Dorchester Experience Days

Our host in the Highbury Brewhouse and Kitchen was Moses - very welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable. After a brief overview of the brewing process (many of the beers being brewed on-site), we sat down to 5 pairings of whisky shots and half-pint beers, ranging from pale ales, blondes, stouts, single/blended Scotch, Irish, Bourbon and Japanese. With a very good memory, Moses was able to talk us through the brewing process for each, the history and the reasoning for pairing them together (something you may not normally do). There was just the two of us on this experience, so he was able to give us his full attention for the duration. There was an optional tasting sheet to fill in (we decided to enjoy the experience without documenting!) but much discussion with Moses along the way. Following this, we had a decent quality burger and chips from the menu. Excellent value for money, and a well run event. Big thanks to Moses!

We had a wonderful champagne afternoon tea at Sopwell House. The room the tea was served in was beautifully decorated. The champagne was served in elegant glasses and was very well chilled. The sandwiches were soft, fresh and nicely filled. The scones were warm and delicious and there was a very good variety of cakes. Staff were attentive and supported all of our needs, yet were not intrusive. We would definitely go back.

The day started at 10am with hot drinks and an intro to the day. It wasn't long before we were enjoying bacon sandwiches and our first taster. The Head Brewer was passionate and informative, inviting us to be as involved or not as we liked in making a batch of IPA throughout the day. As we this took place we were given regular samples of the various beers/IPA's/Cask Ales/Porters to try. A substantial lunch was provided, along with our choice of 5l 5keg to take away at the end. I would definitely leave the car behind as the opportunity to try each beer was substantial.

I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t sure what to expect but the lady was very informative about beers and we actually learnt something having been beer drinkers for far too long!

Excellent.A nice selection of beers and a succulent variety hamburger