Northern Monk Refectory LDS

Northern Monk brewery opens its doors to guests at The Old Flax Store, where a mighty range of their beers are available to try. This is a unique, brick and wood industrial setting, perfect for the modern beer lover.

A ten minute walk from Leeds train station, this brewery-owned bar and taproom serves only the freshest pours from its own collection alongside a range of hand picked favourites. Housed inside The Old Flax Store building, it boasts a large sun trap beer garden at its front – making it a popular choice for drinkers whenever the sun is shining. 

Freshest beer in the city straight from the source.

First born in 2013, when the UK’s beer scene was largely split into two camps – traditional real ales, or British-made craft beers with a distinctly American finish, Northern Monk Refectory was an early pioneer of the hazy, pale styles we know and love today. Once home to the brewery’s original taproom, Northern Monk has since outgrown the space for its production but retains it as an excellent taproom. 

Directly above the brewery’s first ever production site, locals and visitors can now drink some of the freshest beer in the city straight from the source.

Behind the bar, you’ll find all of its best sellers on tap as well as some more unusual limited edition beers. Must-tries here include Faith, a hazy 5% pale ale packed with soft, tropical fruit flavours, and Heathen, a hazy 7.5% New England IPA amped up with heavy hitting hops that more than packs a punch. 

Located in Holbeck, Leeds, also known as the spiritual heart of the city’s industrial revolution, the brewery’s home is famous as a former flax-spinning mill first established in the late 18th century. The complex it belongs to, which includes the old flax store, played a significant role in the development of Leeds’ linen industry and the city’s wider industrial growth as a whole. 

An expansive sun-trap beer garden overlooking the water

Today, this history is paid homage to with a large mural – True North – created by Manchester artists Nomad Clan and Tank Petrol, alongside Northern Monk Patrons and UK property specialists Commercial Estates Group (CEG). Painted on one of Holbeck’s  derelict industrial buildings, it nods to the area’s industrial prowess during the peak of the Victorian revolution. Depicting two key figures – John Marshall, former owner of one of the area’s biggest flax mills, and ‘Jimmy Boy’, artists grandfather and a former mill worker himself – the piece is both historic and deeply personal to those who made it.

With an expansive sun-trap beer garden overlooking the water, and plenty of house signatures pouring on draft, Northern Monk Refectory is a staple in Holbeck for a reason.