or some such.

    Very good tour tho and anything ending in Hurlimanns anger is good!
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    Saga LoutSaga Lout

    Been on loads of brewery tours - because I also drink the stuff I'm afraid I can't remember them all.

    Have done Theakstons and Black Sheep. As mentioned above, Paul Theakston started Black Sheep and there is a hint in the brewery name that he didn't always get on with the rest of his family. Interesting story.

    Also can reccommend St Austell brewery and Tuckers Maltings if you are down that way. The latter has a fantastic range of bottled beer in their shop and the former is a rare example of a Victorian Tower Brewery.

    Westerham Brewery do regular evening events which include a brewery tour and "a maximum of 5 pints" for £9. When I went though nobody was checking, so you could have as much as you like. Not one to drive to! 

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    RedMistRedMist
    Black Sheep (North Yorks) & Carlsberg (Copenhagen).

    I found them interesting but I suspect if you went to a few they would start to blur into one. I think these tours work best when they tell you about not just the beer & the beer making but also the history of product / area / people.

    If you go to Carlsberg tell them you're British & a good customer and they will double the free beer you get at the end.


    If carlsberg did brewery tours...
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    ellisaddickellisaddick
    I used to play in the Beasleys Brewery in Plumstead when I was a kid to young to taste the beer though, was taken over by Courage and knocked down many years ago
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    paulsturgesspaulsturgess
    I've done the Faversham tour on a work day out. Was okay but didn't particularly get the blood pumping. I'm not too bothered about how it's made as long as I like drinking it... plus I'm not really an ale drinker anyway. But if you're looking for that kind of thing I expect you'll like it, get to try a few different ones at the end etc..
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    RizzoRizzo
    The wife comes from Faversham and her old man used to work at the brewery. Bizarrely, he went on the tour a couple of weeks ago. I've never been myself though.
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    Essex_AlEssex_Al
    Greene King at Bury St. Edmunds is an excellent tour, quite a bit of stair climbing though.
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    DA9DA9
    Done the Shepherd Neame, enjoyed it
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    paulbaconsarniepaulbaconsarnie
    Meant to do one a couple of years ago when we played hartlepool. Camerons?
    ended up just staying in the pub bit.
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    Charlton_CharlieCharlton_Charlie

    Done the XXXX in Brisbane - was very good and the free beer at the end was actually very good...

    I 'blagged' a tour of the meantime brewery a couple of years ago for Razil's stag do.  They don't normally offer them, but I asked nicely and we had a Saturday morning of tasting all their brews (before stumbling over the road to see us draw with Southampton if I remember correctly)...  That was excellent fun as was not so much on the brewing and was much more on the drinking...

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    Tom_HoviTom_Hovi
    edited January 2012

    In this country, have done Fuller's at Chiswick. They used to sponsor our cricket league so an annual tour was always part of of the deal.

    In Belgium, have toured the Stella Brewery in Leuven a few years ago. Wouldn't touch the stuff in this country as as I don't usually drink lager but over there it is different class. Very informative tour and a bar where you could drink as much you wanted for about 5 Euros!

    Also did the Hoegaarten Brewery over there on a different visit - also really good with a nice bar afterwards but can't remember how much this one cost!

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    adamtheaddickadamtheaddick
    done the jennings tour up in the lake district, glass half emptys old man nearly passed out after sticking his head to far into one of the vats of beer..
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    KetmanKetman
    I work for Sheps and have done the tour. If you like your Real Ales then I can recommend, plus when you are done there are about five sheps pubs on way back to station if you fancy a drink or two after.
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    daveaddickdaveaddick
    Back in the day I have a couple of mates who worked in The Courage Brewery at Butlers Wharf near Tower Bridge so I did that tour more times than I can count or remember. really enjoyed touring the Napa Valley wine region back in 1999 but did get a bit elephants by the end of the day and had to spend time in a diner drinking coffee.
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    charltonkestoncharltonkeston

    I would never do a factory tour, I've worked in too many of them over the years, bloody grim the lot of them.

    I've been round many car plants  all over Europe , to honest there aint many different ways you can put them together.

    I had a tour round a steel works when I was at college many moons ago. Seeing a blast furnace tapped is a memory that has stuck, mainly as it is a rare sight in this country nowdays.

    Also when I was at college I had a tour of the Fox and Firkin (brewery in the back) by Mr Bruce himself. Then we all had Dogbolter. Happy days.

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