Beer Ritz

This isn't just any
off license ... This is Beer Ritz... Leeds' best kept secret (it isn't actually! A pal of mine from darn sarf raves about it)
If you haven't been yet, unless you're teetotal just get yourself there and try something different !
It's brilliant and it's round the corner... Well it's on a corner actually !

For whatever reason, it has become normal to be a wine connoisseur but weird to be an expert on fine beer. This is sad state of affairs, as beer is in truth a more exciting, more wildly varying beverage that manages to remain as masculine as possible.

Beer Ritz (laaavely play on words isn't it) is an absolute haven for beer lovers. With what seems like millions of varieties from all corners of the globe, beer taps on the counter and hugely knowledgeable and friendly staff, it is the stuff dreams are made of.

A trip here makes your evening in with the boys all the more cultured (and lethal on some occasions) and is definitely worth it.

My goodness me. This little diamond my be off the beaten track, but their reputation precedes them, and I'm so glad it does. I heard of the furore toward a potential closure on the Twittersphere, and having read the fantastic recommendations I was afraid I mightn't make it over before it shut. Happily, it was only a brief flutter and they're open for business as usual.

I nipped in yesterday to have a gander at what's going on and it really is the mecca for a beer lover in Leeds. There's a whole back wall lined with local ales, a myriad of ciders, a plethora of Trappist and Belgian treats, American ales and more.

I called upon the lady in the shop to give me a hand in navigating the numerous options, and explained I'm a huge Leffe fan but wanted to try and branch out to some new beers, of a similar vein. She went through a number of different options, and helped me pick out a few choice bottles. As well as an 8% Leffe, which I've not yet tried, I took home an Ilkley Brewery bottle, Trappist beer and a few others which I'm excited to try!

As well as all the beer you could ever want to get your mouth round, there's a number of snack options to grab and even some choice cigars, if you're that way inclined.

Essentially, Beer Ritz rocks and you need to visit. The prices are really rather good, given there are so many rarities, and the staff are fab. Job done!

When I first moved to Leeds I was oblivious to many of its hidden gems. Those were the days before Brewdog had made a home here, the days before I met anyone who was wise and kind enough to tell me about Friends of Ham, North Bar, Further North, etc. Those were dark times for this beer loving American.

But Beer Ritz was my deliverance! I picked up a copy of Michael Jackson's (No, not thriller, the other one) beer book and flipped to the UK supplier pages. Lo and behold, I saw there was a shop supposedly in Leeds that supplied some of the amazing beers I was used to having at my fingertips in America! I immediately sought out this malty mecca.

It was a dark and stormy night, no really, it was! The maps app on my iphone had led me down so many twisted streets that I was beginning to lose hope. And then...I saw the tiniest little off license. I walked in and my heart just about broke when I saw the standard fare. Fortunately I asked the guy working the till if this was really the fabled Beer Ritz. He told me my phone had taken me to the wrong place and pointed me in the right direction.

Fast forward another 45 minutes of slogging through the relentless English rain without an umbrella. Sopping wet and sniffling, I arrived outside an equally tiny off license. But it DID had the name emblazoned over the door so I took a deep breath, preparing myself for disappointment, and walked in.

There before my eyes shone a plethora of craft beer from all over the world. It was like a homecoming of sorts as I lovingly cradled beers long thought lost to the sands of time and the endless miles of ocean between me and them.

Since then, I've been a devoted customer and appreciater of Beer Ritz for their value, selection, Saturday tastings, and superior beery knowledge. Seriously, if you want a specific beer, they'll get it for you or tell you what the best way of finding it is. If you're new to the beer world or a bit unsure of what to try, their staff is endlessly knowledgable and will generously serve up pints of frothy wisdom at your request.

If you love beer, you already love Beer Ritz, you just haven't realised it yet. Do yourself a favour and go discover what you've fallen in love with!

If it's beer you're after this is the place. Manager Zak knows nearly everything there is to know about beer and is happy to tell you if you'd like to know.


There are beers from all over the world and they even import some themselves - the range is enormous and the staff are most informative on every bottle they stock. Try their imported Grolsh alongside some Grolsh you've bought from the supermarket and taste just how good the real thing is. But the best thing is to let Zak, or whoever is working there, put a mixed case of beer together (they love to do that!) and then have an international beer exploration at your leisure.


This is the ale equivalent of a Fine Wine shop. Well worth a visit.

Though it looks from the outside like Beer Ritz is an average off licence, inside it's a very different story. We travelled quite a long way to visit Beer Ritz based on a recommendation about the range of quality Belgian beers they stocked, and they weren't wrong.


It's not a huge store but somehow they manage to pack in a phenomenal range of different international beers, including most of the Belgian brands you can think of, plenty of British independent brewery output, as well as American, Russian, Eastern European, and more, without it feeling cramped. When you go in, pick up a basket, you'lll need it.


The prices are reasonable- it's not super-cheap, but then again you're getting some of the world's best beers, not some watered-down supermarket lager. The service is friendly and anyone serving seems to know their beers for sure. There's also some rarities behind the counter- £30 for a Tactical Nuclear Penguin? I was oh so very tempted.


They also stock some of the accompanying beer merchandise such as the branded Belgian brewery glasses that I've not seen on sale anywhere else except Belgium.


They do some wines as well but I don't care about that.


If I lived anywhere near this shop I would be a gibbering alcoholic- but very, very happy.

My first visit to Leeds was to visit my mate in Weetwood Halls. I caught the bus from that station and stopped this off-license as I past from Headingley suburbia to 'the sticks' of wealthy Weetwood.


Alasdiar and I were in Beer Ritz around 30 minutes later and I was being a beer snob looking at the variety of imported products and salivating. Then something caught my eyepumps. Yes, beer taps on the counter. Alasdair caught my eye and smiled pulling out two plastic pint glasses and he ordered us a pint each for our walk.


I was sold and when I moved to Headingley 18 months later I would walk 15 minutes to beer ritz even though I had an off-licence within a minutes walk. That was even when I could not have a pint for the walk home because I would have my hands full with boxes and bags of specalist drinks. Great staff here in my time as a customer, great shop.

For all that is beer! Nipped in here for my superbowl beers and WOW!!!!!!!! if there is a beer god in Leeds he hangs out in this small but fully stocked off license! Anything that you can imagine ales, lagers, porters, stouts, American ales, dark ales, ruby ales, imperial porters, anything you can imagine even hybrids like the brewdog penquin which is a beer that carries a 33 percent alcohol content. The have a good selection of cider and fruitybeers if that's your thing. I walked out with 7 top notch beer and it ran me about 16 pounds it may sound like alot but if you love the beer like me then its naught really. Go here talk to the staff pick up the book by Zak Avery and just enjoy. I didn't have my phone so I couldn't check in but alas if you love the beer then this is a must go! Follow them on Twitter as well you might find a free tasting every now and again!