Whitby Brewery, Whitby

This brewery was a very pleasant and unexpected find, having walked up the 199 steps from the town to the abbey and having no idea that it was here. Clearly plenty of people do know about it though, since the good sized outside seating area was pretty much full to capacity. Internally it consists of a small room to the left which has little apart from the bar counter and some merchandise racks, and the brewery itself to the right which also has quite a bit more seating. The small bar area is quite rustic, with rough wooden boards cladding the bar counter and a solid slab of wood on top, with green glazed tiling on the walls. There were plenty of black beams on the ceiling, although whether these were structural, or just for show, I’m not sure. The brewery area had rough concrete on the floor, tables made from old pallets and seats made from old barrels with a cushion fitted on top. There was a large stage area at one end complete with lighting rigs and speakers, so music obviously features here on occasions. Large glazed windows give a great outlook over the abbey whilst the brewery equipment itself was clearly visible all along the back wall. Beers on tap were all their own as would be expected, and on this occasion consisted of Whitby Whaler, Smugglers Gold, IPA, Abbey Blonde, Jet Black and Saltwick Nab, with the latter two both going down well. The solitary cider meanwhile was Stowford Press. Overall, I really liked this, the staff were friendly, the atmosphere relaxed and chilled and the beer good. The fact that I stumbled across it by accident is another bonus.

Set high above the town in a series of buildings opposite the attractive Whitby Abbey, this is an impressive brewery taproom showcasing the wares of the town’s eponymous brewery. The servery can be found in a small room to the left of the main building – a rather inconspicuous space with a plain counter to the rear, surrounded by shelving full of the brewery’s bottled beer, much of which is in gift packs, making this feel more like a shop than a bar. The brewery is in a much larger room through a door to the right with floor to ceiling windows along the front, some of which are folding doors that can be opened out on a nice day, allowing plenty of light into the room. The brewing kit is mostly confined to the rear, allowing plenty of space at the front for a load of tables made from old pallets and stools comprised of upturned kegs with big cushions on top. As this kind of brewery taproom goes, it’s not the worst place to have an on-site drink, but what really elevates this place is the excellent gravel courtyard outside the front of the building, which offers four rows of large picnic benches and a few large upturned barrels from which to sample your beer should the weather permit. All outdoor seats come with a top-class view of the abbey and we enjoyed sitting out here as the sun slowly set after we’d spent a bit of time exploring the abbey itself. There’s a rather rustic toilet block to the left of the courtyard which I noticed a few swallows flying in and out of and when I popped in before leaving, I saw that they were nesting up in the eaves, with a few hungry chicks poking their heads out of the nests. They had four of their beers available on cask – Abbey Blonde, IPA, Saltwick Nab and Jet Black. I tried a pint of the IPA, which I thought was okay, and a quick half of the Jet Black, which is probably my favourite of theirs. The staff were all really friendly and the place was doing a roaring trade on a lovely sunny afternoon. I found Whitby Brewery beers a bit hit and miss during my time sampling them around the town, but the two I tried here were as good as any and this combined with the superb location and good service made for a very enjoyable visit. Whether I would have felt the same had I visited on a cold and wet evening, I can’t really say, but there was enough here to suggest it’s worth making a bit of effort to check out.