Hawkstone Wildthing Lager will launch from 8 September across the on trade, more than 300 Tesco stores and Hawkstone’s direct to consumer platform.
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The 4.6% Wild Barley Lager is brewed with Wildfarmed barley and has been created to highlight British farming, provenance and regenerative agriculture.
Hawkstone said the launch marks its biggest seasonal release to date and the first time it has taken a limited edition beer to scale across retail, direct to consumer and the on trade.
British farming
The partnership brings together Hawkstone’s British farming led positioning with Wildfarmed’s focus on regenerative farming practices.
YouGov data cited by the brands found one in three shoppers are eating more locally sourced produce for environmental or sustainability reasons, while 47% look out for where products are made or grown.
Speaking at the launch event, Wildfarmed co-founder Andy Cato said the quality of soil used for food production needed greater attention.
He said: “Seven billion people have to feed themselves based on one foot of soil. We need to protect it.”
Hawkstone sales director Andy Cross said: “We’ve always loved creating seasonal specials, but until now they’ve largely been something we’ve shared directly with our own customers.
“Wildthing felt too important and frankly too good to keep to ourselves. This is much bigger than putting another beer on a shelf or a bar. We’ve got two businesses with farming at their heart coming together, a brilliant beer, and a campaign designed to get people talking about British farming while creating genuine demand for our customers.”
Campaign support
The launch will also support farming and hospitality charities, with £100,000 being committed to good causes as part of the campaign.
This includes £50,000 from the Hawkstone Farmers Choir, which will be shared between farming and mental health charities, while Hawkstone will match this with £50,000 to extend its partnership with Shout to support hospitality workers.
Cato said: “Wildfarmed’s mission is to support farmers in regenerating soils and nature. With Wildthing, we’re putting our regenerative grains straight into your glass.”
The launch also follows Wildfarmed’s previous collaboration with Signature Brew and Groove Armada. In July, the businesses launched Do It Right, a Czech style pale lager brewed with regeneratively farmed malted barley from Wildfarmed’s grower network.
For Hawkstone, the launch follows a busy period, including the rollout of Hawkstone Cider across Five Guys UK restaurants, its Hawkstone IPA and beef pie partnership with Marston’s, and its recent Hops & Glory cask ale collaboration with Butcombe Brewing Co.
