Docks Beers

Launched in 2018, the brewery occupies a converted Edwardian church on King Edward Street, a ten-minute walk from the town's historic docks. The building is a good match for the operation: solid, a bit unexpected, and more interesting inside than the exterior suggests. Brewing takes place on a 15-barrel plant on the ground floor, with the taproom above it — a layout that lets drinkers look down over the fermentation vessels while working through a pint. Above that sits Docks Academy, a venue the brewery opened in 2020 for gigs and events.

Grimsby has a proud industrial heritage, and Docks Beers is not shy about drawing on it. The name nods to the docks; the ethos nods to the work ethic of a town that built its reputation on getting things done. Their range covers pale ales, IPAs, stouts and sours, brewed in a style that takes craft beer seriously without making it unapproachable. Over 200 different beers produced in a relatively short time, which is an impressive output for a brewery of this scale and speaks to a genuine restlessness in the brewery.

The brewery is Lincolnshire's highest rated on Untappd, which matters less as a badge and more as an indicator that people in the region are paying attention.

Zero Visibility is their 0.0% hazy pale, built around soft tropical fruit character with the kind of cloudy appearance that signals a beer brewed with care rather than corners cut. It sits alongside the main range rather than as a separate category, which says something about how the brewery views its AF output.

Worth knowing if you're in Lincolnshire and want something that didn't originate in a London railway arch.