The recent Leeds International Beer Festival was a triumph in showcasing excellent modern beer produced both in the UK and overseas. But a cursory glance towards social media during those three days showed just as many people gleefully snapping shots of pints of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord imbibed in establishments such as Whitelock’s Ale House. A quality beer, perfectly cellared. Many would, and do, argue there’s few better beers going.

Head brewer Andy Leman knows the Keighly brewery operates in different spaces to many of the modern beer styles being enjoyed across the UK, but he is endeared by the ongoing popularity beers such as Landlord have with drinkers of all kinds.

“It can be a common misconception to think that brewing from years gone by was improvised and done on something of an ad-hoc basis, but this couldn’t be further from the truth,” he says.

Brewers and beer fans alike, Leman explains, and long come to Timothy Taylor’s wanting to know the secret of their success, but there is no magic bullet in making great beer. Instead, having faith in what you do, holding strong principles and sticking to them.

“I recall Alan Hey (head brewer until 1995) once deliver a presentation in response to what we do differently with our beers.

It started with one simple statement:

No, No, No, No, No

“Alan proudly stated that we used no adjuncts, no enzymes, no pellets, no pellets and so on. We were doing things no differently, simply others had changed.”

Such an attitude extended to the naming convention of the brewery’s beers, too. And demonstrated that canvassing public opinion when making decisions in the world of beer wasn’t an invention that came with the advent of Twitter of Facebook.

Leman explains: “Landlord started life as a bottled beer. As a then-nameless beer in the 1950s, samples were sent out to accounts such as clubs complete with a tear-off label. People were to send back their suggestions and the best name would win.

“A club steward suggested ‘Landlord’ and won £500 for their troubles. That was an awful lot of money then! So when it came to renaming our Best Bitter, the brewery adopted the same idea. The landlord of the The Boltmaker Arms recommended ‘Boltmaker’ as a name and here we are.”

“The funny thing is they also won £500. Not quite the same,” he laughs.

Beers such as Boltmaker and Landlord have long been staples in the Timothy Taylor portfolio. But the addition of Knowle Springs last year has swiftly established itself in that family, too.

Created by Leman and his team, the Blonde Ale was produced to fill a gap for such a beer in their output. Trial batches began production in the August of 2016 with the beer seeing the light of day the following March.

“We went through around 12 iterations before settling on a beer we were all happy with. That combined Vienna malt with UK-grown Cascade, Chinook and Minstrel. It took time, but we got there,” he says. “I understand not all breweries have the resources to go through so many batches before commercial production but those principles should be the same, regardless.

Leman adds: “We are fortunate to have had longevity to build a brand, just as Fuller’s has with something like Pride and ESB. They are brand beers that have a dedicated following across generations.

“Starting fresh and building from the base is more difficult, but that doesn’t mean you cannot be successful. Quality should be paramount above all else. And as long as you stick to your guns and commit to producing good beer, you can be a success too.”