Brewery tours prove to make great attractions

Now there’s a reason to sip a celebratory pint.

After years of depressing headlines about the numbers of pub closures, the latest beer sales figures brought some welcome relief.

The British Beer & Pub Association revealed that sales at pubs were up by 2.6% between April and June. It was the fastest quarterly rate rise in the 21st Century.

There was an even more dramatic increase in home beer drinking, with sales at supermarkets and off licences up by almost 17%.

Overall, sales rose at the fastest rates since the BBPA started keeping figures over 15 years ago although there is still concern about pub closures. It shows that the British love affair with beer is far from over.

Duty cuts in the budget and our desire to down a few during the World Cup were among the reasons cited. The growth of smaller craft breweries making lovely little local ales has also helped.

Brewers have also learned that not only do we want to drink the stuff, we also want to see how it’s made. Brewery tours, on a big scale and small, are booming.

They are now increasingly visitor attractions for those “staycationing”, combining a great insight into a centuries-old craft with a nice pint and often a bite to eat too.

There’s no bigger, or slicker, operation than that at the Guinness brewery in Dublin. Despite all else this marvellous city has to offer, the Guinness Storehouse is Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction.

Jump on a bus from the centre or just follow the banks of the River Liffey to the historic building that’s been converted to a fascinating museum.

The brewing doesn’t take place there anymore it’s literally just next door but the history since the beginnings away back in 1759 are explained over seven expansive floors.

You start at the bottom of the world’s largest pint glass and work your way up through floors detailing everything from brewing and transportation to the famous advertising campaigns.

It all leads you up to the Gravity Bar, a Mecca for lovers of the black stuff. Whilst you enjoy one of the smoothest pints you’ll ever taste, you can also drink in the best possible views of Dublin you’ll ever see.

The circular glass windows provide you with a fantastic 360-degree panorama that lets you plan your assault on the city’s other attractions. Or get a great overview of where you’ve already been.

Tennent’s Wellpark Brewery in Glasgow actually has a history and tradition dating back further, over 450 years. And you can have a look at how Scotland’s favourite beer is made on hour-long tours.

You need to book in advance and you get a run through of everything from the refining and mashing, to malting, brewing and kegging.

And, just like in Dublin, you’ll see the advertising yes, including “lager lovelies” that helped spread the word about the produce that’s come out of the brewery that’s virtually sat in the shadows of Glasgow Cathedral for centuries.

Oh, and of course, you get a pint too.

Just a couple of minutes away, but at the polar opposite scale-wise, is the West brewery in the fabulously architecturally rich Templeton Building overlooking Glasgow Green.

Modelled on the Doge’s Palace in Venice, this former carpet factory is worth a visit in its own right.

Take the steps down from the great restaurant for the 45-minute tour of the state-of-the-art microbrewery which follows German Purity Laws to make wonderfully tasty lagers and wheat beers.

The big and small can also be experienced in North Yorkshire. In Masham in the Yorkshire Dales is the Black Sheep Brewery.

OK, I’m a bit biased, it just happens to be my favourite tipple, but I think it manages to blend a commercial tour of a pretty big-scale operation while still retaining a bit of the personal touch.

Yes, there is a big shop, restaurant and it’s all very slick, but you are still right in the heart of the real brewing operation with the guides often former brewers who really know their stuff.

Masham is a beer-lover’s must-see actually as it’s also home to the well-known Theakston Brewery.

Make the short hop across the A1 to the lovely wee village of Cropton near Pickering and it’s much, much more intimate.

It really is a case of asking in the pub great food by the way if you can have a look out the back at the brewing operation that’s increasingly finding its way into big supermarkets.

The throngs who head to the Lake District every year should think about adding Jennings Brewery in Cockermouth to their itinerary.

For nearly two centuries Jennings have been using pure Lakeland waters to make a very decent ale indeed.

You can find out just how and how disaster struck when floods enveloped it in November 2009 with the interesting tour. The ale sampling is in the lovely Old Cooperage bar.

Another tour that’s well worth taking is at Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar which again gives a real flavour of the rich history along with a nice sampling in the Monk’s Retreat.

These are just a handful of the tours available at breweries of all sizes the length and breadth of Britain. So, go on make mine a pint!