In York every day is a beer festival – at any one time the city has around 330 different real ales available in over 200 pubs and bars.
Once a year York’s residents and tourists alike are invited to celebrate this happy situation and sample some of what’s on offer – be it real ale or quality craft keg beers from artisan brewers.
So this coming week is York: City of Ale week.
We’ve got the UK’s bourgeoning brewing industry to thank for the prodigious variety of beers available in York.
When you’ve now got around 1,800 breweries in the UK producing about 8,000 different beers then you’re going to get a variety that goes way beyond the nine standard styles outlined by CAMRA.
Great beers, great pubs
It wouldn’t be too wide of the mark to say that there are probably nearer 80 different styles of beer available in York.
Added to that, many breweries will produce different versions of a particular style – probably IPA or Pale Ale being the most obvious and visible in York pubs.
And York doesn’t only offer a brilliant choice of beer, but gives a rich and varied selection of places to drink them in.
You can pretty much take your pick of what you prefer. There’s perfectly preserved historic interiors; wonderfully ornate restorations; urban hipster haunts with exposed brick and wood and sumptuously ostentatious temples of cool.
They range from being compact and bijou to vast expanses of seats and tables.
They also make the best use of pretty much any type of space. You can drink in basements; in bars with multiple levels or those perched above ground in attics or lofts.
They all share the same DNA though in their devotion to giving you the best variety and quality of ales and beers available.
So go on, embrace your inner wanderlust – give a new style of beer a try in a pub or bar you’ve never been into before.
Here’s York CAMRA’s pub map, and below are the big events. Where will you start?
City of Ale: What’s on
There are some great events happening during York: City of Ale week that I know you’ll love culminating in two different but great beer festivals starting on July 6…
A first for York: a celebration of beers from the wood with 11 beers in all plus live music and street food
York Round Table return with their great charity beer festival in one of York’s two great breweries
Organised by renowned York pub guide Within the Walls, this is a tour of ten different pubs following York’s Bar Walls.
One of York’s best streets for food and drink shuts to traffic for a jamboree. Lots of different beers available from the numerous pubs & bars on Fossgate plus great food and live music
A really novel idea from one of York’s best real ale pubs brings together four breweries giving you a chance to try fined and unfined versions of the same beer. You see what you think tastes superior.
Organised by The House of Trembling Madness – one of 2 festivals being held to specifically celebrate York: City of Ale week. It brings together some of the best breweries in the UK for a celebration of craft beer with around 50 different ones available.
The official City of Ale Festival organised by Brew York with 60 different beers from 10 different Yorkshire breweries. Expanding on last year’s superb event, with live music and street food to accompany a fantastic roster of locally brewed beers.