Escapade Brewing
Escapade Brewing, Reins Mill, Honley, Holmfirth, HD9 6NB West Yorkshire.
Escapade brewing is a nanobrewery based at Reins Mill, Honley. It is the latest new brewery to emerge in Honley since the Summer Wine Brewery and its taproom in Crossley Mills ceased trading in January 2020.
Founded in 2024 by two friends, David Benson (from Huddersfield) and Chris Robinson (from Halifax), the brewery got off to a slow start.
They came up with the idea of starting a brewery during lockdown and purchased the main equipment in August 2022 from a small brewery that was operating out of a garage just outside Cardiff. However, the post pandemic world hit the brewing world hard and they decided it was too risky to take their plans any further. So, they bought the equipment and put it into storage.
It wasn’t until two years later, in 2024, that Chris and David decided the time felt right to start setting things up. They registered as a partnership and began building the brewery in premises located in Reins Mill off Huddersfield Road in Honley. Local brewery consultant Richard Thomas, based in Holmfirth, was brought in to help with the process. He advised initially on the layout and setup, then the brewery obtaining its licences, the APHA licence in May and AWRS number in July.
The current brew length is 400L per batch. Brewing takes place at weekends and evenings, often using holiday time to keep things going, as the guys still have full-time jobs. Following test brews and recipe development, a portfolio of beers has been produced.
New beers include: Escapade Blonde (4.2% abv), a session blonde; Holme Session (3.8% abv), a pale session ale, brewed with Admiral and Olicana hops; In a Bitter Bother (4.2% abv), a chestnut brown bitter; Braggot, (6.2% abv) a brew containing honey and beer; Green Hop 25 (3.8% abv), a pale ale; and Reins Stout (5.2% abv), stout.
The beers have appeared locally with Braise in Honley being one of the first outlets.
In and around Huddersfield, the beers have been available at:-
- The Star, Folly Hall,
- The Shoulder of Mutton, Lockwood,
- The Sportsman,
- The County
- The Shepherd’s Rest, Cowcliffe
- Rastrick Cricket Club,
- Fixby Golf Club,
- The Rusty Bull at Hinchliffe’s Farm Shop,
- O'Briens Beer Café,
As a new brewery, Escapade Brewing beers was chosen for the recent Sheffield CAMRA beer festival at Kelham Island. The Bitter, Green Hop and Stout were well received and did the brewery proud. Check out this new brewery when you see it on the bar, the beers are very good.