Ale on sale in honour of one of Selby's oldest buildings

The Abbot's Staith Heritage Trust have teamed up with Brown Cow Brewery in Barlow to help launch the specially brewed ale to support the group's bid to supply some much needed TLC to this hidden gem of Selby's history.

The building was once part of a vast medieval monastic complex that was build on the banks of the River Ouse at Selby. It and it's more famous sibling, Selby Abbey, are the last remaining intact parts of this complex.

Today hidden behind the Square Bar on Micklegate, The Staith was built as a warehouse and was likely to have been used for the storage of wool, spices and other important commodities in the 14th century by the monks of Selby Abbey. These would have been transported by river, the main road of its day, in and out of the Staith.

The first batch of the ale will be available on the Trust's stall at the Selby Town Christmas Market on Saturday, November 29th. Special packs of the ale will be on sale for £10, a price that includes two bottles of ale and a special Selby Town Hall glass to drink it from. An ideal Christmas gift!

The ale itself is described on the label as “A classic well balanced golden traditional English style ale brewed with top quality Maris Otter Malt and English hops”.

Monks from the Abbey would have brewed their own ale in medieval times and it is quite possible that this could have been stored at the Staith. Ale and bread would have been the staple foods for the Abbey community, so selling ale to raise funds to help with the regeneration of the building is a very apt way for the Trust to move the project forward.