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Sept 2021

Last Updated: 17/09/2021

Top of the hops: Knaresborough brewery's road to Harrogate Beer Week

by Nina Meads Lifestyle Editor

| 18 Sept, 2021

A brief education about beer at Turning Point Brewing Co ahead of the first ever Harrogate Beer Week.

Turning Point co-founders Cameron McQueen and Aron McMahon at the brewery and taproom at Grimbald Park, Knaresborough.

I am pretty clueless when it comes to beer. For example, I had no idea that IPA stood for Indian Pale Ale or that you some beers were more "hoppy" and "juicy" than others, depending on when the hops are introduced to the brewing process. Did you know hops could also come in a pellet form resembling fish food? Me neither.

So when I spent a morning with the guys at Turning Point Brewing Co in Knaresborough, I was ready to be educated.

I figured that, as Harrogate was launching its very first ever beer week on Monday, now was the perfect time to learn.

Turning Point co-founder Aron McMahon said:

"A hop is just like a little dried bud or flower and we use whole hop cones and also use pellets as well, which are like minced up hops. They are processed and packed into tiny little pellets, a bit like fish food, and they are supposed to give more of a stronger, more intense aroma and flavour.

"You can get different properties from the hops depending on how you use them and what stage you use them."

Humble beginnings

The story of how rapidly Turning Point Brew Co has grown is an impressive one - particularly with a worldwide pandemic thrown into the mix.

The brewery was originally launched in Kirkbymoorside by friends Aron and Cameron McQueen in 2017. Aron worked for another brewery in North Yorkshire and Cameron used to run a pub in York.

Aron said:

"I used to be one of his customers and I was probably delivering to him for about 18 months before we set off on this magical mystery tour.

"We became friends, we had the same interests and the same sense of humour.

"I decided I was leaving my job at the brewery and didn't know what I was going to be doing and wanted to stick with something in the beer industry and start a new brewery or bar.

"I said to Cam, just out of jest, if I started a brewery would you fancy coming on board with me and he didn't really hesitate and just said yes."

After Aron realised that Cameron was serious, the two friends got together, had a chat, and realised the idea had legs. Through contacts in the industry, they found out about the brewery site in Kirkbymoorside.

And in just four months the pair had gone from talking about running a brewery to actually making their first beer.

Aron said:

"We managed to do it so quickly because of our contacts. Everything just fell really well for us. The site the brewing kit and everything else. We started brewing in Kirkbymoorside in 2017 and quickly got busier and busier."

Sales went from local, to national to global within a year and within two years they had outgrown their brewery.

New brewery

Aron said:

"Just by a chance conversation with one of the owners with Roosters brewery, they told me that they were looking at moving and their site would be up for grabs in the near future. That was in January 2019 and by August 2019 we were in.

"We bought their old kit and brought our stuff as well. We were in about three months and then covid hit and we worked out we have actually only traded normally for about six months, despite being here for two years."

The company now has five employees at its brewery at Grimbald Park in Knaresborough, as well as three part-time members of staff who work in the taproom, which is open on Fridays and Saturdays.

A taproom - for those, like me, who don't know - is a space in which a brewery serves its beer to customers. In most cases, this is either part of the actual brewery or is attached to it.

Aron said:

"Here you feel like you're actually in the brewery. It's a quirky location where people can come and try fresh beers brewed on the premises and we have a different street food vendor every week. We've had a really good reaction locally."

When the pandemic hit, the duo had to move towards online sales to keep their business going.

Fortunately Turning Point already had an online shop set-up, so they were able to flip their production completely over from mainly cask and keg to cans, which had formerly only made-up around five per cent of their business.

Aron said:

"When covid hit we had a load of beer in the tanks and we then just canned all of it. We plunged all of our beer into cans then and started selling cans on the online store."

Online events

Once they started selling cans online, they created four different collaboration beers with breweries they admired, including Roosters, and ran their first online event to launch the beers. This was to become the first in a series of online collaborative events aimed at bringing people together during lockdown.

They also started up a beer club called Disco Royalty, which is still running as a way of keeping up engagement with their drinkers - a positive that came out of the pandemic. Brand awareness also increased due to people physically being able to look at the bold artwork on the cans, rather than just a pint in a glass.

And it is this continued soaring success that has led them to becoming a key player in the inaugural Harrogate Beer Week, which starts on Monday.

Beer collaboration

As well as offering live music and a brewery tour, Turning Point has created a special beer for the event in collaboration with local brewers. These include Roosters, Cold Bath Brewing Co, Harrogate Brewing Co and Daleside Brewery.

The result is a West Coast 6.2% IPA is called Out Spaced - named after a B-side from a Super Furry Animals album incase you're wondering. It will be available in cask and keg at more than 10 venues in Harrogate and Knaresborough next week, before cans are sold online from next Friday.

Aron said:

"Harrogate and Knaresborough are totally the right places to really shout about beer right now because there is so much happening.

"The number of good beer places that have opened up in Harrogate have been phenomenal. There's probably 10 to 12 really good independent places to drink craft beer now, which is absolutely fantastic. It's a great place to go and drink.

"Knaresborough is always going to be like it's little brother, but it's really good as well now. The latest addition is the Track & Sleeper at the station.

"For Harrogate to have its own beer week and shot about these venues is great."

Taste test - I tried three Turning Point beers and this is what I thought:

OUT SPACED
WEST COAST IPA 6.2% Brewed for Harrogate beer week in collaboration with Turning Point's local brewing friends, Roosters, Harrogate, Cold Bath, and Daleside. Tasting notes: A West Coast classic hopped with Simcoe, Amarillo, Centennial. Properly bitter just like in the olden days.

Aron told me that West Coast IPA has "massive aromas and flavours from American hops". He explained that West Coast IPA is is often a light to dark bronze colour with "a malty backbonet. So you get a bit of juiciness from the malt and slight caramel and slight biscuity flavours". They also have higher levels of bitterness than New England IPA.

I had no idea beer could be so complex. But I could definitely taste a slight bitterness, however it was nicely balanced out with the sweetness and juiciness of the malt and the hops - or so Aran told me when I was trying to sum up what I could taste. I definitely got a caramel and slightly floral flavour and I actually really liked it, despite its slightly bitter flavour. The artwork on the can is outstanding.

DISCO KING
AMERICAN PALE ALE 5.1% Tasting notes: Big on American hop flavour and aroma from Mosaic and Chinook hops. Drinkability for its ABV from a clean malt base. A real juicy little disco of a beer.

This was one of the first beers Turning Point ever brewed and it has now become their flagship top-selling beer. It is really light, smooth and drinkable. I actually went through a phase of liking German wheat beer when I was a student. This reminded me a bit of that. I loved its slightly floral taste and it is a beautiful colour - like an old fashioned English cloudy apple juice.

EXILE
PILSNER 5% Czech-style Pilsner with Saaz hops. Tasting notes: Bready and crisp with a balanced bitterness and delicate hop aroma. Showcasing perhaps Turning Points least celebrated ingredient: Soft Yorkshire water.

This is Turning Point's lager offering and this was actually my favourite. Aron described it as "smashable" and he wasn't joking. As it was only 11am when I visited, I just about managed to restrain myself from drinking the whole glass. It was really fruity in flavour and had a grapefruity taste. Apparently I had done well to pick this flavour out, so I felt pretty pleased with myself.

This one takes ages to make apparently. Once it has brewed it has to sit in the tank and "lager" - a German word for "store" - for around eight weeks. This is what makes it so drinkable. Totally worth it.

Venues

If all this talk of beer has made you thirsty, you can try Out Spaced at these venues during Harrogate Beer Week:

Major Tom's - keg and cask

Cold Bath Brewing Co. - keg

Roosters - keg

Harrogate Brewing Co. - cask from October 1st

Tap On Tower Street - keg

Half Moon, Knaresborough - cask

The Disappearing Chin - keg

Devonshire Tap House - cask

Paradise Tap & Taco - keg

Little Ale House - cask

Husk Beer Emporium - cans and possibly keg

Harrogate Beer Week runs from September 20 - 26. For the full programme click here.