Leeds International Beer Festival 2017 - Prize Giveaway

Poster: Drew Millward

The 6th annual Leeds International Beer Festival is nearly here. Thanks to some of the finest breweries in attendance at this years event, you can win a LOT of super stuff. 

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED
DRAW ON SEPTEMBER 5TH 8PM

Brewed & Reviewed: Odyssey Brew Co

Here's an opportunity that we simply couldn't let pass by. With an ear to the ground via twitter and lips smacking at the thought of their beers from comments we'd read here and there, we've been taking note in recent weeks of a rather new and exciting brewing venture going by the name of Odyssey Brewing. Great reviews and positive words of praise have been popping up all over the internet for a good while now. When we got wind of a tap takeover by them and a meet the brewer experience at our favourite local place to be – Northern Monk's refectory here in Leeds, we hurriedly put it into our diaries and made our way along a couple of Saturday's ago.

Brewed & Reviewed: Lost Industry

As a huge beer fan and contributor, a lot of my spare time evolves around social media. Countless times a day I can be found uploading to Instagram, checking Facebook, looking at Untappd, browsing online beer retailers and filling up baskets that most the time never get checked out, and apart from actually drinking the stuff, the internet is the best way to gain knowledge on all things hoppy. On one of the many fore-mentioned platforms it was Facebook that I found the brewery for this instalment of Brewed & Reviewed. During one of my check ins on one of the UK’s craft beer communities I kept seeing one name crop up time and time again. Lost Industry. 

Birra Gjulia - 'Ribò' and 'Barley Wine'

"..Birra Gjulia continue to impress with their varying styles and experiments with grain and grape! The packaging and labelling are exceptional and not to mention wonderfully eye-catching. Already distributed across the restaurants and wine shops of their home country, Gjulia are looking to export not just their products but an expression of fine Italian drinking culture..."

Triptick (IX) - Roosters Brewing Co.

Here at Plus One we love to keep it local (not ‘The League Of Gentlemen’ sort of local) so we were thrilled when Yorkshire based brewery 'Roosters' sent us over a trio of tipples to enjoy. Roosters have been around for quite some time now in the grand scheme of things, 1993 they first hit the scene starting off with an all cask affair. Since then however they have been keen to stay relevant, adding keg, cans and bottles to their range in 2014 after investing in a canning line. 

Brewed & Reviewed: Cloudwater

Plus One Magazine is proud to present to you, the first in our new series of articles; Brewed & Reviewed. We’ll be bringing all the latest beers from your favourite U.K based breweries, as well as news, reviews, opinions and anything else in between.

LEEDS INTERNATIONAL BEER FESTIVAL 2015

I'm sat on the steps of Leeds' stunning Town Hall in some warm September sunshine with a glass of chilled, golden beer in hand, and I'm not alone. Hundreds of people are doing and have done the very same over this amazing 4-day festival of craft beer. Below, I can see where the various tantalising smells of food of the various vendors are coming from, as well as the marquee which is housing some of the UK brewers and there respective drinks. Behind me, a constant conveyor belt of happy, smiling people holding a half or a pint of something, enter and exit the town hall. Lets dip inside...

Triptick (IV) Three Studies Of Beers (Canned Edition)

Now the weather is getting warmer, its time to make the most of the brief patches of northern sun we get… so bring on the BBQ’s and of course, the beers.Canned beer is the perfect choice here, they chill down quickly, they're easy to transport, no need for a glass, and with the recent explosion of canned beer scene, there’s no reason to skimp on quality.

Norland Beers (Halifax) & A Community Owned Pub (Hebden Bridge)

At the recent launch of Norland Beers new ale ‘Showcase’ in The Fox and Goose at Hebden Bridge, my taste buds were treated to a proper beer. This is a rich ruby coloured ale with lots of flavour and reminiscent of the ales of yesteryear. In a beer world packed full of ultra-hoppy IPAs and APAs it is refreshing to find a really drinkable ale that showcases British hops to give a deeply satisfying flavour.

Triptick (III). Three Studies Of Beers (Runaway Brewery Edition)

As my fellow beer writer Rowan rightly put it, the Mancunian beer scene is booming. Following on from this appreciation of beer from across the Pennines, and as part of our ongoing triptych series, I picked up Runaway Brewery's core range from Tall Boys beer market, and here's what I thought. 

Meanwhile, In Manchester: Breweries

An insight into who's brewing what over on the other side of The Pennines...

Over in the North West, something's brewing. Manchester has always been home to a decent pint, but these days the beer scene is booming. There are now over 60 breweries in Manchester*, a good two thirds of which have started up in the last five or six years, with roughly half of those newcomers opening in 2014 alone. From old-school cask Bitter and American-inspired IPA to keg-conditioned, heavily-hopped Sour Pale Ale and citrus-infused Gose, the brewers of Manchester are following their own individual paths and, in doing so, creating a rich tapestry of tradition, innovation, and collaboration. 

A West Coast Amber ale by THE BEAK BREWERY - LEEDS.

Celebrating Leeds collaborators Tall Boys Beer Market and Welcome Skate Shop on an exhibition by Reece Leung

The independent scene in Leeds has grown rapidly in recent years, you only need to look at the line up for the upcoming Leeds Indie Food Festival to be blown away by the wide spectrum of places out there, so many people taking a chance, setting out on their own and doing what they love.

'Triptick' (II). Three Studies Of Beers (Mad Hatter Brewing Co. Edition)

Mad Hatter Brewing have just turned Two, and only having had a few of their beers before, I took a trip to deepest Armley to pick up a selection from Raynville Superstore. An unassuming neighbourhood convenience shop from the outside, the owner's Son has been busy stocking the shelves with the best craft beer from the UK and beyond. Along with the three Mad Hatter picks I'm drinking tonight, I also restocked with more Thornbridge and Wild Beer bottles, at a very reasonable price.

'Triptick' (I). 3 studies of beers (Thornbridge & Buxton Edition)

Tonight, I'm cracking some big beers from either side of the Peak District. Thornbridge and Buxton are two of the leading lights of the UK beer scene, both well established but ceaselessly innovative and consistently producing quality beer. My three selections tonight are bold, strong and new to me...

January Beer52 review and music pairing

Welcome to January's edition of our craft beer review courtesy of Beer52 and our music pairing feature. Each month we review a case of eight different beers sent to us by the beer discovering adventurers at Beer52.com  This award winning beer delivery company is the most popular and fastest growing craft beer-to-your-door service out there.

A great beer home delivery service from Beer 52

With kind thanks to the Edinburgh based company Beer52*, we are going to bring you a regular, monthly review of some fine guest ales from across the UK, Europe and beyond. The dedicated team up there source these beverages from far and wide from a selected range of micro-breweries.  They offer a monthly, quarterly or yearly membership, for what I believe to be a very reasonably price and for that you'll receive a box of eight different craft ales, delivered for free to your door. Ours took just two days to arrive in November and we couldn't wait to see what was inside. They are pre selected and boxed up by Beer52 so you'll always be in for a surprise, and judging by last months delivery which we'll  go into detail about below, these are not mediocre, run of the mill beers.