Firm's brewing effort to move to neighbouring city

An award-winning brewery in Leeds is to move all its manufacturing effort to neighbouring Bradford after having "outgrown" its current premises.

The Amity Brew Co is based at Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley, where it brews craft beers and has a bar.

According to plans submitted this week to Bradford Council, Amity plans to move its whole brewing operation to Albion Mills in Greengates as well as opening a new taproom there.

Company director Verity Clarke said shifting its brewing to Bradford was expected to be completed by the spring or summer, adding that it was an "amazing time" to make the move during Bradford's year as City of Culture.

"We're proud to be part of the Leeds scene, but Bradford is an up-and-coming place," she said.

Meanwhile, the bar at Sunny Bank Mills would remain and it would expand into the area currently used for brewing, the firm said.

A former furniture storage unit which had been empty for years would be transformed into the new brewery premises, according to Amity's planning application to Bradford Council.

The changes would "make a positive contribution to the local economy and the revitalisation of a long-vacant unit", it said.

Mrs Clarke told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We've been brewing at Sunny Bank Mills since the pandemic, and we've just outgrown the space. We needed bigger brewing capacity.

"We agonised over whether to replicate what we had at Sunny Bank Mills somewhere else in Yorkshire, but decided moving the production facilities just three miles away from Farsley was much better for us.

"When we saw this building, we couldn't dare to dream we could take on somewhere this size, but people told us we'd fill the space very quickly.

"When we move, all the brewing will be in Bradford. We've bought new equipment, and the move will allow us to brew round the clock.

"At the moment we can only brew when the bar is closed."

Amity Brew Co was set up in 2020 and won best pale ale in the SIBA Independent Beer Award in 2023 for its hazy Waterpistol pale ale.

A decision on the brewery's planning application is expected to be made by Bradford Council in March.

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