Craft Beer Residency concept brings Thornbridge brews to 100 UK pubs

18-Jan-2018 - Last updated on 18-Jan-2018 at 10:54 GMT

Exclusive tipple: Mimosa, a 4.8% ABV Vermont session IPA, has been brewed especially for the residency

Thornbridge Brewery is to showcase its beers in more than 100 pubs across the UK as part of a new partnership with Mitchells & Butlers (M&B).

The Craft Beer Residency 2018 will see 114 of M&B’s Castle pubs stock a rotating selection of at least four beers from the award-winning Derbyshire brewery between 25 January and 17 March.

Thornbridge has also teamed up with The Brew Crew – a select group of managers from M&B – to produce a new beer for the residency. Mimosa, a 4.8% ABV Vermont session IPA, was brewed at Thornbridge and will be available exclusively in select M&B venues between now and March.

In addition, the brewery has made a number of beers available exclusively on keg for the showcase, including a 4.6% ABV nitro milk stout for the Six Nations rugby tournament, and a strawberry blond ale for Valentine’s weekend.

Food and beer pairing events

The pubs involved in the Craft Beer Residency 2018 feature iconic pubs across the UK, including the Southwark Tavern, the Gipsy Moth and the Albany in London, to pubs across Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol.

In addition to the offering from Thornbridge, the Craft Beer Residency will also showcase each pub’s expertise beyond the bar, hosting customer events such as food & beer pairing events with their own in-house sommeliers and nine 'meet the brewer' sessions with Thornbridge across the UK.

The residency was launched at the White Horse in Parsons Green, west London, on Wednesday night (17 January) with a five-course food and beer pairing meal, and an exclusive tasting with Thornbridge head brewer Rob Lovatt.

Speaking about the residency, Lovatt said: “Our passion for craft beer is second to none and we are proud to be taking up this Craft Beer Residency.

“With our carefully selected core range and exclusive brews, we are excited for craft beer lovers to experience and celebrate our beers in some of the best pubs up and down the country.”

Bringing drinkers into craft

M&B cask ale, craft beer and cider procurement manager Ben Lockwood said the festival would help bring new drinkers into the craft beer category.

“We’re thrilled to be teaming up with the well-respected Thornbridge Brewery for our first Craft Beer Residency,” he said. “The selection of beers being brought to our pubs across all formats is unrivalled at this scale, and we know our guests are going to enjoy visiting over the six weeks hunting down new and old favourites, especially the beers brewed exclusively for us.

“With the exceptional reputation Thornbridge has for quality and consistency, and the breadth of the beer range on offer, we believe this residency will delight current craft beer fans as well as bring new people into the category to experience styles such as milk stout and Vermont IPA for the very first time.”

The residency is the second of its kind in the UK, with M&B running a similar concept last year in collaboration with US brewery Sierra Nevada.