Batemans Brewery is the pinnacle of the Batemans empire which reigns over the historic town of Wainfleet, and is fast spreading across the country having already claimed Norfolk, the Derbyshire Dales, Peterborough and Nottingham. The Bateman’s Visitors Centre, opened in 2000, recently received its Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Service (VAQAS) accreditation, designed to promote and encourage quality throughout the tourist industry, and includes a bar, bistro, artefacts room, shop, games area, function rooms and brew house tours.

There are tours around both the modern and magnificent Victorian brew houses, which are entertaining for the whole family, and allow visitors to delve into the history of one of the country’s oldest family breweries. While the serious beer collector can revel in the treasures of the brewery shop, the more playful visitors can dally in some traditional pub games.

Continental lagers, Belgian beers and championship winning Batemans beers are all stocked in the atmospheric Circular Windmill Bar, where the cheerful and friendly service is amplified by its magnificent settings. Food is served in The Patricia Room, and while it is by no means out of the ordinary, it most definitely skyrockets to the very top of its category. The hearty dishes served are a traditionally flavoursome backdrop upon which diners can absorb the menagerie of beer-related artefacts cloaking the walls. On display is the country’s largest bottled beer and poster collection. Pub signs hang from the ceiling and a menu with the vast majority of its ingredients sourced in Lincolnshire, means that Batemans Brewery is a veritable feast for the eyes and the mouths of the hungry.

The steak and Batemans XXXB ale pie is a treat with huge chunks of tender steak, in the tastiest darkest gravy, gift wrapped in pastry and cooked to perfection. Teamed with a pile of peas, a mountain of chips and a magnificent stream of gravy this is a dish fit for a ravenously hungry and incredibly English king. The fisherman’s pie is a more delicate but no less grand choice. The fish is succulent, and rife, beneath a sea of creamy mashed potato with choppy waves of melted cheese and served with a fresh green salad and heap of chips. Lincolnshire sausages sourced from the local butchers and traditional Lincolnshire ploughmans – either cheese or typical Lincolnshire meats – are not to be forgotten. There are also bar snacks and vegetarian dishes on offer. The wholesome menu and beer-tastic motivation behind Batemans Brewery is an exemplary match made in heaven, together producing a really rather fabulous day out for all the family.