In July we set off on a Grand Yorkshire Collaboration Brewing Tour. Grace and Duncan brewed at North Riding Brewery near Scarborough, Turning Point Brew Co. in Knaresborough, then back up the A64 to Brass Castle Brewery in Malton, then finally Duncan headed back to Shropshire, leaving Grace to brew at the Rat (Ossett) Brewery at the Rat and Ratchet in Huddersfield. We brewed a grand total of 19,000 pints of beer!
All four beers will go on the bar in cask on Friday, 22 August and will be on until Sunday, 24 August. A cask of each will also be on at the CAMRA Shrewsbury Beer Festival from 24th to 27th September.
So after a visit to the town near Leyburn where Grace’s parents briefly ran a pub when she was born, and a night in a stables just outside Richmond then a night in Whitby, early on the Monday morning we headed to Snainton, just outside Scarborough and…
North Riding Brewery
On arrival we were greeted by Adrian who runs the office at North Riding who took us through to brewer Stuart to get our brew day up and going. As with all of the collaboration beers we had been chatting ideas by Whatsapp and we settled on a 4.3% Pale using two pretty new American hops. Audacia – launched in 2023 brings flavours of a summery picnic and HBC 630 brings more berries and stone fruits.
The day also involved a discussion about Stuart’s Vinyl Record collection/addiction and a trip to Glaves the butchers in nearby Brompton for their huge roast meat rolls with gravy!
Next we headed down the A64 to Knaresborough, we stayed overlooking the Market Place and went to Six Poor Folk, where we had a few pints of Turning Point Wavelength, accompanied by a Whatsapp debate with Aron and Cameron at Turning Point about the use of sparklers, which leads us on to…
Turning Point Brew Co
It was great to catch up with Cameron and the gang at TP. With a fair amount of tech in the brewery it was less hands on than North Riding, we even managed a walk to the lido! For Velvet Goldmine we had agreed a 4.8% DDH Pale, we wanted to use New Zealand hops, but avoiding Nelson, as we had used it twice in our Castle Rock collaborations. The three hops we went for were Nectaron known for its intense tropical fruit and citrus flavours, particularly pineapple, passionfruit, peach, and grapefruit., Riwaka again givimg intense citrus and tropical fruit flavours, particularly grapefruit and passionfruit – the Riwaka that Turning Point got were from a single producer and had an amazing aroma. and Southern Cross bringing lemon and spice.
Next it was back up the A64 to the lovely market town of Malton…
Brass Castle Brewery
This whole adventure started when Brass Castle Brewery owner Phil Saltonstall came to see us after we won National Pub of the Year. Duncan and Phil sat having a beer and collaborations came up in conversation, Phil said yes to one with them. This evolved into the idea that if we were travelling up to North Yorkshire we should make the most of it with a tour. This year Brass Castle have been doing a series of 5% IPAs all with the Morph name. We have had the Brithop, the Mango and the NEIPA. With Duncan’s love of Red Rye IPA it didn’t take long to agree on brewing Morph Red with brewer Sam using Rye and Wheat in the grist and Columbus, Centennial, Talus and El Dorado hops for a peppery balance and tropical zest to go with the Rye. We had a lovely lunch at the Purple Carrot vegetarian cafe with Phil and his wife Harriet, a marked contrast to the rolls from Glaves. As with all Brass Castle Beers, the beer will be Gluten Free (and Vegan).
On Thursday morning Duncan headed back to Shopshire, but he dropped Grace off in Huddersfield so that she could brew on Friday…
Rat Brewery
On Friday Grace did the hardest physical brew day of the four at the Rat Brewery in the basement of the Rat and Ratchet pub in Huddersfield. Rat are owned by Ossett and this is the second recipe Grace has done with Paul Spencer, the Ossett Head of Brew Pubs, after Wild Flower which we brewed at their Riverhead. CAMRAT is a 5% NEIPA. Large amounts of wheat and oats coupled with a high mash temperature to give lots of body. Late Citra hops and Talus dry hops with no bittering hops for a juicy hazy pale. Grace arrived back with quite a few aches and pains from a physical workout!
See you all on August Bank Holiday weekend, starting Friday, 22 August, when they will all be on the bar.
Really interesting read. The knowledge you guys have on this is impressive. Sounded like a busy trip, with lots of interesting meet ups and discussions.
Sadly, I won’t be back in time to sample the outcomes.
Sounds like a ‘grand’ tour- as an exiled Ancient Camra member Tyke who likes beers from the dark side we have really been impressed by the North Riding varieties of their stouts . We are now living in East Shropshire but have ventured up to the Bailey Head to sample your quality ales . Keep up with the great work promoting Real Ales and the pub trade .