Lindley is a suburb in the northern reaches of Huddersfield, which, despite only being a few miles from my home in Brighouse, is not a place I have visited very often. It actually still retains many of the features of the hillside village it no doubt once was, and has a number of quality restaurants, pubs, and local shops which serve to add to its character.
I went over there yesterday as friends had tipped me off about a new brewery that had opened up with a pop-up bar. I had a few errands to do, but after a visit to the local garden centre I headed up to Beer Ink, which is located on Plover Road in Lindley.
Situated in a former garage, the premises nonetheless have history as a brewery. Indeed, it was the site of the original Mallinson's Brewery, which was then taken over by Hand Drawn Monkey after the Mallinsons team upped sticks and moved to Lockwood, close to their effective tap, The Star, at Folly Hall.
I tracked it down via the wonders of satnav and as I headed up Plover Road it soon became apparent that the open building coming up on the left had a bar facing out into the street. I parked at the side of the building, and wandered in. A couple of tables outside and a makeshift bar on wheels inside, with a further few seats.
I was greeted by Ryan, the brewer, and Roseanne, who was serving on behind the bar. There were a couple of people sat around as I ordered a pint of Pin Up, a 4.2% pale ale. There was also a bitter and stout on hand pump, with a couple of beers on key keg.
I enjoyed the beer, which was very reasonably priced, and I also enjoyed chatting to Ryan and Roseanne about their plans and how it had all come about. Ryan had worked for Hand Drawn Monkey before its demise, and has also worked with Rob Hamilton at the Blackjack Brewery in Manchester, so has had an excellent grounding in the trade. When the opportunity had come up to get hold of some cheap brewing equipment when HDM went into liquidation, he jumped at the chance.
As Ryan himself admitted, the recipes are still being tweaked and the pump clips - drawn by a tattoo artist, hence the ink reference - are not the final version, but I was encouraged by his attitude and knowledgeable conversation, and the friendly atmosphere of the place, which had several visitors from far and wide in my hour there. This followed on from a really busy weekend for them, no doubt helped by an article about the place in the 'Huddersfield Examiner'. They had got a temporary licence for the Bank Holiday weekend and will do the same at the end of May. In the long-term the plan is to maybe open every alternative weekend. At the end of the day, though, this is a brewery, and so the focus rather than on serving beers is on getting them out into the trade.
I enjoyed my hour there, wish Beer Ink all the best, and will do my best to get there at the Spring Bank Holiday. And hope in the meantime to see some of the beers on in some of the local pubs over the coming weeks and months....
Beer Ink Brewery, Plover Road Garage, Plover Road, Huddersfield, HD3 3PJ
I went over there yesterday as friends had tipped me off about a new brewery that had opened up with a pop-up bar. I had a few errands to do, but after a visit to the local garden centre I headed up to Beer Ink, which is located on Plover Road in Lindley.
Situated in a former garage, the premises nonetheless have history as a brewery. Indeed, it was the site of the original Mallinson's Brewery, which was then taken over by Hand Drawn Monkey after the Mallinsons team upped sticks and moved to Lockwood, close to their effective tap, The Star, at Folly Hall.
I tracked it down via the wonders of satnav and as I headed up Plover Road it soon became apparent that the open building coming up on the left had a bar facing out into the street. I parked at the side of the building, and wandered in. A couple of tables outside and a makeshift bar on wheels inside, with a further few seats.
I was greeted by Ryan, the brewer, and Roseanne, who was serving on behind the bar. There were a couple of people sat around as I ordered a pint of Pin Up, a 4.2% pale ale. There was also a bitter and stout on hand pump, with a couple of beers on key keg.
I enjoyed the beer, which was very reasonably priced, and I also enjoyed chatting to Ryan and Roseanne about their plans and how it had all come about. Ryan had worked for Hand Drawn Monkey before its demise, and has also worked with Rob Hamilton at the Blackjack Brewery in Manchester, so has had an excellent grounding in the trade. When the opportunity had come up to get hold of some cheap brewing equipment when HDM went into liquidation, he jumped at the chance.
As Ryan himself admitted, the recipes are still being tweaked and the pump clips - drawn by a tattoo artist, hence the ink reference - are not the final version, but I was encouraged by his attitude and knowledgeable conversation, and the friendly atmosphere of the place, which had several visitors from far and wide in my hour there. This followed on from a really busy weekend for them, no doubt helped by an article about the place in the 'Huddersfield Examiner'. They had got a temporary licence for the Bank Holiday weekend and will do the same at the end of May. In the long-term the plan is to maybe open every alternative weekend. At the end of the day, though, this is a brewery, and so the focus rather than on serving beers is on getting them out into the trade.
I enjoyed my hour there, wish Beer Ink all the best, and will do my best to get there at the Spring Bank Holiday. And hope in the meantime to see some of the beers on in some of the local pubs over the coming weeks and months....
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| Beer Ink |
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