Cliff Quay Brewery, Ipswich
Discussion
Feeling that we were lacking in excuses for a mid-week drink, a plan was hatched last weekend where a group of us from the local pub would partake in a tour of the recently opened Cliff Quay Brewery on Ipswich docks.
For those who don't know, and that was me included, the brewery has opened in a part of the old Tolly Cobbold Brewery on the docks in Ipswich. Tolly Cobbold suffered the fate of many independent breweries in that it eventually succumbed to the buy it/shut it approach of Greene King in the late '90s.
Seven of us assembled in the Red Lion, Manningtree for a swift half before jumping in the 'Sunshine Bus' (a name given to a friend's Vauxhall people carrier we use for such outings) and departing on the short drive to the Brewery Tap, Ipswich.
The girlies were dispatched to the fish restaurant Loch Fyne and the rest of us were greeted by a very welcoming barman in the Brewery Tap.
We paid our £5 for the tour and decided to have another swift half before we started the tour. When we were finished, the barman announced it was time for the tour and at which point he then put on his coat and led us out for the short walk along the quayside to the brewery. It turns out that the welcoming barman was not just any barman, he was Jeremy Moss, the head brewer of Cliff Quay who had previously been head brewer at Wychwood Brewery, home of the much loved Hobgoblin beer, and also winner of the Brewer Of The Year Award.
After a very informative tour of the new brewery in which we were told the brewing process and background to the brewery it was time to take the short walk back to the Brewery Tap for tasting. We sampled the 3 different beers which Cliff Quay produce. Firstly a light beer called Cliff Quay Bitter, then the slightly stronger Jolly Roger, and finally the most interesting Black Jack which is a porter with Star Anise added to give a aniseed flavour, definitely a Marmite beer in which you'd either love it or hate it. It got a big thumbs up from us and we had to just try a few pints more to make sure!
We made the short trip back to Manningtree where we spent time chasing closing Chinese take aways, but that's another story.
If you ever find your self in Ipswich and fancy a pint of very local and very good real ale, get yourself down to the Brewery Tap, a pub very much underused but with a lovely atmosphere and very welcoming décor. Whilst you're there, say hello to Jeremy... a man who certainly knows his beers
http://www.cliffquay.co.uk
For those who don't know, and that was me included, the brewery has opened in a part of the old Tolly Cobbold Brewery on the docks in Ipswich. Tolly Cobbold suffered the fate of many independent breweries in that it eventually succumbed to the buy it/shut it approach of Greene King in the late '90s.
Seven of us assembled in the Red Lion, Manningtree for a swift half before jumping in the 'Sunshine Bus' (a name given to a friend's Vauxhall people carrier we use for such outings) and departing on the short drive to the Brewery Tap, Ipswich.
The girlies were dispatched to the fish restaurant Loch Fyne and the rest of us were greeted by a very welcoming barman in the Brewery Tap.
We paid our £5 for the tour and decided to have another swift half before we started the tour. When we were finished, the barman announced it was time for the tour and at which point he then put on his coat and led us out for the short walk along the quayside to the brewery. It turns out that the welcoming barman was not just any barman, he was Jeremy Moss, the head brewer of Cliff Quay who had previously been head brewer at Wychwood Brewery, home of the much loved Hobgoblin beer, and also winner of the Brewer Of The Year Award.
After a very informative tour of the new brewery in which we were told the brewing process and background to the brewery it was time to take the short walk back to the Brewery Tap for tasting. We sampled the 3 different beers which Cliff Quay produce. Firstly a light beer called Cliff Quay Bitter, then the slightly stronger Jolly Roger, and finally the most interesting Black Jack which is a porter with Star Anise added to give a aniseed flavour, definitely a Marmite beer in which you'd either love it or hate it. It got a big thumbs up from us and we had to just try a few pints more to make sure!
We made the short trip back to Manningtree where we spent time chasing closing Chinese take aways, but that's another story.
If you ever find your self in Ipswich and fancy a pint of very local and very good real ale, get yourself down to the Brewery Tap, a pub very much underused but with a lovely atmosphere and very welcoming décor. Whilst you're there, say hello to Jeremy... a man who certainly knows his beers
http://www.cliffquay.co.uk
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