NEWS OF THE BREWS
Thwaites
Northern brewer Daniel Thwaites is continuing its drive to promote cask ales by encouraging pubs and bars to host mini-beer festivals during the summer.
The events will mark 200 years of brewing for the Lancashire-based firm and outlets will be given access to six different cask beers during June, including the limited edition Wainwright Ale.
The straw-coloured beer was originally planned for a limited period in spring, but Thwaites claims sales have been so strong that it has been retained for another month.
Thwaites brands marketing manager Lee Williams said: "It would be great to see customers marking our milestone by enjoying a mini-festival that pays tribute to this great drink."
Alnwick
A local beer has made a comeback almost half a century after it was last brewed.
Alnwick IPA was last produced at the Alnwick Brewery in the 1950s and the beer maker shut down in 1986. Business partners Ian Linsley and Ian Richardson have been rebuilding the Alnwick Rum brand since 2003 and have now re-formed the Alnwick Brewery Company.
The partners intend to develop a brewing facility in Alnwick in the next few years, with IPA as the first of several
traditional brews to be recreated.
Richardson said: "We hope that the new Alnwick Brewery will help resurrect the art of brewing in this area, such as malting and coopering, providing jobs for local people while using local products such as barley."
Batemans
Independent family brewer Batemans has re-launched its cask range of Mystic Brews.
The beers range from the 3.9% abv Pisces to the 4.5% Taurus and are available through WaverlyTBS. Pump clips are designed in typically humorous Batemans fashion with two naughty schoolboys denoting Gemini Double Trouble.
Batemans marketing director Jaclyn Bateman said: "Our consumers are beginning to expect some quirkiness in our line-up on the bar and the Mystic Brews range won't disappoint. Quirkiness works as long as the beer it delivers is good. This range, like all our beers, works on both levels."
