Fuggle & Golding Ilkley

If there was one good thing that the Craft Beer 'Revolution' has brought us its the rise of the Craft Beer Shop.

I know that many of the big supermarkets do now offer a great selection of different world beers, M&S being the best in my opinion. For a beer lover such as myself, one of the highlights of beer shopping is to find new and unusual brews. However the main issue with that is that you tend to be stuck with the internet (big delivery fees) or subscription websites. Now I am a fan of beer subscription sites, as can be found here, however the big issue I found was that even though I like trying new things there are certain types that I know I do not like, e.g. sour beer.

Luckily, the rise in popularity of small batch breweries has lead to an increase of specialist beer shops. This is such a great thing, as it is unbelievable to fathom just how many small batch brewers their are in the UK. I know the internet helps, but without these type of shops small brewers would be restricted to fairs and food festivals. If you want something cheap and familiar then the supermarket is where you need to be, but why not pay that extra bit of money to support small businesses and expand your beer pallet! Up until recently we have only ever enjoyed picking up random beer from the House of Trembling Madness in York. However now we are very fortunate to live in an area where I have two available within a short drive of my house.

Yesterday Liz & I were toying with the idea of going out for tea. We wanted to go out, but could not figure out where. On driving through Ilkley we decided to just head home and get a takeaway...but that was not before a quick stop into one of our local beer shops...definitely not a wasted journey.

As you drive towards Ilkley town centre it is difficult not to miss the lit up Brooklyn Brewery sign in the shop window. Fuggle & Golding is a small family run shop that specifically sells craft beer, it does not matter what type of beer you are looking for...they will have something to suit every taste. Upon entering the store you are greeted by a shop counter that doubles up as a bar. One of their USP's is that you can pick up a Growler bottle from them and refill overtime you visit.

As you walk through the shop their are bottles of beer stacked up high. Predominantly the shop is filled with cans and bottles of English breweries...delivering a huge range of different types of beers from all over the country. At the end of the shop their is a section dedicated to world beers (mainly American and Belgium brews).

Thinking back we must have spent a good 15 minutes browsing...I was spoilt for choice. Liz's decision was easy, as she is a fan of fruit beer her choice is always minimal, so she picked up a bottle of Delirium Red & Timmermans Kriek.
Determined to try something completely new I scanned the shelves, funnily enough I spent the other evening tweeting with North Union Brewery about where to find their beers, and in the first fridge their selection was infront of me. Because of my current taste for Belgian beer I picked up a bottle of their Dubbel 8.5%. I really enjoyed this beer, it was slightly watery for my taste, however that was the only downside...the flavours took me back to sitting out in the market square in Bruges! I will make sure I try their other beers soon.

I also picked up a bottle of Ilkley Brewery White Chocolate Stout 6.5%. Even though I was determined to find a new brewery I couldn't resist picking this up...essentially it is something new to me as I have never tried this beer, but Ilkley Brewery is a firm favourite...their Mary Jane IPA is growing in popularity, look out for it!

When we returned to the 'bar' to pay they had a reduced section...so like picking up an impulse buy chocolate bar I ended up adding a can of Decadence Stout 5.5% to our order. Considering the Delirium was nearly £4 (which was expected) I do not think that £14 for 5 beers was a bad price...especially considering the percentage of some of the beers.

So whilst in Ilkley next, I recommend to grab a burger at the Yard, a couple of beers in Friends Of Ham and a visit to Fuggle & Golding for something to have whilst at home. It really is a professional looking set up and I wish them all the best in continued success!

As I write this I have not yet opened the White Chocolate Stout or the Decadence Stout. So follow me on twitter for my verdict on these beers.

p.s - apologies for the pictures, they are not my best. But at 7:30 last night we were the only people in the shop and I didn't want the owner to wonder what I was doing :-)