Small brewery plans to open its first bar in York

Something new is coming to Acomb.

That’s the message from the team behind Crooked Brewery, which is planning to open its first bar in the area.

They want to build something special on The Green in Acomb. If they get an alcohol licence and planning permission, the former motor parts shop, between the Indian Ocean restaurant and Tea On The Green, would become a bar.

Crooked Brewery was launched at the former RAF base at Church Fenton a year ago. It’s run by two men from Leeds – Steve Dawson and Andrew Evans – and two from York – Hudson Aschmann and Mark Field-Gibson.

They talked about getting an outlet to sell their own beer… but where? Steve said:

• Acomb’s somewhere I’ve passed through a lot and I think it’s quite an attractive looking place – I know that’s not the view of everyone in York.

  It has a very big community. We thought this would be a good place for an alternative to city centre drinking.

  It’s a more community-focused night out rather than going into the city centre.

Steve feels that their bar would offer something new to the area. “Acomb’s got some really good pubs, but it doesn’t have a bar scene.

“It’s something I’m familiar with in the suburbs of Leeds and Manchester – a suburb bar rather than a city centre one.”

Bring in your takeaway pizza

The bar would have one room, with a small patio behind. There is no kitchen so the only food will be bar snacks.

Steve said there are plenty of restaurants in Acomb, including the Indian next door and a Pizza Hut two doors down. He added:

• We could envisage the kind of place where, if you want to get a pizza from Pizza Hut and have a beer, you can come and sit in our bar and eat it.

  There are some really good pubs locally. We want people to continue to support them as well – we’re not trying to replicate what’s already there, we’re trying to provide something new.

  Our plan would be to have a big variety of beers particularly, because that’s the market we know best. There would be a strong focus on things that aren’t widely available in York.

If they are given a licence and planning permission, Steve said the bar – with a contemporary, stripped-back style – could open by the end of September.

How the brewery began

Steve and Andrew met through their children, and discovered a mutual love of beer and brewing.

They started Learn To Brew home brew lessons in Leeds, before meeting Hudson, who wanted to start his own brewery.

Crooked Brewery was launched last June, and brews 1,400 litres of beer a month. They sell predominantly into pubs in Leeds and York city centres – including the Ackhorne and the Phoenix.

Brews include session beer Spokes (ABV 4%) and hoppy pale ale The Lash (4.5%).

They aim to engage with the Acomb community to find out what sort of bar they’d like to have on The Green.