Member Article

Ilkley Brewery unveils 1000th brew

Yorkshire-based Ilkley Brewery is celebrating its fifth year anniversary this week with the unveiling of its 1000th brew: a Darjeeling and blackberry infused brown ale called Mash Tonne.

6,000 pints of the anniversary beer have been made by lead brewer, Christa Sandquist, and the first pint will be pulled at a celebration event this Thursday, May 1, at Bar t’at in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.

Bar t’at, part of Yorkshire pub group Market Town Taverns, has been chosen as the anniversary venue in honour of it being the first pub to permanently stock Ilkley Brewery beer back in 2009.

Market Town Taverns managing director, Simon Midgley said: “We have enjoyed a great relationship with the brewery for the past five years due to a shared passion for great, locally sourced beer and are proud to support such a great Yorkshire brewery.”

Mash Tonne will also have a special London launch on May 7 at the Hack & Hop pub in the City. This will be Ilkley Brewery’s first partnership with the Pubs of Distinction group.

Chris Ives, managing director of Ilkley Brewery, said: “When we first started to brew, the microbrewery boom was just beginning to peak and I think that thirst for beer which is big on flavour and which captures people’s imaginations, has been the driving force behind our strategy to make the best, most inspiring beer possible.

“Suffice it to say, as we celebrate year five, we couldn’t have made it this far without the efforts of our passionate and hardworking staff, the friends and partners we have made along the way and our loyal customers.”

During its five years, the brewery’s turnover has more than doubled year-on-year and its staff has jumped from one to 14. In 2009, the furthest the brewery distributed was only a few miles in each direction of the brewery; now, it ships its beers across the UK and as far afield as the USA, Sweden and China.

To find out more about Ilkley Brewery, visit: www.ilkleybrewery.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .