Chancellor George Osborne enjoys a pint of Pennies From 11 to celebrate beer duty cut
A cask of Pennies From 11 was delivered from Tatton in Knutsford, Cheshire, to the Strangers’ Bar in the House of Commons, where Osborne was one of the first to sample it.
The 5.2% ale is brewed using classic, all-British, ingredients including Fuggles and Goldings hops and has a rich copper colour - "just like the penny that has been saved".
The beer is on sale in the Strangers’ Bar for one week, and will then be replaced by Sajid’s Choice, a beer from Bird’s Brewery in the Bromsgrove constituency of Sajid Javid, economic secretary to the Treasury.
Tatton Brewery founder Gregg Sawyer said: “Britain has a long tradition of brewing beers to celebrate special occasions and we felt that the first cut in beer duty since 1959 deserved to be marked in this way.
"Our brewery’s location in the Chancellor’s constituency made us the obvious candidate to thank him with beer and we’re delighted that he was able to join us for one of the first pints in the Strangers’ Bar.”
Keith Bott, chairman of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), of which Tatton Brewery is a member, added: “It seems most fitting to commemorate the beer duty cut with beer and we are grateful to Tatton for stepping up and creating the excellent Pennies From 11.
“The lobbying efforts of the 650 local brewers belonging to SIBA played a crucial role in bringing about the end of the beer duty escalator. We are grateful to them and also to the many others involved in the campaign, including the British Beer & Pub Association, the Campaign for Real Ale and the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, led by Andrew Griffiths.”