Two years of growth leads York entrepreneur to open own micro-brewery

After two years of growing the Ainsty Ales brand across York, entrepreneur Andy Herrington has opened his own craft-ale micro-brewery.

With funding from Royal Bank of Scotland and Lombard, the brewery will produce 1,080 gallons of cask-ale per week to begin with and house production of all six Ainsty Ales core-beers.

The new brewery is located at Manor Farm Buildings on Intake Lane, Acaster Malbis, York.

Established in 2014, Ainsty Ales produces the ‘Flummoxed Farmer’, ‘Wankled Waggoner’ ales and is set to launch ‘Ainsty Angel’ a 3.7% Pale Ale, ‘Crafty Chocolatier’ a 4.8% Chocolate-Porter, ‘Kolkata Karma’ a 5.0% IPA and ‘Moloko Mild’ a 3.9% Mild.

The brand’s products are currently sold in a wide range of pubs, sports clubs and hotels in the Greater York area as well as in 12 local Costcutter stores.

Ainsty Ales had ‘cuckoo brewed’ its products at both the local Blass Castle Brewery and the larger Hambleton’s Brewery but increasing demand for the brewer’s beers has necessitated the creation of its own production facility.

The opening is a major step in Ainsty Ales Breweries’ growth strategy which is now aiming to secure distribution in more outlets across the region. The brand also plans to introduce its products to outlets in London and is actively pursuing exporting opportunities with the support of the local Chamber of Commerce.

Royal Bank of Scotland has supported the development of the micro-brewery and Lombard, the bank’s asset finance arm, has also provided finance for brew-kit, three fermenting vessels and three conditioning tanks.

Andy Herrington, owner of Ainsty Ales Brewery, said: “I am thrilled that the company has developed so quickly and that we have now found ourselves in the position of opening our own micro-brewery.

“When setting up Ainsty Ales, I focused on developing the products and promoting the brand locally so that I knew we had a solid customer base in place before making the huge investment into our own brewery.

“I think this strategy has really paid off and I am confident now that the business can sustain the costs of its own brewery. The site has plenty of capacity to accommodate our growth and we will be able to produce double the volumes of ales we currently brew.

“I am really excited about the future and focussed on increasing sales throughout the country and abroad.

“Royal Bank of Scotland and Lombard have been extremely supportive of my business plans and it has been great to work alongside Gary Butterfield and Tracy Brown who have provided a great deal of guidance throughout this process.”

Gary Butterfield, business manager at Royal Bank of Scotland, added: “Andy’s passion for his business is plain to see and it is great to work with him to support the growth of the business.

“He has created an excellent micro-brewery facility and I am looking forward to being a part of the firm’s expansion.”