We take a peek behind the curtain at Horsforth Brewery with Owner Mark Costello.
Horsforth Brewery might be a recognisable name in the local brewing scene now, but initially the brand had humble beginnings in Owner Mark Costello’s garage: “We set up in August 2017. I was working from my garage and had a full-time job at the same time. I transitioned to working part time six or seven months after that and handed my notice in at the other career in December 2019. It was a three months’ notice, so I ended up leaving during the first week of lockdown.
“It was good because the first few months were actually easier that I thought it would be in lockdown because everyone was buying beer to drink at home since they couldn’t go out. But at that time we had planned to get bigger kit and move locations, so there were lots of expenses lined up. But once people had gotten bored of getting so drunk and bars semi- opened again, that’s when we took a hit.”
Despite the difficulties of the end of the pandemic, Horsforth Brewery has since launched its own taproom: “The location was a curry house for 30 years, so we have a car park in the back and a patio. We brew everything on-site and have both outside and inside space. We’ve even got a backroom where we hold events.”
One of the most popular events at the brewery is its comedy evenings, which come in two flavours, one of which features a local celebrity: “We have two types of comedy nights. We have Paul “Silky” White who’s a Leeds comedian who’s been doing the rounds for a lot of years. We also run a comedy night on the second Wednesday of every month called Brew Ha Ha, which is more comedians who are just starting out, or people who have been away and are just coming back into the scene or want to try out some new material in front of a small and friendly crowd. The room can hold thirty people so they’re intimate performances.”
Initially, homebrewing was a hobby for Mark, but after some fantastic successes he decided to give it a go as a business: “I’ve always been a bit of a keen cook and I’ve always wanted to run my own business and felt like I wanted it to be in food and drink. I get the homebrewing going and thought: ‘Actually, this is really good; I could probably sell this.’ And I set everything up and did. The process is just like baking, you can follow recipes and processes, but there’s a lot of space in there to experiment.”
Out of the incredible range of beers on offer both in the taproom and for purchase online, there are a couple that are always crowd pleasers: “Trinity is our bestseller, which is a 4.2% American Pale Ale. It’s a nice, easy-going, accessible beer. And then we have a beer called Brew Order. If you’re really into your hoppy beers, that’s going to hit your tastes.”
Mark’s personal favourite, however, is a beer named after his dog, Ernie: “My favourite is a beer called the Heir of Ernie. I came up with the name when I was really hungover one day! It’s a 5.4% IPA, which is what I tend to drink.”
Naming the beers is often a collaborative effort, with Mark keeping a running list of potential beer names: “A lot of the beers are normally named from something funny that someone has said. So if somebody said something and you think: ‘That’d make a beer name’, we have a shared note on our phones where we can all add it in there. Then when we come up with a new beer and need a name for it, if nothing sprigs to mind, we’ll have a look in there.”
Chair of UK Israel Business, Colin Glass OBE also offered Mark some valuable help recently and will be mentoring Mark through expansion plans to increase capacity and sales: “About five years ago, I was in touch with Mark,” Colin explained. “He was just starting out and we had some discussions. Then a couple of months ago he rang me out of the blue, saying he needed some advice for expanding his business. I went to see the impressive taproom and brewery, and encouraged Mark to increase publicity, especially on LinkedIn to get to the trade.” Colin’s advice has born fruit, and Horsforth Brewery will be providing the official beer for Leeds Pride this year!