Leigh on Sea Brewery - Opening Night

December 7, 2017 by Foodie Rich

Yes, I know, the names Foodie Rich, and that’s a clue, I’m a foodie, it doesn’t take a genius to work that one out. I love food, and who doesn’t? My mission here at Leigh on Sea.com is to hunt down all those little hidden foodie gems and share my findings with you. So, why the hell is this week’s instalment all about beer; AGAIN? I know I know, last week I wrote about beer, and I’m doing the same this week, but for good reason I promise. So why? It’s simple really, our local beer scene has never looked so good. But what if you don’t like beer? I mean it’s not everyone’s drink of choice. Or maybe you’d rather hear me ramble on about the marvellous food I’ve been scoffing this week? So, to satisfy those more interested in the edible not the drinkable, here’s my foodie highlights from the week just past:

• Fish and Chips from Oldham’s – reviewed these guys a few weeks back, and love em! Last Thursday we had few cheeky craft beers in the West Road Tap, then over to Oldham’s for some fish and chips. It doesn’t really get much better.
• A Steak Sandwich at Café O’Portugues – Remember my review of this place a couple of weeks ago? last weekend I managed to file away no less than two garlicky steak sandwiches; wey hey now that’s a good weekend! Nothing flash, and as simple as it gets, but superb all the same.
• Henry Burgers – Saturday afternoon, after quite a few beers around Leigh, good old Henry came to my rescue. After sampling his new craft beer additions, some much needed sustenance was required in the form of a good ol’ cheese burger!
• Sunday Lunch at my House! – Not wishing to blow my own trumpet, on Sunday afternoon I cooked a slow roast lamb shoulder like no other. Massaged with anchovy, capers, lemon zest and oil, it was on point!

Well there you go, nothing ground breaking on the foodie front this week, or really worth writing home about, so back to that beer!

If you remember, last week I wrote a little summary of the Rochford Beer Festival. Undoubtedly one of the highlights of my year. The crowning champion of the fest came from a very local brewery indeed; none other than the Leigh on Sea brewery. This is quite an achievement since they’ve only been brewing for a few months. I’ve managed to track down a few of their beers in pubs and bars around Leigh, and it’s all been very good. So, it came as no surprise to me when they scooped the top award at the fest. Well, imagine my excitement when I heard they were opening a tap room at the brewery. Yep, you can actually visit the brewery and drink the beer direct from its source! Wowzers, I’ve gotta get myself involved with some of that.

Tap rooms are bang on trend at the moment. Head in to London and a countless number of hipster craft brewers have been doing this for years. Take the Bermondsey beer mile for instance. Just south of the river, and within a short walk of each other, there’s a very small concentration of craft brewery’s (around 12 to be precise). Every Saturday their doors are flung open and their brews can be sampled. Along the way you’ll stumble across Maltby Street Market. A rival to Borough Market you can find all sorts here from vegan to the dirtiest gourmet burger in town. Perfect to soak up all that ale! This really does make for a great Saturday afternoon! Ok, around here we’re not quite to that level yet, but the addition of the Leigh on Sea brewery tap room is a bloody good start!

Last Friday, on the opening night, we headed down. The brewery is on an industrial estate along Progress road. So yeah, hardly glamorous, but it kinda seems to fit together so well. Me, and everyone else who made the trip on this cold Friday evening were here for the beer, and what can I say? We were rewarded handsomely! The tap room itself has been fitted out pretty well too. The bar for one. Cockle shells have been painstakingly positioned line after line along the bar, then I’m guessing a sort of clear resin poured over the entire surface to make, what is, a cockle shell bar. On the wall too, more cockle shells make up their logo. The place was packed, and I must say, the beer was going down rather well. Oh, and as a bar snack, nothing less than fresh leigh cockles were laid on. This all seemed a little surreal. I’m on an industrial estate, drinking beer and eating cockles. But it all worked perfectly. The beer was the freshest you’ll ever drink. Forget beer miles, the distance could be measured in centimetres! I can only describe the atmosphere as cosy! Yes, it was busy, and I found myself constantly apologising to others as I accidently elbowed fellow drinkers and stepped on their toes. But everyone took it in good humour!

I think food and drink taste’s so much better when consumed in its natural habitat so to speak. For example, fish and chips eaten by the sea, cockles on the sea wall in Old Leigh. How about a glass of wine at a vineyard, and does it get much better than beer drunk almost straight from the barrel in a brewery? The good people at the Leigh on Sea brewery have taken our local beer scene by the scruff of the neck, and have given it a well deserved kick up the ass. Not only are they brewing truly interesting beers, they’ve gone one step further and opened a tap room on the premises. Good on ya guys, I love beer, and it’s great to see you pushing the boundaries of our local brewing scene. Your beers are quite unique, and just seem to get better and better! And take it from me these guys really can organise a piss up in a brewery!