Greg Mulholland the WharfeBank team toast to their success (from left to right) Dhiraj Pujari, Stephen Bullock, Nigel Jowett, Martin Kellaway, Samantha Major and Ian Smith

WharfeBank Brewery celebrated their official opening last week, with help of their local MP, Greg Mulholland.

Guests on the day toasted to the success of the brewery with glasses of the award-winning CamFell Flame, Slingers Gold, Tether Blond and seasonal ale, the aptly named Summer Ale. In addition to sampling the beers that WharfeBank has to offer, guests were also treated to a BBQ supplied by neighbouring Birchfield Farm followed by strawberries and handmade vanilla ice cream made with a dash of Tether Blond.

Situated in a converted paper mill on the bank of the river Wharfe in Pool-in-Wharfedale near Otley, WharfeBank Brewery is the project of Martin Kellaway, formerly Sales Director at the Caledonian Brewing Company and local businessman, Nigel Jowett. Martin has enlisted the help of Ian Smith, the recently retired Head Brewer of Tetley Cask and Dhiraj Pujari a graduate from Herriot Watt University to help build a range of premium cask ales.

Greg Mulholland MP speaking at WharfeBank Brewery

Martin said, “It was a fantastic day and I’d like to thank all those who came along to support us and raised a glass to success of the brewery. Since brewing our first batch of beer, we’ve seen great interest from pubs and the local community in the beers and the brewery itself. Ian is brewing some cracking beers and already orders are coming in for our next guest ale, Tykes Tipple which celebrates the Yorkshire bitter style of beer.

“We’re currently selling 100 casks a week to pubs within a 50-mile radius and the feedback from licensees and their customers has just been great. We are also listed in the local Wetherspoons venues which enables us to raise the profile of our brews amongst beer-loving customers. Our aim is to increase our distribution and to extend our product range to encompass bottling our three core beers. Exciting times are ahead!”

Speaking at the opening, Greg Mulholland MP said, “As a champion for our great national drink, one of the things that I always dreamt about, was to open a brewery in my constituency and that dream has now come true. The opening of WharfeBank Brewery is incredibly exciting for beer lovers and the local area and I look forward to sampling some of the new beers brewed by Martin and the team.”

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Barnsley’s award winning Acorn Brewery is rolling out special brew Yorkshire Pride this month to mark Yorkshire Day on August 1.

Premier regional pub company Market Town Taverns of Knaresborough, which strongly supports cask ales, will host the beer across its 10 strong pub estate and Acorn expects healthy sales as the annual White Rose celebrations become more popular each year.

Very pale coloured ale with good bitterness and a crisp finish, Yorkshire Pride (3.7%abv) is brewed with low colour Maris Otter malt together with Cascade and Northdown hops to produce a pale well hopped refreshing session bitter, a style popular with today’s cask ale drinkers.

Acorn managing director and head brewer Dave Hughes said: “Yorkshire Pride sells well every year and this year we have already had many requests from licensees as well as agreeing to supply all Market Town Taverns pubs throughout Yorkshire. Market Town pubs are beacons for cask beer in the region so we are very pleased to be on their bars across the estate.

”The beer is brewed with a low colour malt to produce as light a beer as possible to reflect the white rose of the county. The hops used work very well with our traditional yeast strain and we believe that licensees and their customers will enjoy a real pint of difference for their cask-ale choice.”

Acorn’s established core ales – Barnsley Bitter, Barnsley Gold, Old Moor Porter, Conquest, Blonde and Sovereign have won more than forty awards since the brewery launched seven years ago. Since then Acorn has doubled in size to 20 barrel brew length and now regularly supplies some 300 trade customers directly throughout Yorkshire and the Midlands. Acorn’s direct distribution has also expanded in the North West, reaching pubs across Lancashire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester. Acorn ales are also available nationally through leading drinks wholesalers.

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Moorhouse’s Golden Cue snooker tournament for East Lancashire clubs has enjoyed a third successful year.

In 2007 sponsorship from Moorhouse’s, the North West’s leading dedicated cask-ale brewer, revived the once highly popular Golden Cue contest - run through the Burnley Express Newspaper - following a 16 year absence.

Amateur players among club members from Burnley, Pendle and Ribble Valley are eligible to enter the individual contest. With a total pot of £1,000, there is a first prize of £500 and second of £250.

Moorhouse’s managing director David Grant said: “The tournament has once again proved a success as the resurgence of snooker in clubs across East Lancashire continues unabated. Meanwhile our award winning real ales continue to grow increasingly popular with club land customers. The contest has further raised our profile among clubs land while also boosting their own trade and we hope that many more clubs will get behind next season’s contest to make it even bigger.

The grand final was once again held at Burnley’s Ighten Leigh social club, where Neil McGovern was instrumental in resurrecting the competition

Jimmy Waddington brushed off the distraction of a fire evacuation at the club to triumph in the final. The evacuation was, thankfully, a false alarm, and Lamb Club cueist Waddington kept his concentration to beat Colne Legion’s Dean Emmott 4-1 in an engrossing match.Waddington was in charge for the majority of the final, and despite no large breaks, a crowd of over 120 spectators were kept entertained.

David Grant presented the trophy and £500 first prize to Waddington, while £250 went to runner up Emmott. Referees Dave Howe and John Timperley also received mementos of the competition.

This year Moorhouse’s embarked upon a £4.2m expansion which will triple production capacity to some 1000 barrels a week. When completed in 2011 the new complex will include a training school for publicans and a visitor centre.

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Yorkshire’s fast growing Acorn Brewery is rolling out two mild ales for the Camra (Campaign for Real Ale) Mild May celebrations.

To support the month-long focus on mild ales the Barnsley based brewer has created Lightness (3.6%abv), a light golden brew, alongside popular seasonal Darkness (4.2%abv).

Brewed with Maris Otter and crystal malt and British Fuggles hops, Lightness is in the style of golden Pennine mild - originally brewed as light and refreshing ale with gentle bitterness to slake the thirst of the north’s industrial workers.

Darkness, is also brewed with Fuggles hops together with black and crystal malts as to produce a dark red aromatic beer that meets the growing demand for premium strength brews in the mild sector.

Acorn head brewer Dave Hughes said:” We always support the Mild Month celebrations with Darkness, but this year we looked to the heritage of the Yorkshire Pennines to brew this traditional style of ale which was once very popular with workers in the north’s heavy industries.”

Acorn’s popular ales are now directly supplied to over 300 free trade outlets across Yorkshire, the North West and the North Midlands and throughout the UK via national wholesalers. Business also continues to grow with the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) Direct Delivery Scheme to leading pub company outlets - now some ten per cent of sales - and with the independent Wetherspoon’s chain.

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A HUGE banner paying tribute to Burnley’s history and heritage has been unveiled at the site of Moorhouse’s brewery.

The 180ft long wrap now covers the frontage of the 145-year-old brewery while it undergoes a £4.2million transformation.

It features iconic images ranging from the Singing Ringing Tree to Pendle Hill.

With the words ‘famous witches and award-winning beers’ on the front, the banner celebrates Pendle Hill as the inspiration for their award-winning cask ales.

David Grant, managing director of Moorhouse’s, said: “We are expanding our brewery three-fold, doubling our workforce, and adding a visitor centre too, this is our investment in Burnley.

“But with this wrap, I wanted to show our pride in Burnley.”

To view the full article go to;  Lancashire Telegraph

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Just weeks ahead of the opening of the new WharfeBank Brewery in Pool-in-Wharfedale, new brew CamFell Flame has picked up the Leeds CAMRA, Beer of the Festival Award 2010, beating a number of champion ales who exhibited including; Champion Beer of Britain, Rudgate Ruby Dark Mild and Champion Winter Beer of Britain, Ellan 1872 Porter.

The three-day event held at Pudsey Civic Hall saw over 3,700 CAMRA and non CAMRA members, each with the opportunity to vote for their favourite beer, show their enthusiasm for the 4.4% premium ale.

Director Martin Kellaway

Managing Director of WharfeBank Brewery, Martin Kellaway said “We could not have got off to a better start! Our Head Brewer, Ian Smith, is an amazing brewer and he has brought his talents to life in creating a great range of special beers for WharfeBank.

“Our passion is great craft beer and it is reassuring to know that beer drinkers love our brew – it proves that all the time we have spent in creating, testing and perfecting our beers has been worth the wait.”

The new brewery goes into full production in week commencing 12th April and will produce three core ales: Slingers Gold, Tether Blond and the Award winning CamFell Flame. In addition, a range of monthly guest and seasonal ales will be available commencing in May with Black Tom, a traditional premium dark mild.

“With Ian at the helm we are confident that our range of beers will be a refreshing addition to any pub or bar’s range of ales” said Martin “And with CamFell winning this award we are sure the demand for the beer will be strong”. To ensure supply, orders can be placed directly on 07795 695 675.

It certainly seems that Kellaway has the Midas touch when it comes to ale as he also picked up the ‘Mild of the Festival’ for the Clarendon Dark Mild, which is currently brewed at his brew pub, the Fox and Newt in Leeds, under the Fox Beer Company’s own range of ales.

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Green Mill Brewery has scooped a top award for producing one of the best bitters in Britain.

The brewery’s Big Chief Bitter, which is five and a half per cent alcohol, was judged champion beer in the strong bitter category of a national competition.

Big Chief Bitter was one of just nine beers to win a national title, from the 1,400 that entered the initial stages of the competition.

The bitter was judged in seven regional heats, followed by a final judging in Nottingham last month before being short-listed as one of 63 beers to be judged at the National Beer Competition held by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).

To view the full article go to:  Rochdale Observer

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Dave Hughes pictured with Acorn brews bound for the US

American cask beer fans are to sample award winning Yorkshire brews from Acorn Brewery later this month.

Two of the fast growing Barnsley brewers’ championship ales* - Conquest and Gorlovka Imperial Stout – will feature in the major US beer festival NERAX 2010 ** in Somerville, New England. The four day festival is dedicated to promoting the British style of beer to the growing number of cask ale enthusiasts in the States.

Both Acorn beers have recently been hailed as among the country’s champion brews. At the Camra (Campaign for Real Ale) National Winter Ales Festival – which judges stouts, porters, barley wines and old ales - Gorlovka first claimed a gold award in its class before winning the festival’s overall bronze accolade. A premium strength stout, it is named in honour of Barnsley’s Ukrainian twin town.

Conquest (5.7%), is a strong IPA (India Pale Ale) style ale first brewed last autumn. It was quickly hailed one of the North’s top beers from more than 100 brews at the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) North Beer Competition. After first claiming gold in its class it was voted the contest’s bronze winner to qualify for the national final.

Altogether Acorn’s core cask-conditioned brews, which also include Barnsley Bitter, Barnsley Gold, Old Moor Porter and Sovereign, have won more than forty awards for the seven-year-old South Yorkshire brewer. Recently top UK beer writer Roger Protz - editor of the Good Beer Guide - praised Acorn as ‘a shining example for craft brewers’ on a visit learn more of the brewery’s success. All beers use the same yeast strain as the original Barnsley Brewery of the 1850’s, to provide their distinctive Yorkshire character.

Head brewer Dave Hughes said: “NERAX is a major event for cask beer lovers in the States. Being able to showcase two of our acclaimed ales to the Americans is a great opportunity to highlight the uncompromising quality of our beers.”

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Moorhouse's David Grant (L) raises a glass with Bull licensees Lindsay and Jon Cox at a brewery Showcase event

Moorhouse’s, the North West’s leading dedicated real ale brewer, is backing National Cask Ale Week (29 March to 5 April) by offering ‘showcase’ events to publicans.

The successful showcase evenings include a film presentation on the Burnley brewery and brewing before a tutored tasting session of the famous five Pendle Witches brews* in either cask or bottle - followed by short beer quiz with prizes. Licensees, if they wish, can also work with the brewery to devise beer with food matches and can charge a nominal fee for the night.

The venue should have at least three hand pumps, be able stock Moorhouse’s beers for a few days, and, ideally, have a separate room available to avoid disrupting normal trade.

Over the past few years Moorhouse’s has put on the events across the country, from The Rake in London, the Turf, Oxford and the Guildford, Edinburgh, attracting audiences from both cask ale lovers and novices. The evenings have also been very popular in Wetherspoon’s pubs throughout Lancashire and Yorkshire, increasing business on each occasion.

Managing director David Grant said: “The showcases are free to the publican and ready made for those looking to stage a special event for Cask Ale Week. With or without food they are successful evenings with pub customers and good business drivers. We have several dates available in Cask Ale Week itself or around that time.”

At the Bull in Shocklach, South Cheshire - a country inn with five hand pumps and listed in the Good Beer Guide - a showcase recently attracted an audience of more than thirty people. It included a beer and food pairing using ‘tapas’ sized dishes with traditional British recipes devised by the pub’s chefs.

Bull landlord Jon Cox said: “It was a great night for both our regular real ale drinkers and several who knew little about cask ale. We enjoyed a good boost to our trade on what may otherwise have been a quiet night and it stimulated further interest in our cask ales.”

Contact David Grant on 01282 422864 for showcase details. For information on National Cask Ale Week see: www.caskaleweek.co.uk

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