About
Since opening our doors in May 1996, all at York Brewery have poured their heart and soul into brewing excellent, handcrafted ales enjoyed by drinkers far and wide.
Our birth marked a return to brewing inside the city walls of York after a 40-year absence. The original site of the brewery, our home for just over 23 years, was located just inside the city walls on Toft Green; a mere stone's throw from the historic royal entrance to the city, Micklegate Bar.
The site housed a 20-barrel brew plant, with six traditional open-top fermenters and five conditioning tanks. A gallery constructed above the brewhouse offered visitors a fantastic viewing platform while on one of our popular guided brewery tours.
The frontage of the brewery on Toft Green was relatively modern, with the rear significantly older. Built in the late 16th Century, the section overlooking Micklegate was the birthplace of Joseph Hansom (1803-82), the inventor of the Hansom Cab. He probably served as an apprentice joiner in his grandfather's workshop in the former stables that housed our conditioning and racking equipment. A provisions merchant then briefly owned the building until 1897 when furniture company Whitby Oliver took residence. Their logo can still be seen on the side of the top floor offices above Brigantes pub on Micklegate.
In December 2008 York Brewery was purchased by Mitchells of Lancaster, a 150-year-old family-run pub company who themselves brewed until 1999. A rebrand followed, and York Brewery was expanded to include a new distribution warehouse to allow the servicing of the large pub estate. Unfortunately, harsh trading conditions within the industry soon meant that a large portion of the Mitchells pub estate was sold off no longer warranting a separate warehouse. After ten years under their ownership, in December 2018 Mitchells of Lancaster, and therefore York Brewery, went into administration.
Thankfully that wasn't the end of our story, with Black Sheep Brewery stepping in to purchase the brewery and four linked pubs as part of their expansion into retail. Since this acquisition, sales of York Brewery beers have grown steadily, especially the already best-selling Guzzler and perennial favourite Yorkshire Terrier.
Our birth marked a return to brewing inside the city walls of York after a 40-year absence. The original site of the brewery, our home for just over 23 years, was located just inside the city walls on Toft Green; a mere stone's throw from the historic royal entrance to the city, Micklegate Bar.
The site housed a 20-barrel brew plant, with six traditional open-top fermenters and five conditioning tanks. A gallery constructed above the brewhouse offered visitors a fantastic viewing platform while on one of our popular guided brewery tours.
The frontage of the brewery on Toft Green was relatively modern, with the rear significantly older. Built in the late 16th Century, the section overlooking Micklegate was the birthplace of Joseph Hansom (1803-82), the inventor of the Hansom Cab. He probably served as an apprentice joiner in his grandfather's workshop in the former stables that housed our conditioning and racking equipment. A provisions merchant then briefly owned the building until 1897 when furniture company Whitby Oliver took residence. Their logo can still be seen on the side of the top floor offices above Brigantes pub on Micklegate.
In December 2008 York Brewery was purchased by Mitchells of Lancaster, a 150-year-old family-run pub company who themselves brewed until 1999. A rebrand followed, and York Brewery was expanded to include a new distribution warehouse to allow the servicing of the large pub estate. Unfortunately, harsh trading conditions within the industry soon meant that a large portion of the Mitchells pub estate was sold off no longer warranting a separate warehouse. After ten years under their ownership, in December 2018 Mitchells of Lancaster, and therefore York Brewery, went into administration.
Thankfully that wasn't the end of our story, with Black Sheep Brewery stepping in to purchase the brewery and four linked pubs as part of their expansion into retail. Since this acquisition, sales of York Brewery beers have grown steadily, especially the already best-selling Guzzler and perennial favourite Yorkshire Terrier.
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
12th November 2009
Spoons Fest. Slightly hazy amber beer. Light crispy palate. Even malt base with lively citrus fruits on top. Lime, orange, tangerine and mandarin. Not really hop bitter. Clean, refreshing and a bit different.
Spoons Fest. Slightly hazy amber beer. Light crispy palate. Even malt base with lively citrus fruits on top. Lime, orange, tangerine and mandarin. Not really hop bitter. Clean, refreshing and a bit different.
Tried
on 03 Jun 2012
at 05:19
5.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
Golden looking ale with a fairly fruity aroma, but this is less apparent in its taste.
Tried
on 31 May 2012
at 06:44
5.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 3.5
5th September 2009
Cambridge I think! Clear amber beer. Light dry palate. Apples! Light crisp malts. Green!
Cambridge I think! Clear amber beer. Light dry palate. Apples! Light crisp malts. Green!
Tried
on 27 May 2012
at 10:31
5.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 4.5
28th August 2009
Clear gold beer. Semi dry and soft palate. Dry malt with juicy hop. Reasonably well balanced but the finish is over dry.
Clear gold beer. Semi dry and soft palate. Dry malt with juicy hop. Reasonably well balanced but the finish is over dry.
Tried
on 27 May 2012
at 09:48
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Brown 500ml bottle, best before Nov 09, drank in Feb 09. Poured into a Gordon’s Thistle shapped glass (twice). Deep, dark brown in colour with a good tan head, medium retension. Dry, dark chocolate aroma (Bourneville), malted biscuits also came to my nose too. Bitter dark chocolate, cloves? Burnt malts and licorice. Mostly though, it is a flavour of bitter dark chocolate. The aftertaste was fairly dry, the body is fine and the 4.8% feels just about right. This beer became more interesting as it warmed up, enjoyed it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 May 2012
at 01:10
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 8
On tap at wetherspoons, doncaster. Create off white head. Deep ruby pour. Lovely smooth aftertaste. Yummy!
Tried
from Draft
on 08 May 2012
at 12:17
7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Pint during Nov 2006: Drank in The Crown Inn, Oakengates, from a handpull without a sparkler fitted. Light amber, almost golden in colour, on top sat a small blanket of foam which was white and stayed for most of the pint before wisping away to nothing. A slight hoppy aroma, not to overpowering, but definately a hoppy nose to it. Tasted gritty and earthy with a late hop flavour coming through towards the end. Dry mouthfeel, which added to the overall taste, I enjoyed this pint. Not as hoppy as some IPA’s, but still a very good beer.
Tried
on 04 May 2012
at 01:40
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
March 2010: Nice touch: Where I’d expect to see the best before date (on the top of the cap), are the words, ’WALK THE DOG’. The brown 500ml bottle conditioned beer was poured slowly into a UK pint sleeve glass. A terracotta orange body with a white foaming head stared back at me after the pouring. The body almost clear, just the hint of a semi-haze, that is because I poured the sediment in too. Hops and malts hit the nose, more hops than malts. The hops win in the taste stakes too, the beer is dry and bitter because of the hop content with all the other ingrediants being pushed into the background. A good, well made beer, a little too hoppy for my own tastes, but not enough for a ’hophead’ type I should imagine.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Apr 2012
at 03:00
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle 500ml.Clear light dark red brown colour with a small, fizzy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, roasted, caramel, smoke notes. Flavour is moderate to light heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a average to long duration, roasted, sweet malt, tobacco, thin coffee notes. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft to flat. [20120331]
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Apr 2012
at 13:23
6.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
7th April 2012
ChrisOs Easter Tasting. Clear dark amber beer. Short pale tan head. Light dry palate. A little dark toffee. Mild tangy fruits and some hop bitterness coming through in the dry finish. Bitter linger.
ChrisOs Easter Tasting. Clear dark amber beer. Short pale tan head. Light dry palate. A little dark toffee. Mild tangy fruits and some hop bitterness coming through in the dry finish. Bitter linger.
Tried
on 15 Apr 2012
at 08:25