Ahead of Leeds International Beer Festival, we catch up with local beer expert Simon Jenkins and find out about Israel’s buoyant beer scene!
Leeds International Beer Festival returns to Kirkstall Abbey from 3rd to 6th September and when it comes to the Yorkshire brewing industry, there’s no greater authority than Simon Jenkins, the city’s longest-serving chronicler of the pint.
Simon joined the Yorkshire Evening Post in 1991 and soon took over the paper’s pub column, Taverner. It ran for the best part of three decades, only calling last orders when pubs shut for the first COVID lockdown in 2020.
Along the way he’s written two books, The Great Leeds Pub Crawl and The Yorkshire Beer Bible, a near-exhaustive survey of every brewery in the county. Simon also runs regular walking tours around Leeds through dedicated beer website, It’s the Beer Talking, that take in as much local history as local ale.
In 2010 he was named British Beer Writer of the Year, a title that came with an unexpected invitation: “I got to go to Israel to judge the Tel Aviv International Beer Festival. I went there thinking: do Israelis drink beer? Is that even a thing there? Well, obviously it was. I had an amazing time. There were some really brilliant breweries, and after the judging we travelled round and had lots of great food and drink. When I mentioned this to a friend of mine, an elderly Jewish chap from South Africa, he said, ‘they don’t drink beer in Israel!’ I said, well based on my experience they definitely do!”
Over the years, Simon has seen Leeds’ beer culture transform almost beyond recognition: “When I started doing this, there were very few pubs that specialised in real ale. The only ones that did served mostly Tetley. You’d go into a pub and ask for a real ale, hand-pulled, and they’d look at you as though you were a bit odd.”
The turning point was the original North Bar on New Briggate, which introduced the city to Belgian and Trappist beers: “It gradually introduced Leeds to different tastes and styles that spread throughout the city.”
That shift created room for local brewers to establish themselves, Kirkstall chief among them; it’s since grown into the dominant player in the city’s brewing scene, and now also produces the old Leeds Brewery beers.
Simon points to consolidation being one of the defining stories of the last decade, with brewers such as North Brewing and Magic Rock bought up by larger groups. But smaller operators are still finding a foothold: “Some breweries that started small have grown a lot. Saltaire Brewery is still relatively independent. Northern Monk started really small, and now it’s massive – that team have done it at the right pace, not overstretched themselves, and built a name everyone knows.”
In terms of beer scene trends, Simon welcomes the returning popularity of traditional styles like milds and genuine IPAs from producers like Saltaire and Ilkley breweries, and the resurgent presence of an old favourite, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord: “If I go in a pub and see that on the bar, that’s it for me. I need look no further.” He also flags the marked improvement of low- and no-alcohol beer: “They taste a lot better than they used to.”
Among Simon’s highlights of this year’s festival lineup is Amity, based at Sunny Bank Mills, and the strong, uncompromising beers of Tartarus: “They’re actually really approachable. Do try them, it’s good stuff.”
Simon’s walking tours take in the university campus, the old industrial heart of Holbeck, and a route up or down Briggate between North Bar and The Tetley, woven together with fascinating local history. One of his favourite stops is The Grove, the traditional stalwart and renowned music pub operated by the same team who also run the Duck and Drake.
A close second is the Highland Laddie, formerly a journalists’ haunt near the old Evening Post building, now serving what’s been called the best Sunday lunch in Britain.
He’s also fond of the recently relaunched Victoria, co-run by Kirkstall Brewery and Five Points Brewing.
For beer sceptics, Simon suggests a visit to Leeds International Beer Festival will find them pleasantly surprised and offers some local recommendations: “Try a pale ale from Amity, something dark and challenging from Tartarus, Kirkstall’s Dissolution IPA, then Northern Monk’s Faith or Heathen. You’ll certainly find something you like.”
