On the trail of ale across Dean Ellison, 32, of Leeds, organises beer trails with
you can get some good pork pies in both pubs.
“Then it’s down the hill to the Jubilee Refreshment rooms in Sowerby Bridge before getting the train home.”
He says some of the most interesting pubs in the region don’t resemble traditional pubs at all, with the Cock of the North in Hipperholme and the Red Shed in Wakefield being based in portable cabins.
“We recently went to the Red Shed in Wakefield - it’s a little Labour club in a number of portable cabins - it has a very unique atmosphere,” says Dean.
“They had a beer festival just after the crushing defeat Labour suffered in the election - there was subdued spirits all-round.”
Dean says that there are dozens of great microbreweries across the region offering something different.
He says his favourite brewer is Revolution in Castleford which gives its own unique spin on combining a love of beer with a passion for music.
“All their beers are 3.3., 4.5, and until recently 7.8 per cent - the revolution speed of a record,” says Dean.
“Each beer is themed on a particular album or song. They had a Motörheadthemed pint called Overkill which was a rhubarb wheat beer which was brewed especially for the Wakefield Rhubarb Festival.”
For July’s trail Dean says he’s taking a train out to Marsden and walking to Holmfirth before taking a bus to Huddersfield before returning to Leeds. b just doesn’t taste that nice - it can be quite an assault on the tastebuds which can put people off”, says Sue.
“If you’re introduced to beer through lighter styles like the ginger pale ale, it has a different appeal.”
In recent years, the brewery has made inroads into exporting its bottled beers to Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Finland and Hong Kong, with export sales making up almost a quarter of its total. “We’ve just come back from a trip to the Baltics. We’re looking at emerging markets in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and there seems to be a lot