Bradford Brewery MD Matthew Halliday (right) at the awards ceremony with fellow winner Paul Corcoran of Pennine Cycles
Bradford Brewery has been named new business of the year at the Bradford Means Business Awards, run by the local Telegraph & Argus newspaper in partnership with the West and North Yorkshire chambers of commerce.
The awards, now in their fifth year, recognise the achievements and successes of companies, entrepreneurs and workers across the Bradford District. The award won by Bradford Brewery was for the new business which demonstrated the most imagination, planning and commitment.
Managing director, Matthew Halliday, said: “We were really proud to receive this award, which recognises all the great things that are going on in Bradford right now.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the support from Bradfordians since we started up which was, incredibly, just a few months ago. Our thanks go to the publicans who’ve been supporting the venture by selling our beers in their wonderful bars, as well as all the beer-loving Bradfordians coming into our pub every day to enjoy the products – and of course our staff, who work so hard to make it all happen.
“We are now well on the way to our target of getting Bradford beers onto all the great bars across the district and we’ve made a good start on our other aim, to take beers brewed in Bradford out further afield – delivering the message with them that Bradford is well and truly back on the map.”
Beer orders have been flooding in since the brewery launched at the heart of the city’s thriving Independent Quarter in February and the attached pub, with its pie and mash shop, is regularly packedfor its quirky events and activities.
Brewing started on site just three months ago and is now being carried out three times a week. More than 100 casks of beer are being delivered weekly to bars across the Bradford district and venues in the North of England, including major cities like Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle.
A prestigious order has been made by Bradford’s Midland Hotel to permanently sell the brewery’s Odsal Top brown ale and Razorback white gold ale in its Spirit of Bradford bar.
First to take Bradford Beers as a permanent listing was the recently re-opened Old Bank, in Market Street, and its sister pubs the City Vaults and Ginger Goose. Beers from the whole Bradford Brewery range are being rotated between the three venues.
Also on board are two more of the newcomers to the growing city centre leisure scene, The Beerhouse on North Parade, at the heart of the Independent Quarter and the recently refurbished Library Bar at Glyde House, in the city’s West End, close to the famous Alhambra theatre and the National Media Museum,
Matthew, a massive Bradford Bulls rugby league club fan, was particularly pleased to see The Top House, the club’s ‘local’, taking a regular order of his Odsal Top, which he named as a tribute to the team.
A few miles down the road in the Bohemian tourist town of Hebden Bridge, Bradford Brewery beers are now being sold at West Yorkshire’s only Co-operative pub, The Fox & Goose, after being unveiled during its popular summer beer festival.
The Waggon & Horses in Halesowen, West Midlands, ordered 12 casks of ales for its own bar and offered to help distribute Bradford beers to real ale bars across Birmingham and the local area.
The brewery’s own pub, which also showcases the beers, has been 30% busier than expected. As a result, the venue has recruited an additional bar supervisor and three extra bar staff.
