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The Brewery Tap, Abingdon

40-42 Ock Street
Abingdon
OX14 5BZ
Phone: 01235521655

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


E TA left this review about The Brewery Tap

Well described by others, below. We found the American-style food was filling enough, well-cooked but uninspiring. Staff were cheerful and helpful, and the crowd in was a mixed bunch, mostly on good form with just a couple of loud bores. Ales on were Betty’s Beer Spotted Dog, Loose Cannon’s Abingdon Bridge, Animal’s Magpie, Rebellion IPA from Marlow, Oxford’s CF184 and Tim Taylor’s Knowle Spring, all in excellent condition. Sadly the real cider had just gone off, so the cider drinkers in our party went for bottled Pulpt Flare from Somerton. An enjoyable evening which I’d be happy to repeat.

On 6th November 2023 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3272 recommendations about 3237 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Steve C left this review about The Brewery Tap

The Brewery Tap has a front bar area with a counter at the rear that faces high tables and standard furniture. Up the left is more seating and next to a large fireplace to the right steps lead up to a dining area. My visit was on a recent midweek evening during a cold snap, so the wood fire was up and running. There is a jukebox, which was off. Although there was background music emanating from somewhere. The bar counter supports six handpumps, one of which was off. The cask options were Lovebeer Brewery’s Doctor Roo, Jester Brew’s 20 Raspberry Stout, Loose Cannon’s 42 Pounder, Oxford Brewery’s Shotover Prospect and West Berkshire Brewery’s Good Old Boy. Premium and craft keg is also available from fonts that stretch across the back bar. Food was available so being supper time I went for the Beef Bourguignon Pie which set me back £16.50. It was OK, but the meat was very dry. I also had a pint of the stout which was also OK. The service was polite, and I found this to be a comfortable space so I would gladly return.

On 18th November 2022 - rating: 8
[User has posted 5179 recommendations about 5148 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Brewery Tap

This is a mighty fine pub in the centre of Abingdon that formerly acted as the tap for the Morland Brewery – check out some of the old brewery buildings behind the pub, now all converted to flats but still looking impressive. The pub has a number of different areas, with the main bar area to the front in a flagstone floored space with lovely etched glass windows bearing the pub’s name and logo. There’s an impressive brick fireplace to one side, full height wood panels around much of the room, decorated with old photos, mirrors, clocks and the like, and an attractive servery to the rear with a brick counter front, nicely worked top and supporting pillars and a matching bar back with a jukebox to one side. A few steps to the right lead you up into a bare boarded dining room which also has full height wood panelling on the walls, decorated with paintings of pastoral scenes. The room is furnished with simple table and chair arrangements down either side and felt like quite a cosy place to eat, as opposed to the usual modern extensions or draughty conservatory spaces that diners encounter in a lot of pubs. The pub runs further back past the left side of the bar, into a quite narrow space with a fair bit more seating and décor that includes a few fine old pub signs, which I assume were taken from former Morland pubs. A door back here leads out to a very nice rear walled courtyard which has plenty of good quality garden furnishings and a couple of sturdy shelters. We also spent the night here in one of the three or four rooms available upstairs – ours was a very impressive room with an evocative dark beamed ceiling, comfy bed and excellent bathroom facilities.
The loss of the Morland Brewery has allowed the pub to develop into a top-quality free house with a strong focus on cask ales. On this visit, options comprised Vale Black Beauty Porter, Loose Cannon Detonator, West Berks Good Old Boy, Goffs Silent Knight and Lovebeer Barney Snuggles. An extensive keg range enhanced the options, with several craft beers and four ciders available. Having come here to spend New Year’s Eve, I had the chance to sample the full cask range over the course of the evening, and every single beer was in tip-top condition, although a couple weren’t quite to my taste. The staff were all extremely hard working, dealing with a packed house and also finding time to lay out some excellent food platters that were included in the price of the £10 NYE entry ticket. There was also a band playing in the front bar area, which made this space a little cramped but ensured a rocking atmosphere all night long.
I obviously didn’t visit this pub on a ‘normal’ night, but I saw plenty enough to convince me that this is an excellent pub. It’s a lovely building with plenty of interesting features to explore, it keeps excellent beer from smaller producers and has some of the best service I’ve seen all year, making it the ‘must-do’ pub for anyone passing through Abingdon.

On 7th February 2022 - rating: 9
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about The Brewery Tap

Ticking over nicely, pretty much as before bar a lick of paint to the outside. Excellent selection of strengths and styles over the six pumps with beers from West Berks, Fishers, Vale, Loddon, Abingdon Bridge and Tap Social. I had a half of the latter which was fag end of the barrel but still fine. Something I think is new is the decent keg selection on the wall behind the bar. My companion, a first-time visitor, immediately took to the place – “a pub man’s pub”, which is a pretty good summation.

July 2015
A revisit found the Brewery Tap much the same as previous, with high standards being maintained. Six pumps, five ales; XT Magna Carta (extremely good nick), Coastal Brewer Poldark(?), Hop Back Summer Lightning, Morlands Original (a sop to GK) and Purity Mad Goose with Thatchers Heritage as the cider. Ate here and enjoyed the food too. Well-worth a trip to Abingdon specially. Rated 9

June 2013
A large building that used to form part of the now-defunct Morlands brewery (hence the name, I suppose?). Anyway, it’s a Greene King house but is heroically run on a pretty flexible wet tie so there were a good number of (lightly sparklerised) ales on our early afternoon visit (West Berks GOB, Box Steam Derail, GK Old Golden Hen, GK Morland Original, Hop Back Crop Circle and Loose Cannon Abingdon Bridge) plus 20+ whiskies and some posh keg. I tried four of the ales (guess which four?!) and they were all in good-to-excellent condition, if a tad on the cool side. Perhaps a little samey, style-wise. Prices were a little expensive (£3.60pp+ for the ones I had) but the profits are clearly going back into the building’s infrastructure and décor which was first-rate (the gents could well be the plushest pub bogs in Oxfordshire). There’s a plenty of nooks and crannies, with a dining area up some steps to the right, the main bar as you enter and a further couple of rooms further back, the furthest of which is a lovely private snug-like room. Interior features included a flagstone floor, large lit real fire, light wood panelling, dart board (blocked though), daily papers, CAMRA mags and an up-to-date hipster-friendly jukebox. TV screens were turned off. Service was friendly too. Not sure what the polling booth for the Abingdon Morris Men was about though. This was a hugely impressive pub attempting to appeal to a more sophisticated clientèle and I’d heartily recommend it based on this visit. Rated 9

On 14th February 2019 - rating: 9
[User has posted 5050 recommendations about 5033 pubs]


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Old Boots left this review about The Brewery Tap

Formerly the Morland's brewery tap, the Victorian tower brewery is visible up a side street next to the pub, it now sells the inferior Bury St Edmunds version of Morland's Original plus thankfully five better beers on handpump and the usual kegs and bottles. Guest ales were from Hook Norton, Batemans and a some local micros including the very nice Loose Cannon beers. Very firmly positioning itself as an ale house the inside is a muddle of small rooms and spaces on varying levels and striped pine is the order of the day for walls and tables. The front bar by the corner door and counter has stone flags, a mix of furniture, a juke box and a dart board. The screens, one of which continually shows adverts, rather spoilt the overall effect. The etched Morlands windows are worth noting, there are also some on an adjacent building which I took to be the former brewery offices. The only pub in Abingdon in the 2012 Good Beer Guide, it also does a good line in more interesting bar snacks.

On 9th June 2012 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 3209 recommendations about 2920 pubs]


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Graham Smith left this review about The Brewery Tap

One of the better pubs in a town with more than its fair share of average ones. Usually six real ales available. Although a Greene King house there are usually a couple of genuine guest ales (i.e. not from the Greene King list of 'approved' guests). The prices here though are a bit on the steep side (ranging from £3.05 to £3.60 a pint depending on ABV). Fosters was £3.35 and Peroni £4.00. This has the effect of attracting the more 'mature' type of drinker. Food is available lunchtimes. Occasional live music, especially on Bank Holidays. Quiz night on a tuesday.

On 17th December 2010 - rating: 7
[User has posted 47 recommendations about 44 pubs]