Coronation Street ale rollout

Manchester brewer JW Lees is set to launch its Coronation Street Ale in bottles from 1 June this year.

The company signed a five-year deal with ITV to produce a bitter to tie in with the 50th anniversary of the soap in 2010, launching the draught version across its pub estate last month.

The draught version is now being rolled out across the brewer's 400 freetrade accounts before the planned national rollout, and the bottle launch will see the brew made available across all regions of the UK.

It is hoped the Coronation Street association and bottle format will make the ale more appealing to younger audiences, tempting them into the cask-ale category.

"Coronation Street Ale is a big opportunity, not just for us, but for the whole category," marketing manager Emma Cartlidge said.

"We've ensured the ale has an accessible taste and believe the range of formats will make it even more appealing, not just to beer drinkers unfamiliar with JW Lees beers, but also consumers who don't normally drink cask ale."

The brewer confirmed it would not be cutting back on marketing spend this year, despite the recession, but instead will invest "roughly in line with last year".

Part of the spend will go towards running its "grip glass" billboard campaign, promoting its range of beers and its pubs, following success last year.

The posters feature a JW Lees signature ergonomic glass to remind consumers of all the things a pub can offer that drinking at home can't replicate.