Skinners Brewery officially welcomes the public back to its riverside HQ in Newham this month, with a weekend of live music, shanty singing, the freshest brews on tap, and a celebratory atmosphere as the brewery once again becomes a lively social hub for the community.
The ‘Skinner’s September Weekender’ marks the relaunch of the in-house brewery bar as The Tap Yard Bar & Café – a refurbished outdoor space for meeting, drinking, eating and socialising just a short walk from Truro city centre – which is open Monday to Saturday every week.
Following an initial soft launch, the Tap Yard is now set to host its first major event on Saturday 18th, a sold-out ‘thank you’ party for Skinner’s Crowdfunder campaign supporters, who helped the Cornish brewery get back on track after the initial impact of Covid-19.
The following day, Sunday 19th, will see the inaugural Skinner’s Sea Shanty Sunday fill the Tap Yard with the tones of the South West’s finest shanty groups, including The Oggymen, Bryer Boys and Exmouth Shanty Men. Tickets for this event are still available via the brewery’s website, or entrance is £20 on the day subject to capacity within the venue.
Brewery Co-Owner Steve Skinner said: “We can’t wait to welcome everyone back to the brewery and show them what we’ve been working on these past few months. Our Crowdfunder campaign promised people a great new venue to get-together, and I think we’ve achieved that and more.”
The outdoor space features wood cladding and green planting, combined with a semi-industrial feel to reflect the location within a working brewery. Bike racks are designed to appeal to cyclists using the nearby cycle paths, and Newham is well connected by footpaths to the rest of Truro, making it an attractive location for a pint and a bite to eat whilst out and about in the city.
The inside area – also given a new look as part of the project – is cosy and designed for group tasting events and relaxed socialising; all areas can be made available to businesses, sports clubs and other organisations for private hire.
The new set-up, described as ‘game-changing’ for the future of Skinner’s, will also see an indoor café area open later in the year, from where visitors will be able to glimpse the inner workings of the brewing operation. Their popular brewery tours are also due to restart this autumn, giving visitors a unique insight into how iconic Cornish beers like Betty Stogs and Porthleven are created by this band of passionate brewers.
Elaine Skinner, who is Co-Owner of the brewery alongside husband Steve, said: “The inspiration for this open brewery feel came from visiting similar set-ups in cities like Bristol and Amsterdam, where after-work drinks at the brewery, street-food pop-ups and live music are part of city life. Skinner’s has always been more than a brewery, and the more buzz we can bring to the post-pandemic city, the better.”
(COVID safety notice for these events: The Tap Yard Bar is an outdoor space, with extra cover provided by an open-sided marquee in case of bad weather. The inside bar will also be open so that people can spread out as much as possible, and all indoor space will be kept well-ventilated. They’ll be asking all their guests to sanitise their hands on arrival, and encourage mask-wearing in indoor/confined areas. They highly recommend that you take a Covid test before attending this event, and if you have any symptoms they emphatically ask you not to attend).
