Prior's Well Brewery, Mansfield

Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Old Brewery Bar

When researching pubs and bars to visit in Mansfield, the Priors Well Brewery cropped up on my shortlist. Priors Well moved from their previous home (the Well) which was a little further north, into this building, the former Mansfield Brewery.

The bar normally closes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but can open on matchdays. This was a matchday at Field Mill, albeit one where a fairly small attendance was expected. The brewery debated about opening and even put a survey on Facebook to decide whether to open or not. The survey resulted in a resounding 'no' to opening, but nevertheless a quick message to them the day before revealed that they had decided to open.

You walk into a rather large space with a bar at the far end. The brewery equipment is behind the bar. A further room contains further tables and seating along with a servery selling hot food and snacks.

4 real ales were on the bar. I'd never had a Priors Well beer before. So, I ordered both the Wolfcatcher and the Maun Valley Best. Guest beers were Pheasantry Black Pheasant, Ossett Excelcius & Orkney Northern Lights, whilst craft options were SALT Jute & Huckaback, Thornbridge Green Mountain & Goose Island Today's Haze.

Unfortunately, only 8 people turned up during the 3-hour opening period, which probably meant it wasn't worth their while opening. All were away fans and in fact this was almost 11% of the total away attendance at the match! At least 4 staff were on duty, including a couple at the food counter, which didn't get any custom.

As brewery taps go, I was quite impressed with the size of this one and found the drinking environment to be bright, clean and welcoming. I'm sincerely grateful for them opening up and hope they get much more custom on future matchdays.

On 14^th November 2023 - rating: 7
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