GRIFFIN BREWERY
A TOUR ROUND THE
Griffin Brewery Bartley Chipchase fulfils a long held ambition
The Griffin Brewery in Chiswick has started showing people around again after a year of having to close the brewery to the public. The brewery tours are a popular way to spend an afternoon, not least because there’s lots of beer sampling involved. It’s something I’d been meaning to do for ages, so when they opened up again I was quick to sign up for a tour. Perhaps best known for their signature London Pride, Fuller’s distribute a wide range of beers to pubs across the country and export to over 80 countries worldwide. The brewery occupies an impressive spot in the heart of
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Chiswick, just off the Hogarth roundabout. Brewing in Chiswick has a life which far predates this particular building. Prior to the 17th century it was not uncommon for large households to produce their own beer. The gardens of Bedford House in Chiswick Mall was one such brewhouse, which was acquired by Thomas Mawson in the late 1600s and expanded until in 1845 in became Fuller, Smith and Turner. The brewery was taken over in 2019 by Asahi, but the building and the beers remain substantially the same. After a brief introduction to this rich history, the tour f @outandaboutmagazines
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guide brought us into the main brewhouse which is where the bulk of the tour takes place. A very informative diagram (to the uneducated beer drinker, like myself ) gives an outline of the entire process from start to finish. It is as much a biological process as it is a mechanical one, as subtle temperature differences can cause fundamental changes in flavour and even the type of beer produced. Helpfully then, the tour largely follows the process in chronological order, winding its way upwards through the vast facility. At a very simple level, beer is formed from malted barley, a lot of water, hops and yeast. The www.outaboutmagazine.co.uk
