Skipton brewery toasts to new ownership

Skipton’s Copper Dragon Brewery, now part of Greyhawk Brewery, has relocated to new premises on Enterprise Way, Airedale Business Centre, as part of ongoing expansion plans.

Best known for its Golden Pippin ale, Copper Dragon has retained every member of staff after Greyhawk took over ownership.

Steve Taylor, a former Rolls Royce engineer who founded Copper Dragon in 2003, commented: “Since Copper Dragon was brought under the Greyhawk brand we’ve seen growing interest and take up from many independent pubs and chains especially within Leeds and Manchester. This is testament to our passion and commitment to only brewing the finest ales.

“In particular we’re seeing an increasing demand for Golden Pippin and our popular Best Bitter, both of which are permanent brews and represent possibly two of the finest examples of a blonde and traditional bitter ale in the UK.

“We also have a number of new ales and lagers in development thanks to some recent key appointments including that of Yorkshire brewer Dave Sanders who’s come on board to develop the Greyhawk brand craft brewing philosophy.”

Dave has created many award winning beers including the Champion Beer of Britain.

Alongside established Golden Pippin and Best Bitter ales, the brewery is also developing a number of artisan beers under the Greyhawk name using a modern spec Bavarian style brewing plant.

The new range of beers showcases Greyhawk’s growing reputation as an artisan craft brewer of both cask and keg products including Copper Dragon Pilsner.

Gordon Wilkinson, head brewer, who’s been with the company since 2003, continues to oversee all aspects of brewing to ensure that every cask of ale is as good as it can possibly be.

Steve added: “Working with this team, both new and old, the brewery looks perfectly positioned to thrive going forward.”