Beer has been brewed in Cropton since 1613. The early brews were illegal and any wrong do-ers were sent to York Gaol. It's likely that the local women helped in the production of the earlier beers, and the Ale Wives' as they were known, were often cursed if they produced a bad brew. Cropton Brewery was set up by the Lee family in 1984 in the cellars of the New Inn pub. Customers enjoyed the first brew of Two Pints' to such an extent that extra beer was produced to supply outlets further afield. In 1994, the brewery was built at Woolcroft', the farmland behind the New Inn. Within a year production had doubled. The same year saw the introduction of their first bottle-conditioned beer. The name Two Pints' was chosen by the locals that liked a good session on the beer but went home to tell their wives they only had Two Pints ! The beer is still available today in bottle. In 2000 our Monkmans Slaughter 6.0% premium beers won a gold medal at the Great British Beer Festival ( GBBF ) Phil Lee is still a director of the brewery today alongside his business partner, Jo Tayor.