WHO WE ARE
Let’s take you back to where our journey began…
In 2008, our co-founder Russ Bisset entered a young entrepreneurs competition with an idea: Northern Monk. But it would still take a few years to really get going.
The idea was given life in 2013 when Granny Bisset sold her house and downsized, gifting £5K to all of her grandchildren with the proceeds.
Russ also met our head brewer Brian Dickson at a beer festival and, fuelled by the frivolities of a beer fest, realised they had a shared dream of a proper northern brewery.
The pair brewed small amounts of beer in a damp cellar in Bradford, using other breweries’ kits, and sold their beers at local farmers markets. After three months of selling IPAs between gazebos laden with cheese and handmade soaps, they attracted an initial investment.
In 2014, Northern Monk was truly born. We found our home and our own brewery was set up in a Grade II listed abandoned mill building in Leeds, The Old Flax Store. It’s still our home today.
And as Northern Monk grew, so did our reputation.
In 2015 we launched Faith, which is now arguably the best core pale ale in the country, and was one of the first in the New England style to launch in the UK. Faith is still our shining light.
In 2016, we became the first English brewery to win a medal in the IPA category at the World Beer Cup with Eternal, which we still make today. Later that same year, we were to take a trip that would leave its mark on the approach we took to brewing forever. We spent a week travelling around New England and Vermont, solidifying a love of the Hazy IPA and crystallising a vision of Northern Monk being the number one Hazy IPA brewer in the UK - led by Faith.
Since then we have continued to grow in scale and ambition while never compromising on quality or our values.
We launched our Patrons Project series, opened two Refectory bars, one upstairs at the Old Flax Store and one in Manchester, we set up our Patrons subscription service, moved our main brewing to a larger site in Holbeck, Leeds, and launched two beers festivals – Hop City and Dark & Wild. Basically, we’ve done a lot.
But, more than just beer, our brand is built on the northern values of community and collaboration. These values have led to a unique roster of creatives, influencers and ambassadors to draw upon, a team with a passion for what we do, and an army of brethren supporters. With our northern roots underpinning everything we do, we are able to flex the brand to create a diverse world of product experiences.
We want to give people the best beer experiences in the world.
That is something that will never change, and hasn’t changed since day one.