There are pubs where the most interesting historical fact is that somebody famous once ordered a pint there.

The Brewery Tap can do rather better.

The Westgate building became home to Oakham Ales in 1998, when the brewery moved from Rutland to Peterborough and installed a 35-barrel brewing plant inside the former Labour Exchange. Oakham Ales

So before we even get to the Thai food, there's a decent Peterborough story sitting behind the bar.

Because Oakham wasn't simply making another bitter.

It was becoming one of the British breweries pushing much hoppier, lighter beers and experimenting with American and New World hops before that became normal pub behaviour.

And then somebody discovered Citra.

Peterborough got Citra before most of Britain knew what Citra was

In 2009, Oakham brewer John Bryan encountered the then-new Citra hop during a trip to the United States.

Oakham says he was sufficiently excited by it that part of the brewery's allocation was flown back to Britain, rather than waiting for the rest to arrive by sea.

The result was Oakham Citra, first brewed in November 2009. Oakham says it became the first UK brewery to make a beer using 100% Citra hops. Oakham Ales

Today, seeing Citra on a pump clip or beer can hardly raises an eyebrow.

Back then, it was new.

Which means a story that became part of modern British brewing has a distinctly Peterborough chapter.

That's quite a lot to discover in the same building where somebody is currently wondering how much chilli they can handle.

Because then there's the Thai food

This is the other reason The Brewery Tap sticks in people's heads.

Pub outside. Thai kitchen inside.

Not Thai-inspired bar snacks.

Thai food.

And dishes such as Weeping Tiger have become part of the place's identity for regulars.

It creates a combination that sounds slightly peculiar until you're sitting in front of it.

Cold, hoppy beer.

Hot, spicy food.

Suddenly the arrangement makes considerably more sense.

In fact, Oakham's own tasting notes for Citra recommend it with spicy Oriental cuisine, alongside tomato-and-basil Italian dishes. Oakham Ales

Whether that was all part of an elaborate master plan or simply a happy collision of beer and food, we'll happily take the result.

The brewing has moved. The story hasn't.

Oakham outgrew the Westgate operation and opened its larger Woodston brewery in 2006. The original large Brewery Tap plant was subsequently sold, although smaller-scale brewing equipment remained at Westgate. 

So don't walk in expecting the whole modern Oakham operation to be bubbling away behind the bar.

That's now elsewhere in Peterborough.

But the Brewery Tap still makes more sense once you know what happened here.

A former Labour Exchange became a brewery.

A brewery became part of Peterborough's pub culture.

Peterborough became Oakham Ales' home.

And a brewery prepared to take chances with unfamiliar hops ended up helping introduce British drinkers to a flavour that's now everywhere.

All while the kitchen was giving people entirely different reasons to remember the place.

Not bad for a pub on Westgate.

Tell Us

What's the dish you always order at The Brewery Tap?

Weeping Tiger? A curry? Something else entirely?

Tell us in the comments or nominate another Peterborough pub where the food deserves as much attention as the beer.