Refresh UK has begun trial brewing of Brakspear's beers at t
Refresh's Wychwood brewery at Witney, Oxfordshire, is being used to produce Brakspear's seasonal ales. The first of these "Oh be joyful" will be available at the end of December. At both Wychwood and Burtonwood, care is being taken to make sure the taste of the beers is as close as possible to those produced at Brakspear's spiritual home in Henley-upon-Thames. Refresh's technical director Dr David Taylor is working with a triumvirate of brewers Brakspear's Peter Scholey, Jeremy Moss of Wychwood and Stewart Main of Burtonwood to create "matching brews", and the results so far are said to be "very encouraging". Refresh chief executive Rupert Thompson said the search for a site for a new brewery was progressing well. Thompsonreported: "Detailed negotiations will shortly begin with our top three sites and we hope to announce the future brewery site early in the New Year." * * * * * Pilsner Urquell is launching a promotional campaign whereby consumers of the Czech lager get the chance to win tickets toexclusive preview screenings of two films Simone and 8 Women. Screenings will take place in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham. For every purchase of four bottles of Pilsner Urquell, customers will be allocated a registration number directing them to a website to receive tickets. Winners will also have the opportunity ofsampling the world's first pilsner at the screenings. Specially designed point-of-sale material will be displayed inparticipating bars and the most successful outlet will win a five-night holiday for two in Hollywood. * * * * * Bombardier, Charles Wells' flagship brew, is being promoted as the beer to enjoy on Bonfire Night. The promotional campaign will feature point-of-sale material, backed by nationalconsumer advertising with the theme: "You've got the wrong Guy". The Bedford brewer will use beer mats, posters, tent cards and bunting to tell customers that Guy Fawkes was made the scapegoat whereas Robert Catesby was the ringleader. The clever promotion will call for 5 November to be renamed Robert Catesby Night and children should be encouraged to drop "Penny for the Guy" in favour of "Penny for the Bob". * * * * * Lowenbrau has created two new formats for its on-trade customers. The Munich-brewed lager will be available in 660ml bottles with new metallised paper labels and improved gold detailing that should make the bottles stand out better in display cabinets. A new 275mlbottle is also being introduced to appeal to younger drinkers. * * * * * Burnley brewer Moorhouses has agreed a deal to supply its beers to pubco Mitchells of Lancaster. Moorhouses' general manager David Grant commented: "Many negotiations may begin with discount but if you play the quality ticket, the retailers will listen. We are supplying an increasing number of pub companies, which is making a significant contribution to our brewing volumes. Moorhouses feels this is the real key to the future as genuine free-trade pubs continue to disappear from the scene." The brewery's top award came in 2000 when Black Cat was judged supreme champion by Camra at the Great British Beer Festival. Camra chairman David Goodwin, left, and Moorhouses' general manager David Grant are pictured toasting the future.
