Although London has some excellent taprooms, there are similar sites, equally welcoming, to be found in the Home Counties. They are easy to get to and offer something for the soul in the surrounding area, as well as beer for the spirit! Here are two London Brewers’ Alliance members that do both.
The Windsor & Eton Brewery is right by the railway line, about 15 minutes’ walk from Windsor & Eton Riverside station and the historic town. Will Calvert, one of the owners, likes to boast, “We are number two on Trip Advisor after the Castle.” Founded eleven years ago, Windsor & Eton have grown steadily and have finally taken over the fourth unit in the block where they started and remain. They used the extra space to open a new tap room, called Unit 4, in summer 2021, with a fanfare from the Town Crier.
Will added, “The Tap Room is the difference to making the brewery viable. But we were concerned that moving the previous tap room and shop would mean visitors would lose the feel that they were in a brewery, hence the big screen. This connects to a live feed from cameras in the brewery so people can watch what is going on. We want to make Windsor & Eton the ‘go to’ place in the same way as Guinness is in Dublin.“
Visitors from London should take a good look at the stage because it is the last of the drays once used by Young’s. It was found abandoned on a farm and was refurbished by Derek, who looks after Windsor & Eton’s own dray, which they use for local deliveries. Unit 4 opens daily with cask and keg beers available, along with food. See www.webrew.co.uk for details.
Another brewery with a fantastic setting is Thames Side in Staines. Set, as you might guess, on the River Thames, the brewery is an obvious stop on the Thames Path and is close to the Lammas Lakes, known for their wildlife and bird watching. Thames Side was set up by Andrew Hayward and his partner Michele Gibson in 2015, originally in an old boat yard in another part of Staines. They moved to the current building, once the home of the Sea Cadets, in March 2019, opening later that summer.
As with Windsor & Eton, Thames Side produce both cask and keg beers. They have a four barrel plant plus a one barrel experimental kit, which they use to produce their White Label range. These are small batch beers with names based on music. Try ‘A Whiter Shade of Ale’ or ‘Brewhemian Rhapsody’ to appreciate the Thames Side humour. Andrew explained his core range, “They are all named after birds that inhabit the area. White Swan Pale Ale is our best seller at 4.2% ABV; then we have Egyptian Goose IPA at 4.8% ABV and Heron Ale, a bitter, at 3.7% ABV.”
There are two staff plus Michele, who does the book keeping but they are also supported by three volunteers who help out on brewing days and get paid in beer! During lockdown, Andrew was pleased with the brewery’s location, “We got a lot of locals stopping by for takeouts, anything from two pint containers to bag in boxes and that kept us going. If we had still been at our previous venue, that wouldn’t have happened; it was too remote.” There is however a further move on the horizon because the current site is earmarked for the building of a new hotel. Fortunately, new premises have been found, just along the Thames and slightly closer to the station. Whenever you decide to visit, you can be guaranteed a watery vista! For tap room opening times see their website.
Christine Cryne