Wensleydale

Microbrewery in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Established in 2003

Contact
Unit 4, Badger Court, Harmby Road, Leyburn, DL8 5BF, England
Description
Wensleydale Brewery was opened in 2003 by the pub landlords at The Foresters Arms in Carlton. As the one barrel plant’s reputation grew, in 2006 it moved to bigger premises and a five barrel set up a few miles away at Manor Farm in Bellerby. It was here that us fresh faced youngsters entered the story straight from school and started to learn our trade. After several enjoyable years spent on the brewhouse floor, matters arose that could have stopped the Wensleydale Brewery story in its tracks; in 2013 the brewery was in need of new ownership, and we were faced with either finding other employment or taking the plunge and buying the brewery. Convinced there was the potential to move things forward, we chose the latter.

Building on the foundations we helped to lay, a fresh approach saw the business expanding and growing. With fantastic local support, our beers were regular features on bars all over the Dales and further afield. Five years continued refinement of our core range and with sales ever increasing; our beloved Bellerby barn was bursting at the seams. We had to find pastures new.

A new home was found in Leyburn, a blank canvas, giving us the opportunity to create our perfect brewery. A state of the art, bespoke 12 brl brewplant was installed in April 2018 and we’ve been making Wensleydale’s finest here ever since.

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6.6
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Half pint on cask at the Plough.
Medium creamy beige head. Clear almost black pour. Light chocolate

Tried from Cask at The Plough on 22 Apr 2025 at 20:59


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6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6

Third of a pint on cask at the Doncaster Brewery Tap.
Medium creamy white head. Clear pale golden pour. Light bitterness

Tried from Cask at Doncaster Brewery Tap on 16 Apr 2025 at 20:12


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6.6
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Half pint on cask at the Plough.
Medium creamy white head. Clear golden pour. Light bitterness

Tried from Cask at The Plough on 29 Mar 2025 at 20:57


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6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6

Half pint on cask at the Plough.
Medium creamy white head. Very hazy golden pour. Light bitterness

Tried from Cask at The Plough on 22 Mar 2025 at 20:53


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6.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5

Same name as a REM song. Lead singer Michael Stipe on his first Top Of The Pops appearance used a microphone to mask the fact he was forced to lip sinc the song Orange Crush for the broadcast. He wasn't happy about that. He might be hoppy about this though, it's very much so, session strength and texture too.

Tried from Cask at The Peacock on 21 Mar 2025 at 21:32


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6.4
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

A Google search for this beer bypassed the brewing element here and returned a listing for the North East Aesthetics And Training Academy - a bit of a posh term for beauty salon training. It's based in Sunderland where I'm drinking this one so I think my phone detected the area. This very hoppy beer is beautiful enough, a tad dry the palate and aftertaste.

Tried from Cask on 21 Mar 2025 at 13:22


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6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

First drink on a tour of some pubs in Sunderland, strategically this is the furthest drink I'll be having away from the station to start my journey home - forward planning! Hoppy hazy start, quite dry in its citric fruitiness.

Tried from Cask on 21 Mar 2025 at 13:06


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6.8
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Half pint on cask at the Plough
Medium creamy beige head. Clear almost black pour. Lots of chocolate

Tried from Cask at The Plough on 07 Mar 2025 at 19:55


6.6
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Transparent, nice looking deep copper to the lightest red. About a finger of relatively dense head, the slightest off-white, ok retention, little to no lacing. Low to average intensity in the aroma: biscuity malts with light caramel, a bit of fruitiness (jam-like orange, hints of apple), a hint of floral hops. Not very deep but nicely clean. Taste notes follow the aroma closely, again with a nicely clean profile though quite scarce depth. Medium sweetness, quite low bitterness, a bit too sweet for both style and my liking though it doesn't get sticky. Quite light bodied with quite low carbonation, slightly smooth and a tad too empty (and i mean per style). Very much ok, no significant issues. Felt a bit underwhelming though, kind of slightly flat and uninspired.

Tried from Bottle on 03 Mar 2025 at 13:03


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6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6

Half pint on cask at the Plough.
Thick creamy white head. Clear golden pour. Light bitterness

Tried from Cask at The Leopard on 02 Mar 2025 at 20:31