Nene Valley Brewery is an independent brewery based at Oundle Wharf in Northamptonshire. Established in 2011, it moved to its current site in 2012 and has developed a varied range of beers including regular releases, one-offs and collaborations. The brewery has worked towards making its beers gluten free since 2015 and is also home to the waterside Tap & Kitchen restaurant and bar.
Brewery story
Nene Valley Brewery was established in 2011, initially brewing on a 400-litre experimental setup in an outbuilding before moving to Oundle Wharf in September 2012.
The move brought a new 2,500-litre brewery built by DME in Canada. The larger premises allowed Nene Valley to open a brewery shop and begin supplying packaged beer to the surrounding area, while Friday evenings started attracting customers to drink at the brewery.
The brewery has steadily expanded both its reach and its range. Alongside its regular beers, Nene Valley produces one-off releases and collaborations, with particularly popular experimental beers sometimes becoming recurring additions to the range.
Since the end of 2015, the brewery has worked towards making all of its beers gluten free. This began around the same period that beers including Big Bang Theory and Release the Chimps started being packaged in cans.
Nene Valley has maintained a strong focus on meeting its drinkers directly, operating brewery bars at festivals and taking part in tap takeovers and meet-the-brewer events. These events have also provided opportunities to introduce new beers and receive immediate feedback from customers.
Oundle Wharf is also home to Tap & Kitchen, a waterside restaurant and bar serving Nene Valley Brewery beers alongside a wider drinks selection. Its kitchen prepares much of its food in-house and uses locally sourced ingredients where possible.
Taproom
Tap & Kitchen is Nene Valley Brewery's waterside restaurant and bar at Oundle Wharf. The bar serves an extensive drinks range including beers brewed onsite by Nene Valley Brewery, while the kitchen focuses on unfussy dishes made with locally sourced ingredients where possible. Coffee, lunch, bar food and dinner are served throughout the week.
Oundle Wharf, Station Road, Oundle, Northamptonshire, PE8 4DE
Tap & Kitchen is Nene Valley Brewery's waterside restaurant and bar at Oundle Wharf. The bar serves an extensive drinks range including beers brewed onsite by Nene Valley Brewery, while the kitchen focuses on unfussy dishes made with locally sourced ingredients where possible. Coffee, lunch, bar food and dinner are served throughout the week.
