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If you want to learn more about the brewing process and, of course, sample some beer, there are a few options in and around Bournemouth. Poole Hill Brewery and the Brewhouse & Kitchen have on-site microbreweries. At Poole Hill, you can take a tour of their brewery, while at the Brewhouse & Kitchen you can actually get in on the action. Both options come with plenty of beer!

Poole Hill Brewery

Poole Hill Brewery is a pub/micro brewery on Poole Hill in central Bournemouth. As well as a full schedule of live entertainment, offers weekly brewery tours, culminating with a visit to the taproom.

How to Get to Poole Hill Brewery

The brewery is just a 10 minute walk from Bournemouth town centre or a 15 minute walk from Bournemouth beach. From the bottom of the Central Gardens, follow Commercial Road, which becomes Poole Hill a little further up. Several buses (m1, m2, 16, 18, 20, 36) stop on Poole Hill, right outside the brewery.

Parking

Parking in Bournemouth can be difficult and is not cheap. The nearest car park is West Hill where parking costs £3.10 for two hours. Further details here.

Tours

Brewery Tours take place every Saturday afternoon at 2 pm.

Price

Tickets cost £15. This includes a tour of the brewery plus time in the taproom sampling some of the beers produced here.

Brewery History

The brewery was established in 2013 in a disused Rolls Royce car showroom by Jennifer Tingay, who was made redundant when another independent local brewery was bought out by Carlsberg. Crowd funding was used to raise sufficient money for the refurbishment. In 2018, just 5 years after its inception, Poole Hill was voted Dorset’s best brewer.

Brewery Tour

The brewery is only small – just two rooms, so it’s not a long tour. Group numbers are limited to 16. The tour guide was interesting and informative and talked about the establishment of the brewery, as well as the history of brewing in general. For example; we learned how the ‘invention’ of Stout came about when a brewer accidentally over-roasted his barley. There were also samples of some of the brewing ingredients to taste, which helped us to understand the brewing process and the difference between the various ales.

Taproom

After the tour, the group was taken to the taproom where we were able to taste some of the beers produced in a tutored tasting. The tour guide remained with us, explaining the characteristics of the beers and even joining in with a sample or two himself!

We were given four different beers to sample, with theoretically half a pint each, although it was served in pitchers and the portions were generous, so it ended up being somewhat more.

Our group consisted of myself, a friend and 14 men on a stag party. We tried the Grockles (Blonde Ale) – my favourite – and Headlander (Bitter). There should have been a third sample, however, we were given the choice of Stroller (Stout) or Digies (American Pale Ale). When the vote was split, they ended up providing a pitcher of each. With the stag party apparently on a tight schedule, they promptly departed, leaving just myself and my friend to polish off the remains of the pitchers.

It was a fun and informative afternoon. I learned a lot about beer and also drank a lot of beer. I was certainly glad to have travelled to the brewery by bus! A tour of Poole Hill Brewery is to be thoroughly recommended.

Beers

Two brands of beer are produced here. The first is Southbourne Ales. The range consists of Sunbather (Red Ale), Headlander (Bitter), Grockles (Blonde Ale) and Stroller (Oatmeal Stout), with other beers produced seasonally. The more recent addition is the more trendy Tingay’s range; Digies (American Pale Ale) and Armed with Flowers (Ale with a floral Infusion).

Brewhouse & Kitchen

The Brewhouse & Kitchen is a chain of microbreweries with three pubs in the Bournemouth area; in central Bournemouth, Southbourne and Poole. Here, not only can you enjoy a drink and perhaps a bite to eat, but you can also get involved in the brewing process in their on-site microbreweries. We joined a Brewery Experience Day at the Brewhouse & Kitchen in Southbourne, where we spent the day watching (and helping) brew a batch of beer.

How to get to the Brewhouse & Kitchen

Bournemouth

The Bournemouth Brewhouse & Kitchen is very centrally located, in The Triangle. The nearest bus stop is Poole Hill, which is a 1 minute walk away and served by several buses (m1, m2, 16, 18, 20, 36).

Southbourne

The Southbourne Brewhouse & Kitchen is right in the centre of Southbourne on Seabourne Road. The nearest bus stop, pretty much right outside the pub, is Fisherman’s Walk on bus routes m2, 1c and 1b.

Poole

The Poole Brewhouse & Kitchen is on the south western end of Poole town centre in Dear Hay Lane. Here, you must walk slightly further (7 minutes) to reach a bus stop; Poole Bus Station. From Bournemouth, you can take buses m1, m2 or 16.

Times

Brewing takes place in each venue twice a week; on Fridays and Saturdays. The day runs from 10 am until 5 pm.

Price

The Brewery Experience Day costs £95. This includes breakfast, lunch and plenty of beers throughout the day. You also get to choose a 5 litre mini keg of beer to take home afterwards.

Brewery Experience Day

As the day progresses, the brewers will teach you all about the brewing process. You can choose to watch or get involved. Bear in mind that it can get a bit wet, so you need suitable footwear. First up, filling the kettle with malt and grains and mixing it into the water. We were able to get stuck in and have a go at mixing, which was quite a workout! While the malt and grains soaked for an hour, time for a breakfast – pastries, bacon sandwiches and, of course, beer.

The brewing continues through sparging, boiling, adding hops and so on. Here, we are clearing the mashed grains at the end of the process – a free facial into the bargain!

Between easy stage in the process, there is time to relax, eat and drink; breakfast, lunch and a variety of beers are served.

Food

Our Brewery Experience Day included breakfast (pastries, bacon and avocado sandwiches) and lunch (focaccia with the house signature Beer Can Chicken).

Beer

Beer was served at intervals throughout our brewery experience. We tried Trilogy Stout, Steamhouse APA, Harry Mears IPA, Icon Pilsner and Kolsch Lager. Note: The types of beer on offer are same across the chain, but the individual brewers get to choose their own recipe, so the beer names may vary from pub to pub.

Meanwhile, back at the bar, you have a choice of several beers brewed in-house, plus a variety of guest beers and ciders. In addition, you will find the usual selection of drinks you’d expect to see served in a pub.

Other Events

Other events throughout the week include pub classics, such as quizzes and live music. They also offer tasting sessions, such as beer and gin masterclasses. These are somewhat cheaper at £30 per person.

I hope you found this information useful. For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth here.

• Updated: July 2024