Tuesday 27th October 2015
Bob Thompson
Located less than two minutes from the front doors of Leeds railway station, the Brewery Tap offers a very decent pint, should you just be changing trains or spending a bit more time in the city. It is one of the central outlets for the Leeds Brewery. This was established in June 2007 in the suburb of Holbeck by Sam Moss and Michael Brothwell, who was previously a presenter on BBC Radio York.
The brewery is of 20 barrels capacity, which makes it medium sized. Almost at once the two partners set about building up a small estate of pubs to provide guaranteed outlets for their beers.
So, in November 2008 the Brewery Tap opened. It was the third in the chain; the first was the Midnight Bell which gives its name to one of their beers, and is not far from the brewery itself.
It is in a modern angular style without any fuss and frippery. Some say it lacks atmosphere yet I have found this not to be true. It is normally very busy indeed yet on this day it appeared to be completely empty, I suppose it was mid-afternoon. I mentioned this to the barman and he was also surprised it was so quiet but informed me there were a pair of customers on the first floor.
The pale purple-painted building is situated on the inside of a curve in New Station Street which is one-way and is used by all the taxis, buses and cars that are heading for the station entrance.
On entering the door you will find the bar counter on the right. In front of this there are some tables with comfortable upholstered bench seating underneath the window.
In front of the door is a shelf along the opposite wall with a number of stools and by the window to the street there is an upturned barrel with some more stools, Turn left and you enter another room that has five loose tables and forms the apex of the pub.
At the opposite end of the building are the stairs up to the upper floor room and also the facilities. There is no bar and you can walk through the room to an open roof top area.
On the first floor you pass a room with a small brewery in it. Somehow though, not all the equipment seems to be there and I am presuming it is located in another part of the pub. It does look as if it is in occasional use. This 2.5 barrel plant is where, it is claimed, that the company’s lager, Leodis is brewed. This is found in all of their pubs and I am surprised that it can kegged in this small area. Maybe some comes from the main plant.
I think that Leeds brewery do not produce many seasonal or special beers, as it seems that the same four are always offered at this pub.
Nothing wrong with that, as they are all good beers. They are: Leeds Pale (3.9%); Leeds Best (4.3%); Yorkshire Gold (4.0%) and Midnight Bell (4.8%). The latter is strong mild.
They also had a perry (5.8%) from Hogan’s of Alcester, Warwickshire.
There are always four guest beers and on the occasion of this visit they were: Brass Castle (Malton, North Yorkshire) Oatmeal Pale (4.6%); Sonnet 43 Brew House (Coxhoe, County Durham) Bourbon Milk Stout (4.3%); Hop Studio (Elvington, York) Porter (4.3%) and Five Points (Hackney, London) Pale Ale (4.4%).
The pub offers food through the middle part of the day. Not only because of its convenient location, but for its excellent selection of beers, I commend you to visit this pub if you are in the city.
Important information:
The Brewery Tap, 10 New Station Street, Leeds LS1 5DL. Tel: 0113 2434 414
Hours: Monday-Thursday 12.00-23.00; Friday-Saturday 12.00-24.00; Sunday 12.00-22.30
The pub is in the centre of the city and easy to find from the railway station.
From exiting the barriers, walk across the concourse to the doors out of the station. Turn to the right and continue along the pavement until you get to the left curve of the road. By now you will have seen the pub on the opposite of the street. Cross it carefully and enter.
Leeds station is served by trains from all over the country.
