There’s an old adage in England that ‘wherever you will find a church, you will find a pub’. While I find this to generally be true, there are a staggering 19 medieval churches that still stand within the historic walls of York but these still don’t really manage to account for the bewildering number of boozers that occupy the same small area: The city contains 365, meaning that you would have to visit a different one every day of the year to sample them all.
York has a long history of brewing and its pubs are centuries old. Ye Olde Starre Inne, first licensed in 1644, claims to be the oldest but many of the drinking spots around the city have a story to tell. For example, in 1605, Guy Fawkes was born in the building that is now home to the Guy Fawkes Inn and The Snickleway Inn was used as a Royalist powder magazine during the English Civil War.T
However, brewing in the city waned in the latter half of the 20th century and it wasn’t until 1996, when York Brewery built the first brewery within the city walls for 40 years, that the craft brewing and microbrewery scene in the city really took off. Unfortunately, York Brewery has had to temporarily relocate to Masham under the watchful eye of Black Sheep Brewery, but there are new bars and breweries popping up all the time to take over the mantle. Since the ’90s, the craft beer scene in York has boomed, with numerous taprooms bars catering to the more decerning beer drinker standing alongside the city’s more traditional, but equally vibrant, pub scene.
The Best Breweries & Tap Rooms in York
Brew York
It’s hard to believe that York’s newest microbrewery has only been in existence for 4 years. Starting from humble beginnings in a warehouse hidden away on the backstreets of Walmgate overlooking the River Foss, Brew York has since grown exponentially to become one of the country’s most exciting breweries. They now have a ten-barrel brewery complete with a cool taproom but the real reason to visit is the enormous beer hall on the warehouse’s first floor where you will find a street food kitchen with rotating vendors and an impressive 40 keg lines.
Brew York offer a brewery tour for £10 per person that includes a tasting of 4 different beers.
Where: Unit 6, Enterprise Complex, Walmgate
When: Brew York’s taproom is temporarily closed but the Beer Hall is open Tues to Sat from 12pm – 10pm and on Sunday from 12pm – 9pm.
Ainsty Ales
Starting life as a cuckoo brewery, using the brewing equipment at Malton’s Brass Castle Brewery to produce two batches of beer per month, Ainsty’s finally launched its own brewery in 2014. Located in the idyllic village of Acaster Malbis, south of York, Ainsty Ales takes its name from the old “York & Ainsty District Wapentake”, a self-governing area dating back to the 1200s that was located to the West of York and bounded by the rivers Nidd, Wharfe & Ouse. With a strong emphasis on sustainability and waste reduction, Ainsty’s aim is to produce great tasting beers as ecologically as possible.
Where: Mill Ln, Acaster Malbis
When: Friday 3pm – 8pm
The Hop Studio
Located south-east of the city in Elvington, just a stone’s throw from the Yorkshire Air Museum, the Hop Studio is one of the city’s smaller, lesser-known breweries but it has in fact been brewing since 2012, when beer enthusiast Dave Shaw began tinkering with a style that he likes to describe as ‘original British craft beer’, producing beers packed with flavour and aroma.
Where: 3 Handley Park, Elvington
When: The brewery is open for can collections from Mon to Thurs between 9am and 6pm. In the future, they are looking to open their on-site taproom on Friday and Saturday afternoons.
The Best Craft Beer Bars in York
House of Trembling Madness
Named for the trembling madness, or Delirium Tremens (DT’s) as it’s more commonly known, The House of Trembling Madness describes itself as a medieval drinking hall. It is certainly medieval (the building it resides in started life in 1180 as the first Norman House to be built in York) but the word ‘hall’ may be a little generous. Head through the off-license and up the very steep narrow stairs you’re greeted with a tiny, ancient room full of beams, old benches and one or two stuffed animal heads. While this bar was once one of York’s best-kept secrets, its huge range of beers and knowledgable staff have made it an incredibly popular local institution, so getting a seat can be difficult.
As fantastic as the original House of Trembling Madness is, I much prefer their newer, Lendal location. After a £1million refurbishment in cooperation with York Conservation Trust, they began work on York’s first Craft Beer Mansion and in doing so have transformed this 18th-century Georgian mansion house into a stunning space that was worthy of the York Restoration Design Awards in 2018. Downstairs you will find a lovely, split-level, bistro-style space with a small bar containing cakes, nibbles and 11 kegs and 3 cask lines.
However, it is the mansions upstairs rooms that the Lendal location really comes into its own. Draped in elegant Georgian décor and painted in dark burgundy and navy with splashes of gold and brass, each of the 3 rooms feels atmospheric and decadent. In the main room, you will find chandeliers hanging over another well-stocked bar that contains 11 more kegs lines, bringing House of Trembling Madness’s beer count up to 22.
Where: 14 Lendal & 48 Stonegate
When: Daily 10am – 12am (Stonegate); 10am – 11.30pm (Lendal)
Hop O'Clock
The brainchild of couple Jimmy and Julia (originally hailing from Oulu, Finland) who met in Amsterdam and consequently spent time meandering around Europe exploring the continents beers, Hop O’Clock is easy to miss if you’re not sure where to look. This tiny Colliergate bottle shop is worth seeking out though.
Hop O’Clock has a bright and arty vibe, with Julia’s artwork on the walls, and offers a selection of around 130 different beers. Jimmy also has York’s only crowler – a canning machine – meaning that he can source kegs of more unusual beers for you to enjoy at home.
Where: 21 Colliergate
When: Tues to Sat 12pm – 9pm
Fossgate Social
Fossgate is a haven for independent cafes, bars and restaurants with dozens of fantastic, locally-owned businesses popping up here in recent years. Amongst myriad contenders vying for your hard-earned cash, Fossgate Social has a lot to offer: What was once a typical café has been stripped back to bare-brick walls, rough, wooden furniture and stripped backlighting to create one of the city’s coolest and most pleasant hangouts. While it is still a café at heart (the coffee is great and the brunch options are plentiful), it is also a fantastic urban social bar. It’s compact with a wonderfully friendly vibe.
There are normally six beers on draught but more recently, The Lakins (the bar’s owners that also run the equally fantastic Mickelgate Social on, you guessed it, Mickelgate) have recently started brewing their own beer under the guise of Ice Cream Factory Brewery. Both their Social Pale and SpaceCraft IPA are excellent.
Where: 25 Fossgate
When: Weds to Sun 11am – 10pm
Pivni
Situated in the heart of York’s historic city centre just a short walk from one of its most charming streets, The Shamble’s, Pivni sits within a creaking, old wooden-framed 15th-century building where the beams and cramped space only add to the atmosphere. They describe themselves as the Mecca of rare and unusual world beers, which is certainly accurate. Every style is represented here amongst the 60 different bottles that filling the fridges and the numerous keg and cask lines, but European beers are what they do best.
Where: 6 Patrick Pool
When: Sun & Mon 12pm – 11.30pm; Tues to Sat 11.30am – 11.30pm
The York Tap
A sister-pub the previously mentioned Pivni, York tap is brought to you by Pivovar, the York-based company is behind on-station bars in both Sheffield and Euston. Accessible from both inside and outside York Station, the Tap is a stunning space: think terrazzo floors, curved wooden bar and beautiful 1920s stained glass windows all adding to its authenticity and complementing the celebrated architecture of the station itself. The beer selection here isn’t bad either; they offer a range of 32 cask and craft keg beers, normally occupied by some of the best Yorkshire breweries, including plenty from Pivovar’s very own Tapped Brew Co.
Where: Station Rd
When: Mon to Sat 12pm – 10pm; Sun 12pm – 8pm
TAKE A BEER TOUR IN YORK
Navigating all of York’s breweries can be a little difficult, particularly because more of them are located outside of the city than within in it, and some aren’t open to the public. Thankfully, you can hop on board a Brewtown minibus and enjoy a full or half-day trip that includes sampling several beers at each stop and chatting to brewers in person about their beers. There are 3 different tours available; Northwest (stopping at Rudgate, Yorkshire Heart, and Ainsty), the Southeast Tour (stopping at Brew York, Half Moon Brewery, and the Hop Studio), and a tour further afield that explores the breweries in and around Malton and Pickering.
The tours leave on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays and take around 5 hours. At each stop, you will be able to sample 4 or 5 beers while getting the opportunity to meet and chat to a brewer.
