Brewing beer for a day with 'Learn To Brew UK' (Update - Beer complete)

I've become something of an obsessive (nerd?) over beer in the last six months or so. Not that a craft beer or a real ale is something that's particularly new to me, just that I've discovered there's so much more to 'a beer' than the local supermarket or pub may be offering. My palate has latched on to specific tastes, and the aromas of a beer are tantalising my thirsty taste buds. Discovering a fine new ale or learning of a brewery's rich history or new found glory has become akin to my other love – music, and there are mirrored patterns emerging in what has become a new passion in my life. So much so I decided I must have a go at putting together a brew from home myself. 

Nothing - Leeds Brudenell, November 24th 2014

Despite never previously being enamoured with the Brudenell's games room as a live music venue, it took a night of shoegaze worship for the poor relation to the main room to finally come into its own. The compact, intimate space acted as the perfect backdrop for the post-grunge soundscapes served up by two leading lights in the current wave of bands whose musical lineage seems to stop dead at Nevermind.

Jack White - Leeds First Direct Arena, November 17th 2014

Before we begin to unravel this two hour extravaganza by Jack White, let's take time to applaud the first guy we see on stage this evening.  Ten minutes or so before the band appear, a gentleman from the Detroit mans' crew addresses the crowd to politely ask them to refrain from watching the whole show through their smartphones. Evidently, some still need major surgery to detach them from the damn things, but the majority adhere to the plee and it's a better experience for all concerned.  If only this was mandatory at every live event.

Public Access TV - The Wardrobe, Leeds. Review & Interview

It’s a very damp Saturday evening in November with the sound of fireworks in the night air almost palpable. In order to stave off early signs of Seasonal Affected Disorder, tonight I’m at The Wardrobe to check out and chat with the Big Apple’s next great musical hope Public Access TV. The stateside quartet (recently bulked up from their original three piece with the recruitment of Max Peebles) are currently this side of the pond for a short tour playing a combination of gigs, mainly supporting a similarly hot UK prospect, Liverpool’s Circa Waves, plus a couple of headline shows for good measure in London then finishing across the channel in Paris. 

Zola Jesus - Leeds Belgrave Music Hall - October 30th 2014

Tonight’s gig was at the now well established Leeds music venue Belgrave Music Hall. Headliner Zola Jesus was an act I was intrigued to see live having followed her career on and off over the years since 2010’s Stridulum II. I hadn’t actually heard any of the new album so I was going into the gig with no preconceived idea of what to expect.

Sunset Sons - Leeds Oporto - October 28th 2014

Oporto is yet another small Leeds venue with ideas above its station yet still manages to pull it off, playing host to a number of stellar gigs, featuring mainly acts on an upward curve. Tonight it’s the turn of surf dudes Sunset Sons, a trio of Brits and an Australian whose paths first crossed at a bar in Hossegor down in the south-west of France. Since that fateful meeting, they’ve traded-in a little wave time for the rock and roll lifestyle, a self-promoted debut ‘Le Surfing’ EP making the Top Ten on the iTunes rock chart earlier in the year.

Northern Monk Brewing Co. Holbeck, Leeds

It's a striking image isn't it, the Northern Monk Brewing Co logo? One I was immediately drawn to when I first laid eyes on it earlier this year, and one that you will be seeing a lot more of from now on. The team behind Northern Monk Brewing Co have a spanking new home in the heart of Leeds from which they will not only brew their range of delicious beers, but have a refectory along with a bottle shop, tap room, events space and a kitchen. Located in Holbeck, this grade II listed building is the only publicly accessible mill in Leeds. As you enjoy their wares, sipping down one of their beautifully brewed beverages from twenty available taps, you can see partial elements of the brewing process through huge glass windows. Your beer literally being brewed before your very eyes! The refectory has been stripped right back to bare brickwork and stone floors giving it a real traditonal Northern feel.

Alvvays - Brudenell Social, Leeds - October 25th 2014

With a queue snaking out of the car park and a palpable excitement in the night air, the build up to tonight's show had an almost magical quality. The Brudenell consistently delivers us special moments; its gig history plotting a course mirroring our own musical adventures. Now with, deservedly, a national, if not international, reputation for bringing us the best new bands before anyone else, it was no surprise that this was the stage for Canadians Alvvays' debut Leeds performance. 

Eliza And The Bear - Leeds Wardrobe October 12th

I first stumbled across the fag end of a belting Eliza and The Bear set earlier this year during Live @ Leeds, the first floor room at Belgrave Music Hall absolutely packed to the rafters producing a quite electric atmosphere. I therefore resolved to give the London based quintet another look given the opportunity so this visit to the Wardrobe is to make sure the earlier performance was no fluke.