Hop City, the long-running beer festival from award-winning Holbeck-based brewery Northern Monk, returns this month for its ninth year, taking place over three sessions across Friday and Saturday 15-16 May 2026.
Bringing over 35 of the best independent breweries from the UK, Europe and North America together under the roof of The Old Flax Store, Northern Monk’s original brewing site, Hop City will have approximately 250 different world-class beers on offer across the weekend with every pour included in the price of the ticket as well as a Hop City branded glass to enjoy them in.
Joining Northern Monk this year are UK breweries including Brighton’s Beak, Deya from Cheltenham, Manchester-based Track and Edinburgh’s Newbarns who will be pouring next to the likes of US breweries Trillium, Root + Branch, Finback and everywhere; Canadian’s Messorem and Third Moon, and a selection of Europe’s finest indie brewers including CRAK (Italy), Sudden Death (Germany), Garage (Spain), Salama (Finland) and P.I.G.S (Greece).
Hop City 2026 will be taking over The Old Flax Store in its entirety with three floors and a garden full of beer, food, live music and merch. Leeds’ own Bundobust will be bringing their contemporary Indian street food alongside Bonehead Fried Chicken and Hermanos Caliente courtesy of Niko’s Comfort Kitchen whilst Rinsewill be pouring natural wines all weekend and Below Stairs will provide the cocktails.
Each of the three Hop City sessions has its own musical line up with Friday evening featuring Acolytes, niph. and Chips with Everything. Saturday afternoon sees Hijack Horns and Lovu on stage as well as a live broadcast from Palestinian station Radio AlHara whilst the evening will be soundtracked by Greg Surmacz and Orrible Barbarians with Endless City DJs on hand all day.
Friday evening has already sold out, with final tickets for Saturday on sale now
Northern Monk has also teased Hop City’s special 10th anniversary celebration for 2027. Set to take place 15 May next year, this milestone event will be held at Project House for the very first time, making it a memorable occasion for both new and returning festival goers.
Russell Bisset, Founder of Northern Monk, said:
“What started out as an idea to host some of our favourite breweries in Leeds has grown into something bigger than we could have imagined. From the beginning, the ambition was clear – to champion the best hop-forward breweries in the world and to create the first beer festival in Europe dedicated to celebrating hoppy beers and IPAs.
“Today, it’s about bringing some of the greatest breweries from across the globe together under one roof, creating something genuinely special for people who love beer as much as we do. Heading into our ninth year with a line-up of this calibre is something we’re incredibly proud of. It’s not just about the beer, but the community, collaboration, and spirit behind it.”
This post is based on a press release issued on behalf of Northern Monk Brewery
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