A Visit to Elland Brewery in West Yorkshire

Two weeks ago Elland Brewery was awarded one of CAMRA’s highest honors at the Great British Beer Festival for their 1872 Porter  – 2013 Champion Beer of Britain. Fortunately for Jim and I, our Yorkshire weekend devoted to cask ale beer ended on a high note with a personal guided tour at the Elland Brewery.

While researching breweries last week I was disappointed to learn that Elland did not have official tours; understandable though considering that they are using 100% of their time to brew, market, and distribute their beers. On Saturday morning while in Yorkshire (and after a few “tweet” exchanges), I was pleasantly surprised to receive an informal invitation to stop by from Martin Ogley, the owner of Elland Brewery.

Jim and I navigated to the town of Elland in West Yorkshire (without GPS unfortunately) and entered an industrial estate right off the M62 motorway. The brewery is in a non-descript warehouse and I was almost certain we had the wrong address until Martin emerged from behind a closed red door to greet us and led us inside.

Hard to believe there’s a brewery behind those doors!

Considering Martin’s full schedule, I was worried we’d impose on his time for the impromptu brewery tour, but even if we did, he never made us feel that way. He was immediately welcoming from the start and Jim and I were appreciative of his genuine hospitality and willingness to talk about the operation.

A busy brewery, only getting busier – 

Inside, Elland Brewery is making the most use of their space – 5 brews per week with a maximum capacity of 50 barrels per week. They work with a supply of 1800+ casks and produce six regular beers (Beyond the Pale, Best Bitter, Nettlethrasher, Eden, Bargee and 1872 Porter) as well as an array of seasonal and specialty beers (see their website for more specifics). The variety of beer is impressive considering the overall scale of their brewing operation.

Elland Brewery interior

London pubs landlords – who will be the lucky first proprietor to secure some of the beer that just won “Champion Beer of Britain 2013”?

I was really shocked to hear that there are no London pubs stocking any of the Elland cask ales – currently. From what we heard while in Yorkshire, it appears that many of the breweries in the north of England are getting pushed out due to the large evolving brewing scene going on in London. Throughout the last year and a half as a UK resident, I’ve witnessed firsthand that scene, and think it’s great.

But – and this is a very big “BUT”,  it’s a huge mistake if the landlords forget about the brewery scene evolving throughout the rest of England! They’re losing a massive opportunity to showcase other fantastic British beer.

The brewing scene within England is diverse. I noticed a huge difference in the real ales that I tasted in Yorkshire vs. what I tasted in the south of England, and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Part of the taste difference could have been the presence of the “sparkler”, a device attached to the nozzle that gives the beer a smoother taste and frothy head at the end. Regardless of what it was, I now have a brand new appreciation for real ales thanks to this weekend trip to Yorkshire.

If you don’t live in the north of England, how can you taste the beer? 

Jim and I were lucky enough to receive a few bottles from Martin to take home with us, but if you’re not in the Yorkshire region, it’s slightly more difficult to get your hands on the beer.

The real world of brewing

With Martin Ogley

Every day, Martin drives 60 miles roundtrip from his home in South Yorkshire to the brewery, with a regular 6 day work-week schedule, and head brewer Michael Wynnyczuk and drayman David Greensides are working equally as hard & putting in some long days and nights at the brewery. As demand for their product increases and word gets out about how great this beer is, it’s evident their schedules won’t be slowing down anytime in the near future!

Martin’s enthusiasm for the business is clear. He’s proud of the product they’re putting out into the marketplace and rightly should be – he told us he still finds it exciting when he walks into a pub and sees one of their beers on tap.

Jim and I are among those people who dream of a job in the brewing industry, and Martin was honest and open in communicating to us the reality of the business (i.e. it’s not all fun and games!) and the work ethic needed to make it a success. It was valuable to hear firsthand…but it also didn’t deter us!

On our drive back to London that night, we were in deep thought as we discussed the possibilities of the type of beer-related business we could start one day.  The drive was long, 4+ hours in bank holiday weekend traffic. Yet to us it was manageable knowing we had the perfect reward at the end of the journey – a bottle of the 1872 Porter that we immediately cracked open at our flat!