With Yorkshire trailing a blaze in the microbrewery boom, *Ilkley Brewery* has expanded its portfolio of hand-crafted real ales with the launch of MJ Artisan Ales: a new range of craft-kegged beers which will complement its award-winning cask-conditioned ales.
The West Yorkshire brewery has created three new lightly carbonated, chilled beers including MJ Pale an Artisan Pale Ale, MJ Summit its IPA and MJ Fortis the Artisan Stout.
At a special launch event, which took place at North Bar in Leeds on 16 November, the new beers received a warm reception. Christian Townsley from North Bar, commented: “We were absolutely thrilled to host the official launch of Ilkley Brewery’s range of craft-kegged beers at North Bar. The night was a great success and very busy as customers packed out the bar to try the beers for the first time.
The beers tasted great, in particular MJ Pale was an absolute triumph. The depth of flavour on the palate was a surprise for such a low ABV beer.
“It’s been exciting following the rise of this wonderful local brewery and to see them branch out into keg beer is wonderful. Only the most innovative of cask ale brewers are attempting this area of dispense. We’re looking forward to working with Ilkley Brewery again.”_
With 7.8 million cask ale drinkers in Britain and the number of 18 to 24 year olds drinking cask ale on the rise2, Ilkley Brewery is responding to a UK-wide demand for hand crafted beers with the introduction of MJ Artisan Ales.
The new craft-kegged range will give venues, where Ilkley Brewery ales were previously unavailable, a selection of traditionally-made beers in a new and exciting format.
Local, artisan and flavour-filled
Ilkley Brewery is known for its distinctive handmade beers which are full of flavour and character. MJ Artisan Ales aims to capture these qualities in its kegged range giving customers lightly carbonated, chilled beers which still carry bold flavours and aromas.
“Demand for our cask-conditioned ales continues to rise but in order for city centre bars, restaurants and hotels to serve our beers, we needed to create something that didn’t require bulky hand pumps and a time consuming process in order to serve cask-conditioned beer. Kegged beers are a perfect solution for bar areas with limited service and cellar space,” said Luke Raven of Ilkley Brewery.”
About the MJ Artisan Ales range
The first beer in the MJ range is MJ Pale the Artisan Pale Ale. MJ Pale is a distinctively hoppy and crisp Kolsch-style pale ale at 3.7% ABV. It is packed with Amarillo hops with balance and depth provided by Cascade hops, both from America.
Second in the range is MJ Summit, the Artisan India Pale Ale which is bursting with New World hops, providing a delightful tropical aroma to offset the natural bitterness of the British Northdown hop variety. This 5.4% ABV ale represents the best of the new world and the old, the epitome of a true IPA.
MJ Fortis is the Artisan Stout and will appeal to those who like their beers dark, thick and substantial. It is 4.1% ABV and has a lustrous creamy head. Bramling Cross and Galena hop varieties complement each other to produce a rich and full-bodied finish. MJ Fortis will be available from January.
To find out more about Ilkley Brewery’s new MJ Artisan Ales range, contact Luke Raven on 07966 161299 or email luke@ilkleybrewery.co.uk
For further information on Ilkley Brewery, visit: http://www.ilkleybrewery.co.uk or to read the brewery’s blog, go to: http://www.ilkleybreweryblog.blogspot.com