GAVIN AITCHISON welcomes a new ale slot in York.

IMAGINE a reality TV programme for brewers. Aspiring wannabes could take to the stage, hand the judges a pint of their latest offering, and be shot down in flames or welcomed with open arms.

It might not make for great Saturday night viewing, but it would be fun for the judges and contestants. The producers could call it Pint Idol or The Ale-Prentice, and the winners could be declared the ‘stars of the bars’ and given a lucrative tour round Britain’s best pubs.

That may sound a rather far-fetched thought, but it’s actually not a million miles from what is already happening in one boozer in York.

Since the spring, on the third Thursday of each month, The Rook and Gaskill in Lawrence Street has been providing a platform and drumming up support for up-and-coming newbies.

Landlord Neil Trafford has always done more than most to promote a wide range of breweries, featuring 300 in his first six years at the pub. But he is now taking that dedication further, through ‘Project NewBrew’, a special initiative by the pub’s owners, Castle Rock Brewery in Nottingham.

There are, say the bosses, a number of aims: to help new breweries commercially; to enable them to become more widely known; to give customers a more innovative and diverse beer range; to create more enthusiasm for cask ale; to provide customer feedback to the breweries; and to help Castle Rock discover the industry’s best new stars.

The project is open to breweries that have been operating for up to 12 months, but the event at The Rook and Gaskill this Thursday focuses on three much younger than that: Long Man, Lincoln Green, and Pheasantry.

Long Man Brewery is based in a converted flint barn beside the Cuckmere River, in Lillington in the South Downs, and has been producing beer only since February.

The business is a partnership between lifelong Lillington resident Duncan Ellis, local businessman Stephen Lees and brewer Jamie Simm who, until recently, was working for The Royal Tunbridge Wells Brewery.

Representing them on Thursday will be their Sussex Pride (4.5 per cent ABV), which is described in the brewery notes as a “strong, complex IPA”.

Younger still is Lincoln Green, which launched last month in Hucknall, just north of Nottingham.

The brewery takes its name from Robin Hood’s colours, and its four core ales will maintain that theme in their names: Hood, Marion, Scarlett and Tuck.

The beers are still in the experimental stage for now, but The Rook and Gaskill will be serving Gyle 03, a version of Scarlett, an amber ale. Head brewer Anthony Hughes says it has a “slightly toffee flavour and a pronounced malty finish”.

He says the beers have been praised locally, and he is keen to receive feedback from anyone who tries it here.

Completing the trio is Pheasantry Brewery, which is on a farm on the border of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. Brewing here began only about ten days ago, making it the youngest of the three, and their Pheasantry BB (best bitter) will be on the bar on Thursday. Brewer Mark Easterbrook says it’s a smooth, copper-coloured beer, with medium bitterness and sweetness and an ABV of 3.8 per cent.

Events coming up

• Next Saturday, Mallinsons and Roosters are competing in The Slip Inn’s second battle of the breweries. There will be a range of from both breweries, as well as food and live music.

• The Bootham Crescent Beer Festival runs at the Pitchside Bar from June 21 to 24, in aid of the York City youth team fund, with 15 to 20 beers, including two celebrating City’s two recent Wembley triumphs.

• The Jolly Farmers in Leavening has a festival from June 27 to July 1, with live music on Friday and Saturday and a hog roast on Saturday and Sunday.