Morrissey Fox to launch more beers

Brewing celebrities Neil Morrissey and Richard Fox are to roll out several new beers to the freetrade from next month, the pair told The Publican when they guest edited the magazine this week.

Morrissey Fox Mulled Beer and Morrissey Fox Best Bitter are currently only available at the pair's pub and microbrewery Ye Olde Punch Bowl Inn, in Marton-Cum-Grafton, North Yorkshire. However, there are plans for them both to be made available through wholesaler WaverleyTBS.

Morrissey Fox Blonde Ale, the making of which was the subject of TV show Risky Business, is already on sale nationally through Waverley.

Mulled Ale will be the first to be rolled out, from December 1. Described as "liquid mince pie" by Morrissey, it is a strong, spiced seasonal beer. It has a 6.8 per cent ABV in the Punch Bowl, but this will be lowered to 4.6 per cent for the freetrade.

Morrissey, famous for starring in sitcom Men Behaving Badly, and TV chef Fox said they also hope to launch a pilsner-style product.

"Pilsner in this country has a poor reputation," said Fox. "The maturation periods of the big lager brewers have become really rapid, and we would like to produce one that captures the essence of what it really should be, the beers we saw being matured for up to six months in the time we spent out in the Czech Republic."

He added that expanding their range of beers was "important if we're going to be taken seriously as a brewer. If we just sat on one product, it would be purely a marketing exercise and that's not what this is."