A BREWERY in York celebrated six years in business by hosting a beer festival at its new site in the city.

Brew York marked the six-year anniversary with a very special public event at their new production brewery in Osbaldwick. The 65,000sq ft complex at Handley Park in Osbaldwick - just 10 minutes up the road from the original site at Walmgate - played host to Brew York’s biggest celebration to date.

For the first time last night, the doors opened for a special beer festival spread across the vast indoor and outdoor floorspace.

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Darren, a 54-year-old CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) member from Tockwith, who attended the event, said: “The festival was fantastic, with a great range of beers from some of the country’s best breweries, including Thornbridge and Siren, plus a couple I had never enjoyed before. Everybody had a great time, despite the bitter cold night.

“Brew York has enjoyed great success, winning many awards, deserved due to their fine beers and a magnificent booze barn in Walmgate. Their growth continues with ambitious plans on the edge of town.

“This is despite a torrid two years for the brewing and hospitality sector, with lockdowns forcing the on-off closure of pubs and related supply-chain issues now fuelling a cost-of-living crisis.

“The industry faces dearer raw material costs, rising wage bills and escalating energy charges, a toxic combination, which will prove fatal for many businesses.

“York and Yorkshire has many excellent breweries and pubs which need our support. We either use them or lose them.”

Leading breweries from across the UK were at the event - including Buxton Brewery, Thornbridge, Siren, Vault City, and Full Circle - alongside street food, music and special entertainment for all the family.

Brew York’s resident kitchen partner, Yuzu Street Food, was just one of the food vendors at the festival, serving their extremely popular Asian-inspired street food from their food truck. The festival entertainment included the Brew York monthly ‘YouTube Live Tasting’ during the Friday evening session, which guests could get involved with for free.

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The new Osbaldwick site has enabled Brew York to address escalating demand, both domestically and internationally. As part of the expansion, several new jobs were created increasing employment to 70 across the business - and the team invested in new kit and technology to improve efficiency, quality and consistency.

This included creating a large cold store and obtaining a grain silo and mill alongside a reverse osmosis machine, which strips all mineral content from the water to create a ‘blank canvas’ for brewing. This further improves general quality and enables the production of new styles of beer such as Pilsner which would not otherwise be possible using York’s mains water supply.

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