It was great to go and check out Northern Monk's centre of operations, as I've rarely seen their…read morebeers west of the Pennines. The Old Flax Store where they're based is a Grade II listed mill and located in the industrial Holbeck area towards the outskirts of the city centre. Spread over three levels: their brewery on the ground floor; The Refectory and bottle shop on the first floor and event space (Chapter Hall) on the top floor, it's been lovingly restored both inside and out. Despite how separated they are from the main hub of bars and restaurants, there were quite a few people enjoying their afternoons here with a beer, hot drink or bite to eat (they serve food throughout the day). With a small selection of board games (alas, pretty much all of them had vital parts missing), I'd advise bringing your own if you fancied entertaining yourselves in this chilled out space for a while before you ventured onwards. Tip: they have a small free car park out front for the designated drivers.

Northern Monk Refectory is a fantastic spot for food and beer. It's situated in Holbeck so it is a…read morelittle bit of a walk south of the city, about 10 minutes, but this distance at least when I've been there recently means it's not overwhelmed by the crowds you would expect on a Friday or Saturday. Those that venture out are discerning and looking for a quality beer and great food and that's what you receive from the guys at Northern Monk and their food collaboration with Grog and Grub. The bar features 20 draught beers (not sure whether this number includes their 2 on handpump) it is about 50% their own beers and 50% guest, with this number of beers they do a good job covering a range of styles so you should not be at a loss to find something you like. In fact all the beers I had were very nice Track Sonoma, Curveball Pirate Porter, and Northern Monk Salt Lime Wit.

Harrogate brewing is a great local pub. They didn't have a chef at the time I visited so they only…read morehad prepackaged snacks. Beer is great and that's what matters. A proper pub atmosphere. Try there Nib mild my favorite

From the owner: Independent, award winning Micro, brewing in the beautiful North Yorkshire Spa Town of Harrogate,…read morein North Yorkshire. ​ We also run a fun, cosy taproom inside the industrial unit of the brewery.

This brewery has been supplying me with excellent pints for quite some time. Since I moved to…read moreLeeds, in fact, back in 2005. I've always been a fan, and as was discussed on the brewery tour, they're absolutely a 'second pint brewery'. As in, you'll almost always go for a second pint, rather than try one outrageous beer, and never do it again. I must admit, I'm taken by the hop-fad. It's a bit like spice - the more you get into it, the more you want it on your tongue. However, I'm not so into it that I don't want a solid beer, and whilst the brews here mightn't be 'experimental', they are well made, lovingly crafted, and consistently pleasing. A favourite has always been the Leeds Pale, but I'm keen to try the Gathering Storm - a seasonal trad stout. Love a stout. The tour we had showed how impressive this place is. There's no name for the size of brewery they are, being too large to class as craft, but too small to class within the ranks of Tetleys and the like. However, given the physical size of the place versus the volume of output, it's no mean feat - brews are brewing all the day long. It's incredible to think about the amount of pints being made in such a small space. I adore the aroma of the place. I did not get a turn on the forklift, although I didn't ask, but that's mainly as I fear the answer would have been 'no'. I did, however, get to learn more about one of my favourite liquids, see inside a Leeds institution, and appreciate the hard work that goes into something many might take for granted. (I certainly do, when I'm in the pub.) Here's to many more pints to come. Cheers!

What a lovely brewery. They got casks, and lots of metal baking jars. And a bloody forklift…read more Also, it's not really open to the public. You have to be special.

The Black Sheep Brewery was my latest brewery I got to try that was abroad from the the United…read moreStates. The Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale was the beer that Steve and I had and enjoyed. I usually write about breweries in the United States so I find this beer, it's referring to a Monty Python film and where it was made to be genuine and authentically British all of the way. For this golden ale we joyously detected flavor features of hoppiness, maltiness and sweetness. The flavors definitely put you at attention because this beer recipe isn't all that common place in the United States. Very glad to have had the opportunity to try a beer from Black Sheep!

Came to the brewery for a tour, which was very informative on the brewing process & which beers…read morewhere right for the 3 x 1/3 pint taster for you, which was part of the tour ticket. Decided to have lunch afterwards. The staff very attentive & pleasant, food was very good quality & reasonably priced. A very good visitor attraction in Masham North Yorkshire. Would

the organic hard apple cider from here is delicious the quality is great in the glass bottle.read more

Now, Wakefield can strike the fear in some of the less well travelled Yorskhire folk but sure…read moreenough, like any small town, it has it's absolute gems. I think you have to live in a city to truly seek out the best it has to offer, unless you're fantastically lucky on your constitutionals, and this place is not exactly somewhere you'd stumble upon along the standard routes through town. It's situated on a little back street, which at first glance might appear to be leading no where, but my goodness it leads somewhere. This fantastic little micro-brewery-cum-pub is an excellent venue for ale drinkers, musicians and deliberating scholars alike. I used to frequent this place as a young undergraduate with my musical companions, often with guitars in tow for an impromptu session. I distinctly remember polishing off many a half of their Moonshine, a flat pale cider if memory serves, and promptly setting off into the night merry as Christmas. That stuff was lethal! But nonetheless an excellent way to kick off the night. Although the pub catered to the CAMRA drinkers among us, it had plenty of other options, although seldom drank by myself - it was real ale or orange juice all the way, and the orange juice rarely got a look in! The décor is lovely; rustic pub paraphenalia adorns the space. The staff were always accommodating, in spite of the pandemic of us student-types flocking in each term and over all I couldn't fault this diamond in the rough.

If you happen to find yourself in Wakefield and are looking for a lovely and quirky pub - then…read moreFernandes should be high on your list. Owned by Ossett Brewery, the building which was formerly a malthouse is down a bit of a dingy alley and behind a row of small shops off Kirkgate but it's definitely worth overcoming your preconceptions and heading inside. There's a brewery in the basement, continental Bier keller on the first floor and brewery tap on the second floor, complete with high vaulted ceilings and impressive bar with 11 hand pumps. To me it looked like a cross between a saloon and the backstage of a theatre with its rescued pub signs and unusual breweriana. We loved it all. It's a comfortable, homely space to have some drinks - and it's dog-friendly. The hospitableness of the young barman with his impressive handlebar moustache just added to our enjoyment; if we didn't have to head back home we'd have easily stayed until they closed. A local gem.

This is a really great brewery, so many beer options and a great space. They have outdoor seating…read morethat is very open and spacious, and covered to protect from the elements. You can go inside and order easily. If you want to sit inside they have a room upstairs that also has a bar to order from, and you can order food upstairs as well. The menu is Japanese food and had lots of small plate options to go with your beer. We didn't get food while we were there, but it looked amazing. Great space to go with a group of people to just sit and hang out. Very nice and clean bathrooms as well!

I have been trying to think of a way to put this without sounding too harsh, but it is just not…read morepossible. Oracle actually makes me feel sick and scrunch up my face in disbelief. It is a bar / restaurant / night club on the waterfront of the river that unfortunately, like so many other bars and clubs, is a cattle market parading around falsely as a sophisticated night out. On a busy night, it is like drowning in a pond of glow stick fluid while bright orange practically naked women pout at you like delirious tropical fish from all angles (see photo of 'sexy santas'). Meanwhile the lazily produced monotonous drones of music repeatedly flick you in the face like an annoying little brother, provoking a tiresome and frustrating headache. Oblivious to any of this, it oozes with pretense, and goes about it's not-even-tactful patriarchal ways as grinning goofy men swagger around trying to look cool and control what's hopefully hidden in their trousers. The only valid reason for going here would be for comedy value, if you can stomach it.

So, Oracle has reopened during the day and I for one was very happy about this…read more If ever anyone would ask me where to go for a burger in Leeds i would have previously not hesitated in recommending this place. The menu however has now changed! And I'm not happy. The speciality here used the be their almighty burgers and the selection was fab,it has been cut down now to a very minimal selection on the menu. :-( My friend and I went for lunch last week and I was surprised to see 2/3 tables of people in there- all eating. As it's down Brewery Wharf it's pretty tucked away so some days I have been in and no other customers have been in the place. This makes the bar space a cavernous and very cold place. The bar is nice and airy, very light with the floor to ceiling windows and features lots of 'bling' style decor touches. Anyway, back to lunch. We were greeted cheerily and seated wherever we wanted. She explained the 'burger lunch special' only featured skinny fries and not wedges or sweet potatoes as says on the usual menu. Other than that its a very good deal. We ordered and sat back to people watch. There seems to be more staff here than is necessary and no-one doing too much. The manager was doing paperwork in one of the booths and another male member of staff seemed to be doing very little except stomping around flexing his muscles. May suit the evening ambiance of this place but not at lunchtime love- I'm waiting to eat! The food came quite quickly and as we had sat opposite the kitchen hatch we saw it was all freshly prepared. We'd ordered the BBQ Ranch burger, the chicken bacon & avocado burger and some cheesy garlic bread. The garlic bread was lovely- very soft ciabatta and cheesy cheese- not overly garlicky so very nice. The burgers were well presented and the portion of fries were HUGE! My chicken burger was minced chicken- a strange consistency really and the guacamole didn't really do much for it. Overall it was OK but I left about a third of it. The ranch burger was nicer, large fresh onion rings and a sweet BBQ sauce provided with it were a great addition. The fries were nice and crisp and overall it was a pleasant lunch. A couple of things let this place down- The dodgy background music The excess of staff doing little to nothing The coldness in the place I wouldn't say I'd now rave about the burgers there but it's going to be one of them places to keep in the back of my mind if I want a filling burger lunch.