For my final visit to Leeds Beer Week 18, I thought that I would take in two breweries for the price of one. That is a bit misleading as there was no price but you know what I mean.
The event was called Hit The North 2.0 – Shuttle Bus and was a joint venture between North Brewing Co. and Northern Monk Brew Co. The idea was that there was a free shuttle bus to whisk you from the former’s premises in Sheepscar to the latter’s in Holbeck. It was to leave NBC on the hour and return from NMBC on the half hour. I was pleased to see the cooperation between two of the main Leeds breweries in this way. This was also illustrated by the brewing of a special IPA by each of them which would be sold at both bars.
As is my wont, I arrived in Sheepscar on the early side which gave me the opportunity of sampling a half of both brews before I caught the first running of the shuttle at 2.00pm. The North Brewery IPA was a brut version and was, as its name would suggest, a fairly dry version of the beer, whereas the Northern Monk was a juicy NEIPA which was on the fruity side – behave! They were also selling other lines from both producers, which again was good to see. The event coincided with what was supposed to be the final Eat North of the year, although another three have been added and it now runs until 15th September, so there were several street food stalls to satisfy the appetite.
Northern Monk had advertised the presence of a Thai Barbecue and so I thought that I would sample their wares. Perhaps I was just too early as there was no sign of the barbecue, so I decided not to stay for a beer as I had been saving myself for some great food and so hadn’t had lunch. The beers which I had downed were very much on the strong side, being 6.5% and 7.5% ,so I really needed something to eat to counteract their effect.
Back at the Eat North event, I headed for Shoot The Bull which describes itself as restaurant style street food. From an intriguing list I opted for the Salt and Pepper Squid at £7. It was phenomenal. It is easy to overcook squid and octopus and when this happens the fish becomes like rubber, but these deep fried coated beauties were as tender as could be. They came on a bed of salad, with a wedge of lime and a generous portion of chopped chillies. Of course I had another beer to accompany them which was called Don’t Mess With Yorkshire, but who would with food and drink this good in the county.
I then had an attack of food envy after seeing someone with a portion of Halloumi Fries so I called at Oh My Glaze where I shelled out a fiver for some of those.
I must apologise to Northern Monk for not staying longer as it looked very inviting with a weekend buzz about it but I am a large chap and wouldn’t have wanted to put the staff to the bother of having to carry me down the stairs had I overindulged on an empty stomach.
Well, that is Leeds Beer Week 18 over. Let’s raise a glass to LBW19. It is never too early to start practising.
