With no pubs open, draught beer has been in short supply.
Thirsty residents have been able to enjoy a riverside pint thanks to Dyls pop-up bar in recent days.
From tomorrow (Saturday, 13 June) there’s another option. Serial entrepreneur Phil Pinder will be serving draught beer from his shop on Shambles.
The Potions Cauldron normally sells its wizard-inspired liquid refreshment in bottles – mostly magical non-alcoholic drinks that kids love.
However it also sells Spellbound Butterscotch Beer, specially created for it by York brewer Ainsty Ales.
Like so many small breweries, Ainsty has been hit hard by the shut down.
So when Phil discovered his alcohol licence allowed him to sell handpull ale, he decided to sell Ainsty Ale direct from the barrel to help the brewer out.
He will be pulling pints of Sorachi Samurai, a 3.9% ABV session IPA created by the brewery. And he’ll sell the beer from a hatch, direct into the street.
Phil describes it as a refreshing beer with citrus flavours.
He is planning to fully reopen the shop from next Thursday (18 June), and trade Thursday to Monday to begin with. And the beer will be available inside the shop along with all its other spellbinding offers.