In Oxford
Wychwood Brewery
Description
The Wychwood Brewery is tucked away behind the main street of the market town of Witney, in the heart of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. Discover the brewing process of Wychwood & Brakspear Beers, from seeing the raw ingredients to the finished product during one of our 45 minute guided tours. After the tour you are invited to sample our flagship Legendary Hobgoblin and our range of Wychwood and Brakspear bottled beers.
Further Info
- Location / Region Witney
- Listing categories Attractions / Shopping / Food and Drink / Souvenirs
Contact
- Website http://www.wychwood.co.uk
- Phone 20213 890800
- Address Eagle Maltings, The Crofts, Witney, Oxfordshire, OX28 4DP
Map
Opening Hours
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 am - 5:00 pm | 10:00 am - 5:00 pm | 10:00 am - 5:00 pm | 10:00 am - 5:00 pm | 10:00 am - 5:00 pm | 10:00 am - 5:00 pm | CLOSED |
Matthew Wright
• 25th January 2021No two Wychwood Brewery tours are the same, there being nine different part-time tour guides, each with their own specialist background. Tim Gunn was our appointed mentor, and as an ex-teacher, researcher and degree holder from both Oxford and Cambridge, he seemed well-qualified for the job. Oh, plus the fact that he reveres beer as well – as do all the other tour guides.
Beer is, at its heart, a very simple drink which has been brewed for centuries from the same four basic ingredients – water, malted barley (malt), hops, and yeast.
Here are a couple of interesting facts gleaned from our hour-long tour around the workings of the Brewery based in the heart of Witney:
Beer is best served at 10 degrees (Tim conducts an interesting experiment in the Tasting Bar afterwards to prove this – be warned, he does like his experiments being an ex-teacher!)
Isinglass, used to help clear the beer, is made from the swim bladders of sturgeon fish (good trivia question)
The water used is ‘Burtonised’ (I don’t think this is strictly speaking a technical term but it does has a nice ring to it!) to reduce the pH value from 7.0 (neutral) to 5.5 (slightly acidic), the ideal pH for brewing and, coincidentally, the exact pH found in Burton upon Trent in East Staffordshire.
In 2021, the Brewery was redeveloped to incorporate the famous Brakspear ‘Double Drop’ brewing equipment when the owners sold the existing Henley business
Afterwards, we retired to the Tasting Bar, a very cosy affair, festooned with dried hops, old beer advertising memorabilia and some rather grand photographs, including one of our Prime Minister drinking Hobgoblin whilst the US President clutches a non-descript American bottle. Anyway, here Tim poured out samples from seven (I think) different beers, inviting comparisons, providing food choice suggestions, oh and conducting the odd experiment or two.
There is of course much more to discover on the tour, but I’ll leave you to attend it yourself to find out more – no spoiler alerts here!
To book, have a look at the website – there are at least two tours (often more) every day on Saturday and Sunday, and one or two tours on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, all bookable online at £8.50 and including a free half pint glass. Oh, and do keep an eye out for special events, such as the Fathers’ Day Brewery Tour and Breakfast….just in case anybody is short of suggestions?!