A few weeks ago we invited our good friend Andy (owner of Ainsty Ales) to our factory, little did we know he was bringing a few cheeky gifts in the form of bottled drinks. that’s right, bottles and bottles of Ainsty Ale! After all the safety checks and the “how’s the business” going chats, we decided to open a few of bottles of Andy’s delightful Ainsty Ales.
Now it’s safe to say that Ainsty Ales is a very unique ale brewing company. Not only are they about to manufacture their ales right here in York, but all of their ingredients are sustainably sourced and local! Great minds think alike!
The man behind the brand
Andy started out as a police man in York, (I know what you’re thinking, policeman to ale brewer, how, why and when?). Like many independent businesses, it started out as a labour of love. Andy used to make his own ales at home (whilst studying Marketing) using a home brewing kit. His home made brews we’re often complimented by his friends and family and one day Andy had a thought – “Why don’t I brew ale for a living?”. And that’s exactly what he did! He took the leap and dived right in and founded Ainsty Ales in 2013.
Our personal favourites are the “Flummoxed Farmer” and “Wankled Waggoner”, which funnily enough are the ales he brought to the factory for us to try!
Now it’s safe to say that I am not an ale drinker (I, like many people love wine), but after sampling some of Ainsty Ales, it is definitely something I will be ordering when out and about!
We all started thinking…
Dangerous I know, but whilst Andy was with us at our factory with his many ales, it was only polite to offer Andy a taster of our delicious flavoured chocolate bars.
While drinking Andy’s ales and eating our chocolate, we realised something – “Wow, that ale really compliments that chocolate bar!” We just couldn’t stop ourselves! Every Choc affair flavour we begun to pair with his Flummoxed Farmer and Wankled Waggoner, it was a match made in heaven! We discussed the flavours, such as which ones created a sharp or smooth taste, which pairings were our favourite and why, it really was a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
But don’t worry, we didn’t just keep eating chocolate and drinking ale just the fun of it, it was all in the name of research! Research which we will share with you… Only once we’ve finished finalising the findings of our study, which may require more testing of Ainsty Ales and Choc affair chocolate to find the mouth-watering combinations – oh it’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it! All will be revealed, so stay tuned Ale and Chocolate lovers!