North Brewing Co celebrates second birthday

Leeds-based North Brewing Co celebrated its second birthday earlier this month (25 November) with a party at its taproom in the city.

The festivities included live music and two limited-edition beers – a birthday mosaic IPA with a 7% ABV and a kiwi sour with a 4.1% ABV.

The party at the Sheepscar taproom began at 6pm and continued through the evening until 1am.

Director Christian Townsley outlined the award-winning brewer’s future plans and how he plans to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for North’s beer.

Constant growth

He said: “We have just doubled in capacity and our projections are that we will to look at more kit for next year.

“We are exporting to 11 countries now. We didn’t expect to be. We thought maybe three or four [countries] by now but it is flying.”

Meanwhile, in the summer (June) North Brewing Co teamed up with Leeds Indie Food to create a weekly food fair, EatNorth.

The event, which ran throughout the summer from 17 June, included a rotating line-up of street food traders at the brewing and pub group’s taproom in Sheepscar, just outside Leeds city centre.

EatNorth marked the first street food event Leeds had seen in several years and the first weekly event the city had ever hosted.

Street food festival

The first six weeks included more than 30 different street food traders, which signed up to serve a huge variety of dishes alongside craft beers, spirits and wine.

Fellow director John Gyngell highlighted the potential of the Leeds-based business’s taproom.

He said: “The brewery tap is a great space with huge potential and we are keen to build a regular events programme.

"The opportunity to work with Leeds Indie Food is really exciting, especially given the reaction to this year’s festival.

“The quality and variety of the food traders looked incredible, and we love that there will always be something different for people to try with the core range of North Brewing Co beers and new releases we will have on the bar.”