Brewtown Tours brewtowntours.co.uk Everyone knows that York has a plentiful supply of great pubs, but few realise the sheer scale of how many breweries and microbreweries there are in York and the surrounding area, and the list keeps on growing. Apart from Brew York and York Brewery who are both based in the city and offer tours, most of the breweries you see supplying the bars of York are based on farms and industrial estates out of town. Unless you know the brewer you're unlikely to get through the front door, and even if you did, you'd still have to drive home limiting the enjoyment of any tastings. Luckily Mark Stredwick has recently moved back from Australia and brought with him a solution for beer lovers which has become Brewtown Tours. Designed with locals, tourists, and organised events all in mind Mark has put together a selection of different tours that start at York Tap at the station and take in a tour and tasting session at some of the area's best breweries that are usually behind closed doors, finishing back in town a either the Brew York tap room or back at the York Tap. I met up with Ben from York on a Fork for a quick pint in York Tap while we waited for Mark to pick us up at 13:00 then we were straight off to Rudgate at Marston Moor Industrial Estate. There are three different tours available for York and one in Leeds: North West - Rudgate, Yorkshire Heart, then Brew York South East - two from Hop Studio, Half Moon, Ainsty Ales then Brew York Malton - Bad Seed, Brass Castle, then Brew York Leeds - North Brewing, Northern Monk, then Brewery Tap Leeds. The first thing we realised when arriving at Rudgate is that this is a working brewery in full swing and you are in the thick of it rather than looking in from a viewing gallery. We started with a full tour of the site, followed by the opportunity to chat with the head brewer while we sampled some of the beers being brewed around you which included Jorvik, Battleaxe and our favourite, a superb Chocolate Stout. Back in the van...
Read More
What Just Happened? MPs have been debating the details of a new bill in parliament called the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill. The bill is wide ranging and includes details such as measures to help small and medium businesses, guidelines for public sector procurement, and crucially a section titled "The Pubs Code Adjudicator and the Pubs Code". These are the headline points of the original proposal for the pubs section of the bill: Campaigners believed these changes didn't go far enough to help tenants of the big PubCo companies and Liberal Democrat MP for Leeds North West Greg Mulholland tabled an amendment to the bill that tightened controls on the PubCos and would free up the tenants. MPs voted for the amendment by a majority of 25, including members of government defying the three line whip that had been issued by Michael Gove. What Does it Mean? Traditionally a beer tie for a pub could be a good thing, essentially the cost of entry for the tenant would be low and the rent would be kept artificially low, in return the pub would only be able to sell beer bought from the PubCo who would add on a percentage to regain their losses from the rent. Unfortunately as the PubCos massive debts forced them to squeeze every last drop of income out of their assets, many of the successful pubs in their portfolios were seeing their rents skyrocket to unaffordable levels during rent reviews and the price of their beer could be double what the pub could purchase it for on the open market forcing many publicans at seemingly successful pubs out of business. The new Market Rent Option in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill has a twofold effect. The tenant can ask to pay a fair rent at the market rate This will then break any beer tie, allowing the pub to source its beer from the open market This won't all happen straight away, it is triggered at certain points for example at the rent review (usually every 5 years) or if market conditions change (a new Wetherspoon's pub opens up next door) or the freehold is sold. Is There a Downside? As I see it there is a possibility that this will make...
Read MoreA Fair Deal For Your Local A long running and hard fought campaign to help stop the plague of local pub closures caused by the large PubCos such as Enterprise and Punch is a week away from a crucial vote in parliament, and you can help. Greg Mulholland, Liberal Democrat MP for Leeds North West, has tabled an amendment to the Small Business Bill that would enshrine in law the right for PubCo tenants to choose a market rent-only option. What this essentially means is that tenants of the large pub companies can buy beer on the open market rather than being forced to buy through their PubCo landlords who inflate the brewery price by around 70%, driving up prices for customers and forcing tenants out of business. The vote is on Tuesday 18th November 2014 and you can email your MP to ask them to back the amendment via the CAMRA website. Email your MP Your (editable) email will read as follows: I am writing as your constituent and as one of 167,000 CAMRA members to ask that you support a cross party amendment to the Small Business Bill (NC2: Pubs Code: Market Rent Only Option) to introduce a market rent only option for tenants of the large pub companies. The Small Business Bill introduces a Pubs Code and Adjudicator which I very much welcome. However I am seriously concerned that the Bill as it stands does not go far enough, and may prove unworkable unless accompanied by a right for tied tenants to choose between a tied agreement and a market rent only option. Please therefore support a cross-party attempt to amend the Small Business Bill to introduce a new clause which will, over time, allow tied tenants of large pub companies to choose between remaining on a tied agreement or opting for a non tied agreement at an open market rent (the market rent only option). Allowing tenants to choose a market rent only option will deliver a fair and sustainable future for Britain’s pubs by increasing licensee profitability, investment in pubs, greater consumer choice and will ultimately result in fewer pub closures. Please support your local publicans, breweries and consumers by: - Adding your name to the market rent only...
Read More
Pubs to Hide in During York Races (... or any weekend) Over 8 weekends every year the people of York see 30,000 racegoers descend on York each day. After their day of drink fuelled gambling fun is over they stream into town and fill up all the pubs. Well, most of the pubs. Once the dust has settled there are enclaves dotted around town that those in the know use as bolt-holes unaffected by the throngs outside, they remain steadfast in their quality and atmosphere. I'm not going to be able to list them all so this is a few suggestions within the walls, I think there are plenty of pubs to go to out of town so won't be covering them. I do welcome comments and suggestions though so if I've missed one off please get in touch and I'll keep the list up to date where I can. Ackhorne The Ackhorne is located right off the main artery into York from the racecourse but cannot be seen from Micklegate, so only those in the know will find it. Two large rooms with masses of seating and a beer garden out the back provide plenty of space to chill out, grab a pint, and escape the madness just around the corner. Blue Bell The Blue Bell will quite often display a "Private Party" sign outside on race days. This is usually only there to put off the large groups that roam town looking for anywhere to squeeze into. Pop your head in, and if there is space grab it while you can as the Blue Bell is tiny. Snickleway Inn The Snickleway Inn is protected on two sides by big pubs that draw in racegoers. At one end of Goodramgate is The Cross Keys, syphoning off anyone approaching from the Minster and a combination of The Golden Lion and The Old White Swan have sucked up the remaining drinkers who approach from town. The Snickleway Inn has plenty of small alcoves to sip a pint in peace. Pivni Tucked down Patrick Pool, Pivni is within earshot of the epicentre of the races chaos in The Quarter but manages to avoid the gaze of the masses and remain a charming craft beer hideout. The...
Read More
Last week someone I follow on twitter retweeted @HonestBrew and as a completely new name to me I instinctively clicked through to their profile to see what they were all about. Their profile blurb seemed straightforward enough 'Great craft beer direct to your door' and I assumed they were another beer home delivery site. What caught my eye was their banner photo showing two bottles of "Honest Brew" beers: "Straight Up Pale Ale" and "Straight Up Amber Ale". So I already knew they were not just another ordinary beer shop but they also brew their own. My interest was now piqued and I found my way to their website. This is where it got interesting and I got quite excited. You can either go straight to their standard shop or you can "Create an Honesty Box" where you are given a choice of typical ale properties for you to define your tastes: Pale, Amber, Dark are the first three, then flavours such as Crisp, Citrusy, or Chocolaty. Then for a fixed price each month Honest Brew will match your choices to the stock of beers they have in and send you either 9, 12 or 18 different beers each month. I plumped for the 9 bottle pack to try out the service and this costs £28 with "free UK delivery", which works out at a little over £3 per bottle. A couple of days later my delivery arrived and I had 9 new beers to try out. £2.20 - BrewDog - Dead Pony Club - Pale Ale 3.8% £2.50 - Honest Brew - Straight Up Amber Ale 4.6% £2.70 - Pressure Drop - Stokey Brown - Brown Ale 5.1% £2.75 - London Fields - Shoreditch Triangle - IPA 6% £2.25 - Camden Town - Hells Can 4.6% £2.50 - Honest Brew - Straight Up Pale Ale 4.7% £2.40 - Fourpure - Amber Ale Can 5.1% £2.75 - Redchurch Brewery – Shoreditch Blonde 4.5% £2.75 - Bristol Beer Factory – Southville Hop- IPA 6.5% A good mix (I didn't filter anything out when ordering my box as I'm happy to try them all!), and certainly a few in there I might not have picked out myself I was very happy overall. I did note the...
Read MoreFirst! "So, what the hell is this 'puboholic' all about?" I hear absolutely nobody asking. Well, I'm here to tell you. Through these pages I hope to produce a variety of pub based articles including: Pubs The main focus will be the pub reviews on the homepage. I wanted this to be map-based so anyone can zoom in on an area and see if there is a decent pub nearby rather than the usual blog-based structure where posts are lost in the archives. I don't want this to be linear either, I intend to update the reviews if I return, possibly expand to include guest reviews. Pub Issues Through the blog I will occasionally be following the twists and turns in the pub industry that affect so many of our locals, mainly the PubCos and any possible help landlords can find in the recent legislation change. Head over to the Fair Deal For Your Local site to see what I'm on about. Beer I'll also add a smattering of beer reviews through the blog. This might be something I've found while visiting one of the pubs, it could be something from a beer festival, or it could be a lager I've found at bargain booze, whatever it is I'll pass on my...
Read More
Recent Comments