Moot Brew Co.Tap, Rochester

Located in an outbuilding on a farm that feels like it's in the middle of nowhere, but is actually fairly easily reached from Halling station, this is a small taproom and brewery. The brewery operation occupies the majority of the building, but an area around the front entrance has been carefully set up as a smart drinking space with some decent seating throughout and a small servery to the rear right. The whole room has been liberally decorated with colourful art prints, which brighten up the space and help it to feel a bit more pub-like, until some loud bit of brewery activity from across the way snaps you back to reality. The internal space is a bit limited size-wise, so a few picnic benches have been put outside the front door and more can be found across the yard, under a large shelter. A street food truck in the car park offered hot food options and there's a farm shop stall for some take home treats, whilst the taproom itself offers sausage rolls and other such bar snacks. The venue is only a short detour from the North Downs Way and felt like a good break point, but if doing so, bear in mind that the detour takes you off the Downs and requires a pretty strenuous climb to get back on track. On the bar, they had two ales on cask - Pilgrim and Nym - plus five more of their own beers on keg alongside a lone cider option. The barmaid was super friendly and served me a good pint of the Pilgrim, which I had to take outside as the place was so busy, ending up sat in the drizzle as even the tables under the shelter were fully occupied. This was a nice place to stop off during the course of a long day of walking. I enjoyed trying their beer at source, having seen it a few times elsewhere this year, and thought they'd created a smart taproom which would reward a longer visit if logistics permitted. Worth seeking out if you're in the general area. Date of visit - 8th June 2024

One of the more rustic of the farm-based taprooms that I've visited, with this and the brewery both being housed in a green shed (with a pair of openings in the central partition wall covered by curtains). Limited space for furniture inside, but there are a number of picnic tables under, and in front, of an open-sided barn (which also featured a visiting street-food truck when we stopped by). Two cask ales - the regular Kapa pale plus the seasonal Chocolate Orange Stout (£5.00) - plus six craft beers from a row of taps on the bar-back and two more being served from somewhere behind the scenes. Despite the out-of-the-way location, there was a good crowd in on a Sunday afternoon which is encouraging as the venue is obviously becoming established.

New brewery taproom. Launches 25.03.23. The current regular opening hours are reportedly Wed-Sun:10am to 6pm.

Official site of Moot Brew Co.Tap - mootbrew.co.uk

Official site of Moot Brew Co.Tap - mootbrew.co.uk

Facebook page of Moot Brew Co.Tap - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Moot Brew Co.Tap - www.facebook.com