THE owners of York's new brewery and bar have been breathing an almighty sigh of relief.

Wayne Smith and Lee Grabham are under no illusions as to how lucky they were.

Had they secured planning permission and sorted a few details a little earlier, their fledgling Brew York business would have been devastated no sooner than it had begun.

But instead, they are preparing for a grand opening on April 9.

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UPDATED: Wayne and Lee confirm the opening will be from noon to 11pm on Saturday 9 April. They say: "There will be live music throughout the day, free brewery tours every two hours, street food served within the brewery and competitions running all day to win prizes such as a brew day with the Brew York boys and many free drinks.

"Confirmed acts so far are The Entertainment Company and Lisa B & Paul O'Hare with further updates to follow shortly. We look forward to welcoming you all down at Brew York. Start spreading the brews!"

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When the post-Christmas floods swept though York, they were among the very lucky ones.

Their premises in Walmgate, just feet from the River Foss, were indeed flooded, but the building was empty at the time - no stock, no brewing equipment, no newly-restored furniture. Just a few tools, that were easily lifted on to the upper floor.

York Press:

Above: Wayne Smith (left) and Lee Grabham, pictured for The Press in October. Below: The same part of the building, under water in late December

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"We were lucky," says Wayne. "We got the flood alert message on Boxing Day and came down and just had to move the tools upstairs. Even then, at the back of our minds we thought 'they've got the Foss Barrier; it will be okay'."

After their lucky escape, Wayne and Lee are now quickly preparing for their opening.

Brew York, in the Enterprise Complex behind Walmgate Day Nursery, have been promising something new for York's beer scene since they announced their plans last year.

Theirs will be a brewery, but it will also have a built-in family-friendly cafe bar just yards from the brewing equipment, and a small gift shop as well, and there will be a small riverside garden.

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The view from the garden

They were inspired by Northern Monk and Tapped Leeds, and especially by Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle near Perth, Australia, which Wayne had visited.

Work is now nearing completion and there should be a soft opening for invited family and friends on the first weekend in April, followed by a full public launch the following weekend, with live music, food and brand new beers.

The brewing equipment was delivered ten days ago and includes a hop cannon that Lee and Wayne are very proud of, enabling them to add extra blasts of hops to the beers late in the brewing process.

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The inspiration: Little Creatures brewery in Australia. Picture by The0dora Photography on flickr, and used with permission.

There have been minor tweaks to the plans. The brewing area will now be surrounded by a low wall and a flood-gate, just in case the awful scenes of late 2015 are repeated. The bar, which was to have been made of wood, will instead be made of wood cladding on a more resolute breezeblock structure.

There will also be a sump pump installed, so water can be cleared quickly if need be.

The planned beer range has also been tweaked, though that was nothing to do with the floods.

Wayne and Lee had planned an American range and an English range, but felt some of their chosen styles were too timid. So they are also launching an Antipodean range.

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The six core beers will therefore be:

  • Eagle IPA, an American-style IPA at 6.5 per cent
  • Kiwi Ale, a New Zealand brown ale at 5 per cent
  • Maris The Otter, and English Pale Ale at 3.9 per cent
  • Viking DNA, a smoked porter at 5 per cent
  • Little Eagle, a session IPA at 4.5 per cent
  • Brew York Brew York, an American-style pale ale at 5 per cent

All those beers will be available in cask, and there will be occasional keg beers as well as small-batch bottling on site, and the proximity of the bar to the brewery leaves the potential for visitors to perhaps one day be allowed to bottle their own souvenir.

The mezzanine floor will be mainly for staff, but will also be used for live bands to perform to the customers below, and street food vendors will be invited to sell to customers over a makeshift counter beside the brewing vessels.

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The Blue Bell will also sell the Brew York beers

If you can't make it to the opening weekend, Brew York should be open from noon every Friday and Saturday, and the beers will also be reaching The Blue Bell in Fossgate and The Rook & Gaskill in Lawrence Street, where a meet-the-brewer event is planned for May 4.