1. Colwith Farm Distillery (Cornwall)
2. The Hop Shed (Worcestershire)
3. Wild Fox Distillery (Lancashire)
4. St Davids Old Farmhouse Brewery (Pembrokeshire, Wales)
5. Echlinville Distillery (Northern Ireland)
6. Fyne Ales Farm Brewery (Argyll, Scotland)
7. Chase Distillery (Herefordshire)
8. Grain Brewery (Norfolk)
9. Rivington Brewing Co (Lancashire)
Visiting farm breweries and distilleries is one of the latest travel trends in the UK.
But what are farm breweries and distilleries?
Farm breweries and distilleries are stepping away from traditional farming methods and using their land to create alcoholic beverages with a low environmental impact.
Many of these farms have opened tasting rooms on site, so that visitors can try their artisan beer, gin and vodka in beautiful surroundings.
Colwith Farm Distillery
Cornwall
Colwith Farm Distillery in Cornwall is doing something pretty cool with potatoes, turning their crop into award winning vodka and gin.
Whilst most distilleries buy mass-produced ethanol to make their gin products, Colwith Farm uses home-grown Cornish potatoes to make alcohol.
The fifth-generation farmers at Colwith Farm were adamant that everything would be produced from scratch on a single estate, including the botanicals used for the gin making process.
The results are beautiful, with a range of bespoke premium spirits on offer including Cornish Seaberry Vodka and rhubarb and ginger gin.
As Cornwall’s only plough to bottle distillery, visitors flock to the farm for guided distillery tours and gin masterclasses, where you can distill your own gin tailored to your taste.
The Hop Shed
Worcestershire
The team at The Hop Shed set up their brewery in a converted chicken shed on a hop farm in the Worcestershire countryside.
With the hops used in the brewing process being grown mere metres from the brewery, this is probably the most sustainable beer making operation in the whole of the UK.
The range of flavours and aromas produced by experimental British hops has allowed The Hop Shed to create some really unique beers.
The Frizzle IPA has won a couple of awards and is definitely the most popular beverage on offer.
Wild Fox Distillery
Lancashire
Wild Fox Distillery in rural Lancashire is a farm-to-bottle gin distillery where fourth generation farmers develop, harvest, distill, bottle and label their award-winning gins by hand.
With an array of fruits and botanicals growing in the farm orchard and surrounding hedge rows, the team behind Wild Fox Distillery have been able to create beautiful gins using only the products they grow from scratch.
The distillery is open Wednesday-Saturday, where you can enjoy views of the working dairy farm whilst sipping a perfect glass of G&T.
You’ll also be able to watch the impressive copper still (lovingly named Ivy) in action, distilling gin before your very eyes.
For a deep dive into farm-to-bottle gin making, pack your pencil case and head to Wild Fox Gin School for a 4.5 hour master distilling experience which involves creating your own homemade spirit.
St Davids Old Farmhouse Brewery
Pembrokeshire, Wales
St Davids Old Farmhouse Brewery only opened a couple of months ago, but it’s already shaking up the Welsh craft beer scene.
Located on a family farm in Pembrokeshire, St Davids aims to sustainably produce beer using water from their well and malting barley from their fields.
One of the most impressive things about St Davids is the renovation of the farmhouse itself, which has been lovingly restored from ruin by local stone masons.
The farm dates back to 1326, and the family’s commitment to preserving the land is really quite inspiring.
You can currently visit the wonderful microbrewery on Saturdays between 12-4 for a taste of the most sustainable barley to bottle beers in Wales.
Echlinville Distillery
Northern Ireland
The Echlinville Distillery is Ireland’s first farm distillery, producing whisky and gin from field to glass.
Located in the heart of County Down, the barley crops on the farm are sown, grown, harvested and malted by hand.
Every drop of whisky and gin is trickle pot distilled – the taste is outstanding and reflects the hard graft that goes into every single bottle.
The full range of premium drinks available can be sampled as part of a gin or whisky tasting at the distillery.
Alternatively, choose the tour and tipple experience for a deep dive into the world of premium spirits.
Fyne Ales Farm Brewery
Argyll, Scotland
When Fyne Ales Farm Brewery opened over twenty years ago, the founders aimed to bring industry and tourism to an isolated corner of Scotland.
In the process, they ended up creating progressive farmhouse beers that are now enjoyed all over the world.
The Avalanche beer is a good shout, promising a thirst-quenching pale, and the Highlander traditional Scottish amber is also great.
Set on a 4500 acre estate in the beautiful Scottish countryside, Fyne Ales Farm Brewery is a must-visit destination for beer lovers on a road trip of Scotland.
Visitors are invited daily between 10am-6pm to enjoy beers in the brewery tap, or sunny afternoons in the beer garden.
Chase Distillery
Herefordshire
Chase Distillery was founded by the owner of Tyrrells Crisps, who realised that his wonderful Herefordshire potatoes could also make excellent vodka.
As a single-estate distillery, all spirits produced by Chase Distillery are made on the farm using home-grown ingredients.
From King Edward potatoes to fragrant elderflower and tart rhubarb, the farm’s harvest is used to make delicious vodka and gin products which are now enjoyed around the world.
One of the best Chase drinks is the Williams Gin, which is made from the fermentation of organic cider apples grown in the on-site orchard, exhibiting a delicious bramley apple flavour balanced with secret botanicals.
The Chase Distillery tour offers the opportunity to visit the Herefordshire countryside and learn about how they make their premium field to bottle gins and vodkas.
The tour starts with a Chase GB gin & tonic, followed by a tutored tasting, and finishes with a zesty Chase Grapefruit gin & tonic.
Grain Brewery
Norfolk
Grain Brewery in the village of Harleston in Norfolk was born in 2006, when the UK beer scene was pretty dull and two local lads were bored of their corporate jobs…
Geoff and Phil scraped together enough money to buy a second-hand 5 barrel starter brewery, and with the help of beer-loving friends and family members, they brought Grain Brewery to life.
Located on South Farm in the Waveney Valley, the brewery is conveniently situated in the heart of Britain’s best barley growing land, and Maris Otter barley is grown right on the doorstep.
The result is a selection of excellent bitters, blondes and pale ales which can be sampled in the on-site tap room or from the brewery drive-thru.
The brewery and tap room is only opened once a month to the public, usually on the last Saturday of the month.
The taproom and tour days include tours of the brewery, live music, artisan hot dogs and plenty of beer.
Rivington Brewing Co
Lancashire
Rivington Brewing Co is a farm brewery in Lancashire which produces some of the best craft beer in the north west of England.
Based at Home Farm in Rivington for ten generations, the family beef farm decided to start brewing beer in 2014.
Now a sizeable operation with a whole area of the farm converted into a brewing warehouse, the brewery has seen huge success in recent years.
The original tap room at the farm had to be extended to create more space for thirsty customers, who can’t get enough of the beer, the wonderful views and the excellent wood-fired pizza on offer.
Rivington Brewing Co are pretty much obsessed with the North of England and championing local brewers.
They sell their kegs to pubs and bars no more than 25 miles away and the fruit they use in their sours come from local Lancashire farms.
I hope you enjoyed my guide to the best farm breweries and distilleries in the UK. Don’t miss my guide to the best luxury shipping container Airbnbs in the UK and Ireland here!