The other week I was busy scouring the Internet for art galleries that could offer something more than a white square room with a few paintings. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but sometimes it’s nice to discover something different. And so I found it, a gallery and brewery combined.
The history
www.barearts.com started life in the year 2000 as an online nude art gallery with a physical presence in the barearts gallery at 110 Rochdale Road in Todmorden. Members of a drawing group contributed to pay life models and the drawings were offered for sale on the website and in the gallery in Todmorden.
In 2005 a small craft brewery close to the gallery in Todmorden was opened. A license was obtained so that the beers could be sold in the gallery. These days it is a popular venue for performers who include musicians, poets, folk dancers and mummers, as it is the only licensed nude art gallery in the area.
The beer
Despite the brewery appearing small from the outside it is a compact 4 barrel plant. This means it is capable of brewing over 500 litres of beer at a time and this could be done twice a week however barearts beers are very special and they are brewed over a much longer period than most other breweries and this is what gives them a very complex taste.
The environment
To minimise their carbon footprint the British barley in the beers is malted in West Yorkshire. The beers are only sold from The Studio Bar & Gallery, about a half a mile from where they are brewed, though deliveries throughout the UK can be arranged. They also reuse their bottles and encourage people to return them. They have cleaned and reused over 54,000 since April 2009.
So if you are after a bit of culture with your pint, why not venture over to the barearts beer shop and studio bar in Todmorden?
More info: visit barearts.com for upcoming events.
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