Northern Monk takes its Hop City festival to Armley for its tenth year

Few Leeds businesses have done more to put the city on the craft beer map than Northern Monk. The brewery's home at The Old Flax Store in Holbeck has become a place of pilgrimage for beer lovers, and its annual Hop City festival has grown into one of the most anticipated events in the brewing calendar.

Hop City celebrates hop-forward beers from some of the most respected breweries in the world. The ninth edition took place on 15 and 16 May 2026 at The Old Flax Store, Northern Monk's original site, bringing together more than 35 independent breweries from the UK, Europe and North America and around 250 beers.

Founder Russell Bisset has described the festival as an ambition to champion the best hop-forward breweries in the world, and over the years it has done exactly that, drawing visitors to Holbeck from across the country.

Now Hop City is preparing for a milestone. The tenth edition will take place on Saturday 15 May 2027, across two sessions, and for the first time it will move to Project House in Armley, giving the festival more room than ever before.

Organisers are planning more than 300 beers from around 50 producers. Early names already announced include The Alchemist from Vermont and Dogfish Head from Delaware, two American breweries with legendary reputations among beer enthusiasts.

Bisset has said that the anniversary edition will take the festival to the next level, with new experiences and collaborations alongside the beer. The 2027 line-up will also feature a wider range of no and low-alcohol drinks, so there is something for everyone.

Northern Monk's influence reaches beyond its own events too. The brewery was among the exhibitors at Kirkstall Brewery's Great Exhibition of Prize Ales at The Tetley in 2026, a sign of the friendly spirit that runs through the Leeds brewing scene.

For a city with such a long brewing history, it is fitting that one of its newer names has become a magnet for visitors from around the world, and Hop City has played a big part in that story.

Tickets for Hop City are released through Northern Monk's own channels, and it pays to keep an eye out early. In the meantime, the brewery's Holbeck home remains a welcoming place to try its beers.