Marston's takes classical line

Marston's Beer Company has unveiled a Classic Beers range, designed to bring beer back to its roots and help drinkers better understand different...

Marston's Beer Company has unveiled a Classic Beers range, designed to bring beer back to its roots and help drinkers better understand different styles.

The regional brewer has announced that it will roll out six beers during the year-long programme - each one available for two months in the Marston's tied estate and freetrade.

Rather than having quirky names and heavy branding, each beer will simply be named after the beer style and will appear on brass, non-branded fonts.

The only logo to appear on the pump clips will be that of the Beer Academy - which has enthusiastically backed the scheme.

Richard Westwood, Marston's director of brewing and customer service, said: "With all of the quirky guest beers now on sale we felt the need to re-set the benchmark for classic beers and go back to our roots. It is a way of promoting cask ale by helping educate consumers."

The first beer in the range is a 4.5 per cent ABV Porter, brewed at the Marston's brewery in Burton and available throughout January and February.

The other five beers for the year will be Amber Ale (3.7 per cent, brewed at the Jennings brewery in Cumbria), Dark Mild, (3.8 per cent, produced at Banks's in Wolverhampton), Classic Pale Ale, (4.2. per cent, Marston's), Rye Beer (four per cent, Jennings) and Winter Ale (4.5 per cent, Banks's).

The brewer will be writingto licensees in January about the scheme. Pubs will also be provided with point-of-sale material to help them inform consumers about Classic Beers.