The Ilkley Brewery Co

40 Ashlands Road, Ilkley, Leeds, Yorkshire, LS29 8JT

Produce: IPAs, Yorkshire Bitters, Blondes, Alcohol Free, Lagers, American Pale Ales, Powered By Hops, Powered By Passion, Powered By People

The Original Ilkley Brewery brewed its last pint in 1920, but passionate locals brought back brewing to the Yorkshire town 10 years ago. The Ilkley Brewery Team, led by Luke Raven have grown The Ilkley Brewery Co. into a regional and national brand, at a time when Yorkshire breweries now outnumber London breweries.

Luke and his team have had lots of fun over the last decade, they have now brewed 13 million pints of beer, which they reliably tell us is more than 3 Olympic sized swimming pools! ‘Mary Jane’ is their most famous brew accounting for 50% of their brewing, although it’s not all about her as they have brewed 200 unique beers.

With over 100 awards to their name, Ilkley Brewery has a beer for you no matter what your tastes or mood. As well as serving their local community and delivering nationwide, they love to export their brews around the world, securing their furthest tap listing, 8,036 miles away on the Russian island of Sakhalin! They are also widely available in France and Finland. They’d love to know if you’ve seen 'Mary' whilst on holiday and like to think she’s on tour!

They are a friendly bunch, loving to collaborate with others. Luke says, “in celebration of our 10th anniversary, we’ve brewed many incarnations of Mary from a Black IPA with our friends from Five Points (Mary Hoppins), a Milkshake Pale with Tiny Rebel (Sweet Mary Jane), a Sour with two brewing friends from Italy, Bruton and Cane di Guerro (Ave Maria), a Spruced-up IPA with friends North of the border Harveistoun and Williams Brothers, then we went off to Berlin and brewed a Berlinerweisse NEIPA (Berliner Weiss Weiss Mary) with German boundary-pushers BRLO, and keep your eyes peeled for Death by Mary with local heroes Northern Monk”.

Growing in popularity is the latest member of the ‘Mary family’(joining Joshua Jane, Ruby Jane, Stout Mary, Mary Christmas and all the Hail Marys) their first Alcohol Free beer – Virgin Mary which the guardian described as “A beer without sin”.

The Low and No drinks movement is the fastest growing in the drinks market, with 1 in 4 Millennials not drinking alcohol at all, Luke wanted to brew a no alcohol beer that dispels the myths that no alcohol means no taste.

Ever the practical jokers, they’ve been giving people tastes of Virgin Mary without telling them what it is, and the response is always “ooh, is this a new hoppy pale ale?” You’d never guess it was alcohol free, mission accomplished.

If you love brewery events, Ilkley Brewery put on a great show. Hopefully 2021 will see a return to some of their legendary gatherings, if you are interested be sure to check them out.