What do you get if you cross one of England's most renowned historic breweries with one of the most forward-thinking modern craft beer producers? Well, you can find out with a fabulous new partnership between Timothy Taylor's and Northern Monk.
Timothy Taylor's is one of the UK's oldest family-owned breweries with over 160 years' heritage of brewing award-winning ales. Indeed, Landlord has won more medals than any other beer, including CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain and the Brewing Industry International Beer Awards Gold Medal four times. Established in 1858, when Timothy Taylor began brewing in Keighley, the company remains in the family and is the last independent brewery of its type left in West Yorkshire.
While Timothy Taylor's has a strong sense of tradition, the brewery has also been looking to the future with their micro-brewery. You can read more about the beers made there - Cook Lane IPA, Poulter's Porter and Hopical Storm - on The Write Taste.
Independent Leeds-based brewery, Northern Monk, began with two people in a cellar in 2013 and has now become one of the North's fastest growing drinks companies with more than a hundred people. In May 2021, they were ranked 60th in The Sunday Times Best Small Companies to Work For 2021 list.
Creativity, community and collaboration are at the core of Northern Monk's business. A regular collaborator with national and international breweries, businesses and causes, a partnership with Timothy Taylor's to create a new beer comes as no surprise.
So now, these celebrated breweries from the north of England have collaborated for the first time to launch a 4.4% ABV beer, Northern Rising Unity Stout.
The culmination of more than a year's worth of work, Northern Rising has been released in cask and keg within Northern Monk's and Timothy Taylor's own venues, in pubs across the UK.
It is also available as 440ml nitro stout cans from the breweries' web shops (£2.75 per can), in 400 Morrisons stores and Morrisons online (£6.50 per four-pack).
The breweries will be releasing further details of launch events and stockists through their social media channels and websites, so stay tuned!
Russell Bisset, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Northern Monk, says: "We've been huge fans of Timothy Taylor's for many years and a collaboration with them has always been on our bucket list. It's a collaboration years in the making from when we first floated the idea of working together."
 Leman (R).jpg "Russell Bissett, Northern Monk (L) & Andy Leman, Timothy Taylor's (R)")
Russell Bissett, Northern Monk (L) & Andy Leman, Timothy Taylor's (R)
So why did they decide to brew a stout together? Bisset continues: "We settled on a beer style that's 300 years old, started in London and made famous in Dublin. We had fun getting together and developing different concepts on what we could do together and landed on a stout, an exciting challenge. Stouts are the fastest growing beer style in the UK and we're stoked for people to try our take on a classic."
Andy Leman, Timothy Taylor's Head Brewer, says: "Northern Monk is a fellow Yorkshire brewery that we've been proud to call a friend for many years, and one that has produced some of the most exciting craft beers in the country. It's been fantastic to blend their craft beer credentials with our real ale expertise to produce Northern Rising, a truly delicious stout."
The team at Timothy Taylor's and Northern Monk have used roasted barley and crystal malt in the brew for a malt-forward and chocolate flavour profile. Golden Promise malt is also in the mix, a staple of Timothy Taylor's cask ales, which gives the beer that trademark full body and satisfying mouthfeel.
🌾 Ingredients: Water, malted barley, oats, rye, hops, yeast. This beer contains gluten.
🔍 Appearance: Dark brown with a good, persistent head.
👃 Nose: Gentle notes of malt, caramel, chocolate and a hint of dried fruits.
😋 Palate: Dry, silky smooth and moreish with dark chocolate and caramel notes up front, followed by crème caramel, mocha and a hint of hazelnut on the long, creamy finish.
🍽️ Food pairings: Cheese and chutney, steak and kidney pie, beer-battered fish and chips.
🎶 🎷 Music choice: Smooth by Santana.
