Horsforth Brewery: Inside the independent business in Leeds continuing to grow due to 'heartwarming' support

Horsforth Brewery, in New Road Side, began in August 2017 as a part-time project for Mark. Two years later, the brewery owner had quit his full-time job in finance to take the passion project to new heights.

From establishing a loyal customer base to scooping Best Pub or Brewery at the Oliver Awards 2024, Horsforth Brewery has been going from strength to strength despite waves of challenges that have been plaguing independent businesses in the past few years.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post about how it all began, Mark said: “I always wanted to run my own business, but didn't have any inspiration until I tried doing a bit of home brew, and I was pretty good at it.”

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He handed in his notice at the Yorkshire Building Society in December 2019 and took on the business full-time in March 2020. It was a “tricky” time for the business as the hospitality industry was hit badly due to the pandemic, Mark said.

He explained: “It was very very stressful, very worrying. In reality, Covid, the lockdown period, was probably the easiest time for the business. I was shielded, which made it quite tricky. 

“But everyone was getting drunk at home, so it was really easy to sell beer. And then when the lockdown stopped, and people could get to the pub, that's when it was really hard.” Struggles continued - the ongoing cost-of-living crisis has added a different burden on the independent business, Mark said.

“Obviously, it's hard to sell beer because there's a lot of competition, but we haven't really struggled to sell beer.

“The struggle that we have got is to try and keep the cost under control.

“Crazy inflation over the last couple of years has increased our prices massively, but it’s actually shrunk our margin, and it also obviously has an impact on how much people could spend.

“We've noticed that we can be full, then we'll take less money than we would have done two years ago, because people are a little bit more conscious of how much they're spending.”

The support the business has received from customers during these years has been “heartwarming” - and Mark is determined to make sure they get their money’s worth.

He said: “It's been lovely. We've got some very loyal followers at the brewery. As a business, we make mistakes, and they always understand why we've made a mistake and come back because we try and make it right.

“And they want to see us succeed. We did a Crowdfunder this year for a new canning machine and the response to that was fantastic. It's really heartwarming to see the support that we do get.

“We genuinely do have the nicest customer base in any bar that I have ever seen. We just have the loveliest people that come with us and just have a really nice time. And that's got to be partly what we offer and partly where we're located as well.”

Horsforth Brewery offers a wide range of craft beers, which Mark said is “brewed with the best ingredients and the best brewing methods”, and sold at affordable prices.

It also offers a range of activities, expanding the social offering in Horsforth. A free weekly cinema night with popcorn - a “personal passion” of Mark’s - is a hit among customers.

Mark said: “Given our location, we're hidden away, in the basement and we don't have a shop frontage, we realised pretty early on that we'd have to do things to make sure that people know that we're there and attract them down to us.”

At present, Horsforth Brewery also hosts themed music nights, with everything from hip hop to house, live bands and even comedy shows and quizzes.

Running his own business has its challenges, but there’s nothing else Mark would rather do. He said: “I love the personal interaction that we get with our retail customers, and I also love working with other businesses.

“We try and work together and come up with interesting events as well. We've just started working with the Cheesy Living Co in Oakwood, and we're going to be looking for dates to book a beer and cheese pairing night. 

“You just don’t get to do that if you are working in a big business. We can pretty much do what we want, events-wise and work-wise and we can pick and choose who we work with. 

“And then, I actually really value the flexibility that I've got. I've got a two year old boy, and I can spend more time with him because I own my own business.”

With a new canning machine that has raised efficiency and the quality of its cans and mentoring by Colin Glass, Mark is excited to see where the business goes. He hopes to upscale production, make more beer and expand the current offering in the coming years.