The Brewery Tap, Abingdon

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.

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.

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.