This is one of the more quietly clever things Spirit of Yorkshire has done: take their Yorkshire-grown single malt and finish it in casks that previously held IPA. The beer leaves behind a ghost of hops — grapefruit, pine, a little herbal bitterness — and that ghost shakes hands with the barley in a way that feels unexpectedly natural.
Spirit of Yorkshire, founded by Tom Mellor and David Thompson on the Mellor family farm at Hunmanby, grows its own barley in the fields above Filey Bay and matures the resulting spirit just minutes from the North Sea. The IPA Cask expression is a playful nod to Yorkshire's other great fermented export, and it sidesteps gimmick by leaning into the citrus-and-resin character that hops and barley share.
The nose opens with grapefruit zest, lemon pith and the faintest pine needle, all wrapped around honeyed biscuit. The palate picks that up and runs — bittersweet marmalade, pine resin, lemon curd, warm malt loaf — with a herbal hop lift through the middle that keeps things interesting. The finish dries gently, drifting through citrus pith and cereal with a last whisper of hop oil.
At 46% and non-chill-filtered, it has the weight to carry the bitterness without turning astringent. A genuinely fun bottle that rewards the curious drinker — and a clever bridge between beer fans and malt fans alike.
