34 nostalgic photos capture life at UK's lost breweries, which made some of nation's best-loved beers

But many of the nation’s most historic, biggest and best-loved breweries have closed over the years.

This retro photo gallery captures life at more than a dozen of those lost breweries around the UK, from Scotland to England’s south coast, where some of the country’s most popular tipples were once made.

It shows employees hard at work inside those breweries, skimming yeast, rolling barrels and, most importantly, taste-testing the end product.

This trip down memory lane also features the much-loved old dray horses, and the centuries-old initation ceremony called ‘trussing the cooper’, in which workers completing their apprenticeship were rolled around the brewery in a barrel containing beer and wood shavings.

Three of the lost breweries pictured were at one time the largest in the world, churning out hundreds of millions of pints a year.

Some closed many years ago and have been demolished but others were lost much more recently and are awaiting redevelopment.

Several of the beers made at these breweries were among the most popular in the UK during the 60s, 70s and 80s. Some are still made elsewhere, but others are no longer available.

Did you work at one of the breweries, or do you know anyone who did, and how many of the beers made there have you sampled over the years?

If you enjoyed this trip down memory lane, you might like our look back at high street stores which used to be huge but have now closed or are struggling.