Owner Marcos Ramirez moved to the UK from Venezuela in 2009 and had his first taste of craft beer in Leeds, and was so excited by the flavours, he started home brewing. Nine years later, he started his own microbrewery right here in the city that ignited his love for the drink.
Partnering with North Yorkshire brewery Black Sheep for its first ever brewery collab, the two have come together to bring Leeds, ‘Ensueño’, a hazy IPA that celebrates the best of Yorkshire and Latin America.
Paying homage to his heritage, Pig Love Brewery uses special ingredients that would be used in Latin America 'for cooking and moonshining' in its recipes, which is why this is far from bog standard brewery, Pig Love puts a real twist on craft beer with ingredients like coffee bean shells.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
The shell of a coffee bean is usually wasted but in the last few years, people are increasingly experimenting with its abilities, and opting to use this to infuse notes of coffee and chocolate into food and drink. The coffee beans in Ensueño in particular come from Costa Rica and balance that rich flavour with the more traditional flavours you'd find in a pint of Black Sheep.
And you'll find that everything right down to the name and beer can is telling the story of these two worlds colliding
‘Ensueño’ means "a dream that is really likely to happen, it's an aspiration" that's almost within reach, so the name felt fitting for Marcos, "working with the big boys at Black Sheep", as a small Leeds independent.
The team from Pig Love and Black Sheep. / Image: The Hoot Leeds
The collaboration was talked about for almost three years, and the two breweries landed on the idea of creating a Hazy IPA given its current status as 'a trendy product' that's got the brewery scene talking, but also because it has a real ability to blend experimental craft beers, traditional Yorkshire pints and Latin American influences.
With a deceiving 7.3% ABV, it's a smooth drink that'll really knock your socks off, with 'lush fruity notes, coconut flavour and captivating aromas'.
Leeds-local Adam is a friend of Pig Love and helped to design a 'Latin American Rainforest meets Yorkshire Dales' featuring identifiable features like sheep and waterfalls that shows the full influences behind the collab.
You can grab a pint for yourself over in the Climate Innovation District where CITU gave PigLove the opportunity to open a pop-up bar for a few months in 2021, fast forward two years and they're still slinging out pints by the river and don't plan on slowing down anytime soon.
This will be a limited run so make sure to head down whilst you can and show your support for our own Leeds local. Black Sheep will be selling Ensueño online for those looking for give the IPA a taste test at home.
Feature Image - The Hoot Leeds
Eats
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
The Swine That Dines announces the official opening date of its brand new restaurant
Clementine Hall
Much-loved Leeds Bistro The Swine Bistro, formerly known as The Swine That Dines, has moved to a bigger space in Headingley.
Although it’s gone through a few name changes over the years since launching as The Greedy Pig cafe in 2012, this independent spot has long been a firm favourite for Leeds locals for some time now.
Run by chef couple Jo and Stu Myers, they’ve been operating out of North Street where it’s all about cooking seasonal produce simply and with an added ‘little bit of sunshine’.
But now Swine Bistro has moved up over to Headingley, taking up a unit previously occupied by Jam hairdressers on Otley Road.
Image: Supplied
And the time has finally come for them to open their doors, as they announce their first service will take place on Friday 4 April with bookings open from today, Thursday 20 March.
The Myers will be welcoming head chef Kirsty Cheetham, who won Observer Food Monthly’s Best Sunday Lunch award in 2018 and 2022 when she ran The Queen o’t owd Thatch in South Milford, Leeds.
The expanded space in the restaurant has allowed the team to curate a bigger wine list which will include natural wines from Wayward Wines and Latitude Wines as well as local beers from Ilkley Brewery and Horsforth Brewery.
Image: Supplied
The team remains passionate about locally sourced ingredients and has partnered with a variety of Yorkshire suppliers including R&J Yorkshire for its fresh meat, Tarbetts fishmonger, cheese from George & Joseph cheesemongers and beans from micro roaster, Chipp Coffee Co.
Jo Myers, co-owner of the Swine Bistro said: “It’s taken a huge amount of time and effort to realise our dream to revamp what was previously a hairdresser into a fully functioning kitchen and restaurant. It’s been a wild ride but we’re excited, and slightly nervous, to finally open our doors.
“We love the vibe in Headingley and the time out has allowed us to have fun with our menu as well as take part in lots of essential taste testing of ingredients and drinks from our brilliant local suppliers. We can’t wait to welcome guests into our new restaurant!”
Sophie Smith -
27th November 2023 
