Two wheels to Ilkely Brewery

In recent years, The North in general has seen local heroes such as Sir Bradley Wiggins become international celebrities on the cycling scene. Given the region’s new-found fame as both a cycling mecca and a craft beer hot spot, we figured there was no better idea than to combine the two as part of our trip.

We decided that there would be no better way to shake off the Sunday morning cobwebs by jumping on some bikes and heading into the countryside to check out this month’s ‘One To Watch’; Ilkley Brewery. We’ve been enjoying their Dinner Ale so much recently that we decided to include it in this month’s box.

Before setting off for our ride, we stopped by North Brewing Co. the morning after our big night out in Leeds. There were a few sore heads around, but that didn’t stop some of the brewery team joining the Magic Cycle, in aid of the British Heart Foundation. We wished them well as they took the train up to Huddersfield for the ride from Magic Rock Tap back to their own brewery tap room, where no doubt the riders would all enjoy some well-earned refreshment that evening.

With events like this becoming more and more common and many of the breweries that we visit playing host to such riding groups, we’ve been keen to explore the connection between long distance cycling and craft beer hands-on. Still feeling the effects of the night before, we took a short train out to the quaint spa town of Harrogate, North Yorkshire; the spiritual home of afternoon tea. 

Without time for a scone and jam, we hired a couple of bikes from Vern Overton Bikes and got changed into our Team Scotland cycling jerseys, sent to us for the ride by our friends at The Cycle Jersey. Before setting off, we grabbed a coffee at Prologue Performance Cycling; a popular meeting place for the cycling clubs who head into the countryside from here every Sunday. One such group, Cappuccino Cycling Club, has more than 140 members – one of whom, the author Martin Gatenby, offered to help us with the route.

Joining us for the 36 mile ride, he not only helped guide the way to Ilkley Brewery, but shared his tips for the newbie cyclist. “My first piece of advice would be not to go for your first big ride across the hills of the Yorkshire Dales” – oops. 

Thankfully, Martin is a cheerful guy and doesn’t mind waiting as we slowly climb the hills behind him. Along the way, he shares some of his stories from his life as a passionate cyclist, which he has also written a book about called ‘Life of Mamils: My life as a middle aged man in Lycra’. 

Martin’s passion is certainly shared by a lot of people here and since hosting the Tour De France back in 2014, Yorkshire has become a hotbed of cycling activity. The race saw more than half a million people line the roads of the county and Yorkshire’s beautiful rolling landscape was 

beamed into TV sets in more than 150 countries, inspiring visitors from abroad to take cycling holidays here as a way to explore the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales. 

‘Le Tour de Yorkshire’, as it has become known in its continuing form as a locally-organised annual race, has helped to inspire a boom in riding in the region and some village cycling groups have member lists in the thousands. The Prime Minister has even vowed to underwrite Yorkshire’s bid to become the host of the World Cycling Championships in 2019.

We were originally inspired to make this trip after reading these stories and as a result of watching some YouTube images of hundreds of pro-cyclists rocketing through sleepy Yorkshire towns. As we pass through village after village, our legs begin to tire, but thankfully the end is in sight. 

We soon find ourselves rolling into Ilkley village, a quaint Victorian spa village at the foot of Ilkley Moor, which itself is the subject of popular local folk songs, including ‘On Ilkley Moor Without a Hat’, the unofficial anthem of Yorkshire. The wide streets are lined by hanging baskets and the place definitely has an upmarket feel about it. Being home to an outlet of the tea room Betty’s and an outpost of Friends of Ham from Leeds, there’s certainly an appetite for fine food and drink.

We find ourselves enjoying the final mile to the brewery, along the same route that the significantly faster Tour De France riders took. Sweaty and rained-on, we arrive at Ilkley Brewery, where one of its owners is there to greet us. Luke Raven, a cheerful guy who has gone from brewery manager to owner, having bought the place from its previous owners last year, hands a couple of cold cans to us.

“This is something new we’re working on putting into cans – its really taken off since we launched it at Craft Beer Rising earlier this year”, says Like. Going by the name ‘Tisane’, it’s a Lemongrass, Ginger and Tea Saison. Super refreshing; its just what our lips were waiting for. This summery Saison takes influence from two continents – from France of course, where this style originates – but also from the East, thanks to the addition of Lemongrass and Ginger. “We were inspired to use locally blended tea – the dryness really cuts through both the sweetness of the yeast and the floral essence of the additions”. 

It’s an example of another great beer from this tiny brewery, who first rose to fame with their Mary Jane Pale Session Ale. Named after ‘Mary Jane’ from the ‘Ilkley Moor without a hat’ folk song, it is American-hopped and intensely refreshing. Winner of awards from CAMRA, two from SIBA and even a Great Taste Gold award, they’ve certainly earned their stripes.

Last night at Friends of Ham in Leeds, we enjoyed a glass or two of their excellent Rhubarb Saison, brewed as a collaboration with Ferment contributor Melissa Cole. But what we’re most excited to be sharing is their Victorian Dinner Ale. Available in all of our Beer52 boxes this month, we believe it is one of their best brews yet. 

Designed to be the perfect accompaniment to food, this 3.3% beer was created after the team dug through their company’s predecessors – the original Ilkley Brewery’s and Aerated Water Company’s – archives. 

Luke explains that, “During Victorian times, wine started to be associated wealth and beer was found on tables of working families. Dinner Ales were the affordable option and in contrast to the heavy porters and milds of the time, were generally light and crisp so as easy to drink with food.” Intrigued by the fact that this style had all but died out, Ilkley Brewery were keen to reintroduce it and create their own version of this Victorian classic. 

Before setting off on our bikes again, we ask Luke about his plans for the future. “We’ve just taken over the site next door and are about to set up a taproom in a converted shipping container on the site”. I’m sure that in this prosperous village that’ll go down very well indeed. 

Handing us a couple of cans to enjoy on the ride home, Luke comments that “People in Ilkley have such a good understanding of craft beer – they’re really into eating out and the Ilkley Beer Festival is very well attended – its partly thanks to the festival that we got our start”. 

Hopefully we’ll get a chance to stop off here on another Yorkshire cycling trip in the future, but first we’ve got to get back to Harrogate to catch our train home. Twiddling up the hills in the tiny gears and free-wheeling down the slopes, we make it back just in the nick of time. Enjoying a couple of cans of Ilkley’s finest on the train home, we fall asleep by the time we pull into Edinburgh. What a great adventure.