The changing tides of the Leeds brewing industry with Yorkshire beer writer Simon Jenkins

Writing about the best pints in the north for almost 30 years, Simon has regularly contributed to the likes of the Yorkshire Evening Post and popular pub column Taverner, as well as publishing two books of his own on the subject: The Great Leeds Pub Crawl and The Yorkshire Beer Bible.

“I joined the Yorkshire Evening Post in 1991," Simon explained.

"There was already a pub column in the paper called the Cabinet, and one day the guy who wrote the column was busy. To be honest, I didn't really know much about beer other than the stuff I drank, Guinness mostly, but I said I'd give it a go.

"I wrote one column and then a couple of weeks later, I did another. Then gradually over the course of about six months, he withdrew from writing the column and passed it along to me.

For the next three decades Simon embarked on a journey of digging deep for some of the tastiest beers in Yorkshire, reviewing pubs and chatting with some of the interesting characters that served him his drinks.

"Over a period of years of writing about it, I became more of an expert about it," Simon said.

"I started to understand more about the industry and to talk about it to brewers and landlords, to understand some of the issues of the industry and I gradually got to know a lot more about it and was able to write more knowledgeably about beer over a period of years."

With this knowledge tucked firmly under his belt, Simon became more equipped to talk about some of the fantastic produce coming out of Leeds, but finding a quality ale in the city wasn't always the easy task it is nowadays.

“In that period in the early 1990s, you could go into a pub and ask for a real ale and they just wouldn't have it.

"It was quite difficult to get hold of a really great beer, because although some bars were doing it, and there were some pumps with it, this was all before the likes of North Bar entered the market, and before Leeds Brewery was really a thing.”

As the years went by and his column evolved, Simon witnessed a monumental shift in the way people chose to enjoy beer, drifting from a household pint of Tetley's to more exotic treats.

"When I started writing the only brewery in Leeds was Tetley's, which was fine, the beer was good. But you think how many breweries there are in Leeds now; there's probably some that I've not even heard of!

“At first what had been a traditional British product was being pushed out to the margins, but that actually has changed for the better now.

"I've been lucky enough to witness that, and write about that kind of change in the brewing industry and how people are far more knowledgeable and far more discerning in what they want from a pub.”

These days, with so many fantastic independent pubs serving tactfully brewed pints, it would be easy to assume that the best part of the job is kicking back and enjoying a few hoppy ales, but for Simon this isn't the case.

“The thing that I used to really like about the job was just going to a pub, getting a pint and sitting on my own - this makes me sound really weird!" Laughed Simon.

"Making some notes about the place, listening in on people's conversations, writing about the stuff that happens when you sit in a bar and just observing and people watching, that kind of thing.

"It's a very sociable world to be in, and when you chat to a landlord they're normally the most sociable people, otherwise they wouldn't be in that job. So they're always fun to talk to, and some landlords face stress and they want to talk to me about the issues that they have making ends meet, because it hasn't always been easy in the past for pubs to thrive.

"It's a really interesting and enjoyable way to spend your time.”

It's The Beer Walking

After decades of using the power of the pen to share his love of beer, Simon has paired up with long-term friend and colleague Nicky Massen to host a series of walking beer tours in Leeds.

The new walk, aptly named It’s The Beer Walking, takes attendees on a historical journey across the city, guiding them through architecture, cinema, and of course, beer.

“I don't bore people with details of the brewing process, I'm not enough of an expert!" Laughed Simon.

"I try to pitch it in a way that anybody can understand, whether you're a beer enthusiast or just someone who is interested in history."

To keep up to date with Simon and Nicky's beer walking tours, or to book a slot on one of their tours, please head to www.itsthebeertalking.co.uk.

Becoming a beer writer

So how difficult is it to become a beer writer?

"It will be hard to find places where you would be paid for being published," Simon confessed.

"But what the internet has done is allow people to write blogs and to publish on social media. There are so many groups, say on Facebook, for example, dedicated to beer and pubs and that's probably a good place to start.

"Just put your toe in the water and write something and see whether it strikes a chord with people."

But doing that is easier said than done, and Simon did share one of his top tips for capturing the spirit of a pub through more than just the taste of an ale.

"I think what I discovered quite early on was that it was necessary to find the point of difference with each place," explained Simon.

"It'd be very easy to say 'I walked into a pub and I had a cheese sandwich and I had a pint of beer', but you could probably apply that to 90% of pubs in the city. So it's trying to go along and observe, that's what the people watching is about, finding something different.

"That is going to make the first couple of paragraphs really sing and dance, and make the start of the article compelling and interesting and make people want to read on."