Jobs created as brewery invests £1.5m in new city site

Wayne Smith, director at Brew York, Lee Grabham, head brewer at Brew York, and Phil Dibbs, managing director at Hawkmoor Associates, which supported the brewery in the finance and grant fundraising for its £1.5m expansion plans.

Brew York has secured an additional brewery site on the outskirts of the city, which it says will create 16 new jobs.

Following a challenging few months of trading, the £1.5m plans at the new brewery site in Osbaldwick will focus on the production of the York company’s canned beers, following a significant investment in early 2020 on a new canning line.

The expansion has been funded through the reinvestment of profits, loans and grant-funding which included £200,000 from Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Brew York was supported in the finance and grant fundraising by Phil Dibbs of Hawkmoor Associates Limited, Dave Catling of Customer Business Finance, and SME growth manager Simon Middleton.

Head Brewer Lee Grabham, said: “Despite the challenging times Brew York are proud to be expanding in their home city of York and bringing new employment to the area.

“With our expansion we hope to build on our reputation for innovative and exceptional beers by creating a brewing legacy that the City of York can be proud of. The directors are especially grateful to Make It York, City of York Council, and the LEP for their £200,000 Grant support without which the expansion could not have gone ahead.”

Included in the move are investments in kit and technology, including a sizeable cold store, a grain silo and mill, as well as a reverse-osmosis machine, which strips all mineral content from the water to create a ‘blank canvas’ for brewing. This will enable the production of new styles of beer, such as pilsner, which would not otherwise be possible using York’s main water supply.

The new 13,000 sq ft unit will house the main brewery, immediately increasing production capacity from 880,000 pints a year at the current Walmgate site to close to 4 million pints a year, with scope to double that again should demand increase further.

The production of cask and keg beers will continue at Walmgate, alongside the operation of the Beer Hall, Tap Room and shop. The Market Tap in Pocklington also remains a key part of the business.