To celebrate the launch of his first book, Great Yorkshire Beer, beer blogger, Leigh Linley, has teamed up with Ilkley Brewery to create a bespoke brew that will be revealed at his book launch on Thursday 30 May at The York Tap, York.
The Good Stuff, named after Leigh’s renowned blog, is a 5% Witbier made with lemongrass and lime. The summer ale will be the official book launch beer and will sit alongside beers from 12 other Yorkshire breweries, each featured in Great Yorkshire Beer which is published by Great Northern Books.
A member of the British Guild of Beer Writers, Leigh has been writing about beer and food since 2007 through his blog, The Good Stuff. For his first book, Leigh visits Yorkshire’s newest and most critically-acclaimed breweries to tell their story and showcase their most successful beers; beers which are breaking rules and which celebrate the Yorkshire pint through worldwide influences, diverse ideas and modern brewing.
Speaking about The Good Stuff, Leigh said: “Chris from Ilkley Brewery first suggested brewing a ‘book launch beer’ when we met back in February at the launch of Ilkley’s chocolate Chipotle stout, The Mayan. Knowing how Ilkley likes to do things differently, I was keen to get on board to make this Witbier, a style of beer I’m a firm fan of.
“The Good Stuff will be available exclusively at my book launch and will be one of 13 beers on tap from each and every great Yorkshire brewery that I’ve featured in the book. The evening will be a celebration of Yorkshire’s brewing heritage and, more recently, its place in the eye of the craft and microbrewing storm.”
Chris Ives, managing director of Ilkley Brewery, added: “Leigh’s work is highly regarded in the beer trade so we were very pleased to collaborate with him to create The Good Stuff for his first book launch.
“Leigh’s beer knowledge is vast and so it’s great he’s honed his expertise in to showcase Yorkshire’s finest breweries, many of which have been blazing a trail throughout the craft beer boom. We’re very much looking forward to sharing Leigh’s brew at the book launch and wish him every success for the future.”
Copies of Leigh’s book will be available to buy from Ilkley Brewery on Ashlands Road, Ilkley.
The Great Yorkshire Beer book launch is free and open to all. It will start at 19.00, in Thursday 30 May, and will take place at The York Tap, located next to York train station: www.yorktap.com
To find out more about Ilkley Brewery, visit: www.ilkleybrewery.co.uk or follow Ilkley Brewery on Twitter @Ilkleybrewery and Facebook www.facebook.com/ilkley.
ENDS
Images attached:
- Great Yorkshire Beer – Leigh Linley’s first book which profiles breweries from across the region.
- The Good Stuff was brewed in collaboration with Leigh Linley, exclusively for his book launch.
Media contact:
For further media information, please contact Katy Barraclough, Conway PR, on 07813 094945 / 01943 430257 or email katy@conwaypr.co.uk
Notes to editors:
The Ilkley Brewery Co. Ltd. was founded in January 2009. In May 2009, it launched its first beer, Olicana Gold, which was closely followed by Ilkley Best and Ilkley Original who were joined in the summer by the now famous Mary Jane.
A string of awards has followed with most of the beers now brewed by the brewery winning medals at beer competitions up and down the country.
In January 2011, Ilkley Brewery secured a debt and equity package from Glentrool Capital Partners LLP, who also provide corporate support to help grow the company. This enabled Ilkley Brewery to move from its premises on East Parade to a new 2,600 square foot brewery on Ashlands Road, Ilkley. A new 20 barrel brewing plant was installed allowing the brewery to produce 23,000 pints a week.
In October 2011, a new 30 barrel fermenter was acquired, taking production to over 32,000 pints a week. In March 2012, production capacity expanded again to close to 40,000 pints a week.
In January 2012, Ilkley Brewery was crowned one of Yorkshire’s most promising companies in the Government-backed Local Business Accelerators campaign, going onto win the national prize in August 2012 for being one of the country’s fastest growing and successful businesses.
April 2012 saw the launch of the Origins range, showcasing the best in beer styles and brewing. Medina and Siberia were the first collaboration brews with renowned beer writers, and The Chief, Victorian Pale Dinner Ale, Wit Marie, Green Goddess, and Holy Cow have since followed to much critical acclaim.
As of August 2012, bottles of Mary Jane, Ilkley Best, Ilkley Black and Ilkley Pale are available in Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Booths supermarkets across the north of England, as well as Harvey Nichols stores and restaurants nationally.
Additional SIBA medals for Ilkley Black and Lotus IPA were awarded in October 2012 (Bronze and Silver respectively).
November 2012 saw the first export sales to leave the UK.
Katy Barraclough MCIPR
Conway PR
www.conwaypr.co.uk
Conway PR
M: 07813 094945
T: 01943 430257
Twitter:
www.conwaypr.co.uk