A MODERN successor to the brewing industry tradition in Ilkley is trying to track down a nostalgic taste of the past.

The recently-founded Ilkley Brewery Comp-any is reviving one of the town’s first great trades of the Victorian era and beyond, and is keen to recreate an authentic Ilkley brew of yesteryear.

Owners Stewart Ross and Chris Ives are appealing for anyone with surviving documentation or hand-me-down knowledge to spill some of the secrets of Ilkley’s old-time beers.

Stuart said: “What we’d really like is to hear from anyone who remembers, or has any records from the old Ilkley Brewery and Aerated Water Company, and we’d really like to know if anybody has any old recipes.”

If they are able to get hold of an authentic beer recipe from Ilkley, the small ‘craft brewery’ plans to recreate a nostalgic pint.

Chris and Stewart have been experimenting with different ingredients to create distinctive-tasting real ale, and are confident they can bring back the taste of old Ilkley but only if someone can tell them exactly what went into it.

Ilkley Brewery and Aerated Water Company wad founded in the late 1800s, and its old premises today still stands close to the railway line on the former Spooner Industries factory site, off Railway Road.

In its heydey, the old brewery was said to have produced thousands of bottles of aerated water an hour, with the help of a well on the premises. It also produced bottles and casks of its own beers, and ran a chain of public houses in the area.

The business went on through much of the 20th Century, but brewing was gradually moved out to other areas, until the brewery itself closed.

Anyone who can help Chris and Stewart to recreate a pint from the past can contact them on (01943) 604604.