Briscoe’s Brewery is a unique micro-brewery owned and operated by Dr. Paul Briscoe, a PhD microbiologist who has been brewing quality "full mash" beers at home for 20 years. Following redundancy from the Chemical Industry, Dr. Briscoe established the brewery on a shoestring in the cellar of his red brick semi-detached house in Otley (in the heart of Yorkshire’s picturesque Wharfe Valley), using simple adaptations of his existing craft-brewing equipment. The brewery produces specialist batches of traditional naturally conditioned beers for the local market, with the emphasis very much on quality and character rather than quantity. The brew length is just one barrel (36 gallons), making this one of the smallest commercial breweries in Britain. All of the beer is hand-crafted using the time-honoured methods which have served generations of small breweries over the centuries. Only the finest quality ingredients are used with a wide range of specialist malts and hop varieties being employed to give optimum character and individuality to the beers.

Both cask and bottled beers are produced, although the lack of space and mechanisation requires that quantities of bottled beers are small. However the brewery’s small size affords flexibility and it can therefore produce a huge variety of beers, including special batches to meet individual needs (minimum orders apply). Orders can be taken both from the licensed trade and from members of the public for local delivery. For special occasions such as parties, draught beer can be racked off the sediment prior to barrelling so that it can be consumed starbright straight away. A hand pump may also be available for dispensing beer at parties. The complete range of beers is shown below, although other "specials" may often be available.

At the time of writing, a new brewery is being constructed in an outbuilding at the rear of the "Bowling Green" public house in the centre of Otley. This brewery, with a 3 barrel brew length, is due to open in March 2000, increasing the availability of the "core" range of draught beers. However, the existing 1 barrel facility will remain active to maintain flexibility and variety. The Bowling Green itself always serves at least one Briscoe’s beer.

If you would like to place an order for beer, please telephone Paul Briscoe at the Brewery on 01943 466515 (please note that at busy times an answerphone may operate but your call will be returned as soon as possible).

Littondale Light (4.0% ABV) a very pale and refreshing beer brewed in the style of a lager.

Burnsall Classic Bitter (4.0% ABV) a full flavoured reddish-coloured bitter with a good hop flavour.

Chevin Chaser (4.3% ABV) a refreshing pale-coloured all malt bitter with a distinct hop finish.

Dalebottom Dark (4.3% ABV) a smooth and malty strong dark mild with a pleasant hop character.

Badger Stone Bitter (4.4% ABV) a classic English bitter, packed with the flavour of malt and hops.

Shane’s Shamrock Stout (4.5% ABV) a slightly less dry Irish-style stout with a hint of chocolate.

Puddled & Barmy Ale (5.8% ABV) a sweetish, smooth dark old ale.

Other cask conditioned beers are brewed on rotation, including: Rombalds Reviver (3.8% ABV) a classic "Yorkshire-styled" session bitter; Runner’s Ruin (4.3% ABV) a fuller-flavoured and well-hopped bitter; Three Peaks Ale (4.5% ABV) a strong pale premium bitter; Chevinbrau (5.2% ABV) a very strong pilsner-style lager; Rudolph’s Revenge (4.9% ABV) a robust malty special bitter.

These are supplied in returnable 550ml or 1pint (568ml) beer bottles. Orders can only be taken for whole crates (12 bottles) and a deposit is normally charged on the crate/bottles. There is no standard range of bottled beers but small amounts of almost any beer from the draught range could be bottled on request. Prices on request. Please note that due to minimum batch sizes, availability of bottled beers may be limited - please enquire before ordering.