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Private company

Duff Beer

Logo: The logo is from the following website: http://www.dalesidebrewery.co.uk/, Non-free logo, via Wikipedia3

Brewery in Harrogate, England

Daleside Brewery is an independent brewery founded in 1988 by Bill Witty. Its headquarters are located in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. In March 2024, it was reported that the company had been acquired by Rooster's Brewery.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1988Founded1

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Daleside Brewery is an independent brewery founded in 1988 by Bill Witty. Its headquarters are located in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England.2

The story

Three years after his father founded the company, Craig Witty became head brewer in 1991. When Billy died in 2007, his son took over running Daleside Brewery and continues to be a driving force behind the popular English microbrewery.

Established in Harrogate, the firm moved to Starbeck in 1992 and went through periods of enlargement up until 1999. It has won numerous awards for its ales, including its Morocco Ale.

Morocco Ale

The 17th-century recipe for this ale, which had been brewed especially for Charles II of England and named after his wife, Catherine of Braganza, who was described as being Moorish, was rediscovered in the early 1990s after being lost and was given to Daleside under special licence. Morocco Ale is specially brewed for Levens Hall in Cumbria, who are the owners of the secret recipe.

From Wikipedia’s article on Daleside Brewery, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • beer

Listed on Wikidata.1

Daleside produce a wide range of beers including;

Morocco Ale, a traditional spiced beer based on an Elizabethan recipe

Old Legover, a low abv Old Ale

Monkey Wrench, a stronger Old Ale (CAMRA award-winning) which was brewed especially for a beer festival in Hartlepool (so named after the colloquial nickname for people from Hartlepool who are known as Monkey hangers)

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Ripon Jewel, a strong pale ale, commissioned by Ripon Cathedral in honour of a gemstone associated with the founding of the cathedral. Brewed since 1999; a percentage of the profits go to the cathedral's maintenance fund.

Chocolate Stout, a stout where the barley is heavily roasted and Nestlé chocolate is added

Duff, a 5% abv dark ale ('Duff' sounds like 'dubh' Gaelic for "Dark")

Crack Shot Ale, named in honour of Jane Ingilby who supposedly dressed as a man and fought at the Battle of Marston Moor, later standing guard over Oliver Cromwell when he hid in Ripley Castle overnight after the battle

EU in, a golden fruity ale

EU out, a light hoppy ale (both of these were brewed in spring 2016 during the EU Referendum campaign in the United Kingdom)

Greengrass, named after the curmudgeonly character Claude Jeremiah Greengrass from the TV show Heartbeat

From Wikipedia’s article on Daleside Brewery, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1988Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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