Offering respite to weary Christmas Shoppers is the Old Cannon Brewery, set ten minutes away from the market square of old Bury St Edmunds.

We had visited the town for the famed Christmas Fayre held there every year, where the streets are lined with stalls of every description, all selling presents to make your nearest and dearest gasp with gratitude, before committing their gift to the cupboard for all eternity. We got there at just before mid-day, and within seconds found ourselves needing something to eat; but more importantly; to drink.

 

It was on the recommendation of a work colleague that we sought the establishment out. He was a more frequent visitor to the town than we are, and had eaten and drank their in the past. Great bloke that he is, though, he’s not the most verbose of people and described the place simply as being “really nice”. We really didn’t know what to expect.

Approaching the building didn’t tell us much, either. Tidy enough, large, even imposing even, but the only external clues to what it is are the swinging sign and name above the doorway. We arrived fifteen minutes before the twelve o’clock opening time and stood outside eying up the menus, and then a kindly lady passed us and offered us inside to sit until they opened. She worked there, of course, and we were grateful.

Once inside there are more clues than this is much more than a simple pub. It could be described as a gastrobrewery, but somehow it seems that banal catergorisation is inappropriate. It’s like nowhere else I’ve ever been; your eyes are drawn to the two big brewing vessels to the right of the bar. These are the actual vessels in which the beers of the house are fermented; more of which anon, and are available for drinkers to gaze upon at their leisure. The thermometer of one was registering twenty degrees, evidence that they’re not just there for their ornamental value.

The inside is generally extremely well tended, and as soon as opening time came around it was clear that clientele isn’t thin on the ground. There are several tables in the raised section of the pub, all of which wore reserved signs. Turning up when we did was evidently the right thing to do, since we had every intention of eating.

Fish and chips. We weren’t going to push the edge of the culinary envelope; it’s a shame in a way, considering the rich variety of dishes on the menu, but the quality of fish and chips still stands as something of a datum point for establishing how much we like a pub or restaurant.

And we liked them a whole lot, as it happens. The peas were crisp and flavoursome, the chips were crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and plentiful, and the fish was substantial, moist and delicately fried, to some tastes it might have been a little too succulent; if for instance you live in Luton and you’re used to fish from the local chippy that’s had the hell fried out of it. The fish literally falls apart as soon as it touches your tongue, with a light, rewarding beer batter that encapsulates the taste, before releasing it when it cracks.

In some ways I was hoping that the first venue I wrote about would have something substantially wrong with it, that I could get my journalistic teeth into and really have a field day belittling, but no such luck with the Old Cannon Brewery. In the hour that I spent there I found nothing to carp about, from the exemplary presentation and the courteous, informed and enthusiastic staff to the “Brewing bollocks” sign on the mezzanine floor where ingredients for their next brew are on display. There was some ingenuity in action, too, one of the downlighters was fashioned from an empty pin of beer.

And then you had the drinks, and this is where things got really impressive.

Nicola opted for a pint of Old Cannon Brewery Hornblower, the drink on the left in the above photo. This is a glowing, golden preparation of 4% abv. Old Cannon Brewery say of it:

 “……… Hornblower (ABV 4%)

(Silver Award winner, East Anglian Beer Festival 2011)

A light coloured ale with a hoppy, citrusy over tone and a hint of blackberry……..”

I’m looking at the tasting notes 24hours after my sampling, and must say I didn’t really find that blackberry hint. But it certainly was quite strongly citrusy, with slightly metallic notes that really cut through. It’s probably at its best as a summer drink; as an agent for pure refreshment it really hits the spot.

Being a little too easily influenced by evocative names, I went for a pint of Gunners Daughter; on the right in the above photo. This is also a house brew, a dark, brooding beast of a beer, and I was delighted to find that it swims with many of the tastes I relish in a beer. They declare:

“………Gunner’s Daughter (ABV 5.5%)

(Silver Award winner, East Anglian Beer Festival 2010)

A well-balanced strong ale with a complexity of hop, fruit, sweetness and

bitterness in the flavour, and a lingering, pleasant after taste…………”

I could scarcely agree more. It started off confidently with a rich, caramel sweetness met with a woody, substantial body. It felt like it had almost as much nutritional value as the meal in front of us. And then, when you gulp it down leaving its memory on the palate, it subsides into an incredibly long, three dimensional finish, leaving a final smoky note that you remember. It was one of those pints that are so good you drink it slightly dewy eyed.

That one pint was enough for me to declare that I will definitely make a return visit to the Old Cannon Brewery, possibly several. In the new year I certainly intend to take in one of their brewery tours.

The Old Cannon Brewery comes thoroughly recommended.

Their website is http://www.oldcannonbrewery.co.uk/

You can visit them at.

The Old Cannon Brewery
86 Cannon Street
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 1JR