no. 038 | Tartarus
A byproduct of lockdowns and furloughs, Tartarus is a Leeds-based brewery run by couple Jack and Jordan. Together they’re picking up the craft brewing baton for the city.
Leeds is no stranger to craft beer, with the city having played host to two of the largest breweries in the space in the last decade. To follow in the footsteps of the likes of North Brew Co. and Northern Monk might seem hubristic to many. To couple Jack and Jordan, though, it felt natural.
Established in 2020, Tarturus came to life at a time when we were all acquainting ourselves with the word ‘furlough’. Jack – formerly brewing at Northern Monk – was working with Brew York and found himself at home, awaiting the nod on when he could return to work. Taking the opportunity to spend more time using his 100 litre home brewery in the cellar, he quickly secured himself the necessary licences and started selling his beer commercially.
He was able to go full-time on Tartarus in 2021, and his partner Jordan, who was then still working in the pharmaceutical industry, began to get pulled into its gravitational field. She’d spend her evenings and weekends helping out with admin and brewery tasks as the business continued to grow. In October 2021, she went all in too.
Outgrowing their basement pretty quickly, the couple spent some time brewing nomadically before they came across the perfect site. North Brew Co. were consolidating their beer production and looking to move on from the site Tartarus now operate from. Commandeering the brewing equipment before they’d even signed the contract, the couple have taken on the Leeds brewing baton, and are continuing to add to the city’s rich tapestry of craft beer.
And they’re certainly bringing their own style in the process. Inspired heavily by Greek mythology (in which Tartarus means hell), all of the beers are named after mythical creatures and legends. The names take inspiration from Jack and Jordan’s chosen beer styles, and then digital artist Sam Ferrer, AKA FarrerArt, brings it to life via the artwork.
The beers themselves have also become stuff of legend in craft beer circles. Jack is a fan of beers with a big ABV, with one of their first ever releases being a 17% stout. Indeed, the list that we made this month’s selections from climbs as high as 13.2%, but the fact we’ve been able to pick out several brews between 4% and 6% shows the couple’s appetite to ensure their range remains accessible. Jack’s just keen to ensure he and Jordan are bringing differentiated beers to their customers – something to balance what Jack describes as a “sea of haze”.
Still an incredibly small team, you’ll find Jack and Jordan behind the bar in their taproom, which is open twice a month. Their hope is to be able to get themselves in the position to grow the team and open this more frequently, but until then we’re enormous fans of their commitment to their craft.