New releases to celebrate International Women’s Day

Collaboration brew by Nomadic Beers released

Nomadic Beers is launching a special collaboration beer to celebrate IWD.

Last month, women from across the beer industry came to Nomadic Beers for a brew day alongside brewery owner, Dr Katie Marriott. The result is a 4.3% ABV pale ale called Shield Maiden.

“Every year, lots of breweries mark International Women’s Day by hosting a collaboration brew,” said Marriott. “This year, we decided to do something different and do the collaboration brew a few weeks early, so the beer is ready to enjoy on the day itself.”

During the special brew day, those in attendance were also given a lesson on hops from Charles Faram’s Beth Eaton.

Taking part in the day was Daisy Turnell from Craft Beer Newcastle. “It was fantastic to meet up with so many women who are passionate about beer, at Nomadic for the brew day,” Turnell said. “From a hands-on hop sniffing session with Beth, to Katie and Harriet’s (Edgar, Nomadic Beers’ head of business development) well-organised guidance, taking us through every aspect of the beer creation and branding, it was the perfect balance of educational and fun. I can’t wait to try the 2022 version of Shield Maiden in a north-east pub soon.”

Those in attendance on the brewing day included Nomadic Beers, Whitelocks Ale House, Saltaire Brewery, Full Circle Brewing, DMC Brewery, Leeds International Beer Festival, Craft Beer Newcastle, Charles Faram and Cloudwater Soda.

Shield Maiden first appeared in 2020 from the Leeds-based brewer that is entirely female-owned. Marriott explained: “As we entered pandemic lockdown in spring 2020, Shield Maiden was one of the beers still in our fermenting vessels.

“Although we were able to sell it to consumers in pouches for home delivery at the time, this version will be the first chance we have had to have this beer on bars.

“I can’t wait to try it, we received so much positive feedback about this beer during lockdown and I imagine it will taste even better in a pub.”

Nomadic Beers is partnering with Whitelocks Ale House for a launch event for the beer, which is set to take place at the pub on Tuesday 8 March, from 4pm.

St Austell’s gin-infused pale ale

South-west-based brewer and pub operator St Austell has launched a limited-edition gin-infused pale ale to celebrate IWD called Gineous.

It will be available in select pubs across the south-west from Tuesday 8 March.

On 15 February, 25 women from across St Austell Brewery collaborated with brewing director, Georgina Young, to brew the innovative beer, paying tribute to the women who have played a role in the business over the years and continue to do so.

Volunteers from head office roles and the company’s pub estate got stuck in, squeezing fruit, adding hops, mashing, digging out spent grain, pitching yeast and learning about brewing in the process.

Gineous is the first beer in St Austell’s Cask Club series for 2022. The Cask Club – formerly known as the Small Batch Club – is an initiative that allows pubs to serve new and limited-edition St Austell cask brews for their customers each week.

Young said: “It’s been a fantastic experience bringing women from across the business together to brew such a unique beer and to demonstrate how exciting and creative the brewing process is.

“Gineous is a delicious fruity pale ale, with added juniper, orange peel and bergamot. A splash of Gin 77 – a London dry gin that was kindly donated to us by Bristol Distilling Company – lifts the flavour of the beer, adding notes of fresh grapefruit zest, root ginger, and pink peppercorns.”

The brewery attributes much of its growth and success to female leadership, not just today, but throughout the business’ history. Hester Parnall was chairman between 1916 and 1939 – a rare example of female leadership in brewing at that time. Georgina Young took the helm of the company’s brewing operations in 2020.

Bloom Gin variants support for IWD

Drinks business Quintessential Brands is launching a set of limited-edition bottles of Bloom Gin, featuring artwork by illustrator Lainey Molnar, in time for IWD. 

Available to customers in the on and off-trade with an RRP of £25, the designs aim to showcase female togetherness and empowerment and are available on two of the brand’s most popular expressions, Bloom Original London Dry Gin and Bloom Passionfruit & Vanilla Blossom Gin.

Molnar worked with Bloom to determine the theme for the design, landing on the power of the female collective – women united and supporting each other. This ethos aligns strongly with Bloom brand values and its mission to support, celebrate and inspire women in all areas of their life.

In the last two years, Bloom has done this in various ways, including with its award-winning Bloom Passion Projects campaign, which saw the brand offer a £20,000 prize fund to women looking to turn their side hustles into business realities.

Elaine Maher, brand director for Bloom at Quintessential Brands, said: “We’re an all-female team at Bloom Gin and it’s really important to us that we celebrate and support women as female positivity and sisterhood are at the heart of the brand.

“It was due to the self-belief of our master distiller, Joanne Moore, that she could create a gin that even the most ardent juniper hater would like that culminated in Bloom Gin being born and this remains a source of inspiration for us today.

“Lainey Molnar’s work and achievements are equally inspirational, so we were delighted to work with her to create these special, limited-edition bottles to celebrate the female collective and showcase women from all walks of life in the designs.”

Welcoming the Mother Berry Gin

Mother, an agency that connects working mums with flexible job opportunities in the creative industries, has launched a gin to bars and restaurants in Liverpool.

The business that was founded by 35-year-old Liverpool-based businesswoman and mum of two, Alishia Thomas, has released Mother Berry Gin, which comprises a blend of original Mother gin (juniper berries, bitter orange and orange root with notes of lemongrass, rose petals and cherry blossom flower), with a mix of winter berries, blackberries and sloe berries.

The Berry Gin, which is bottled at 40% ABV and is distilled locally in Liverpool is also available in 70cl (£36), 50cl (£30) and a mini versions (£5).

Northern Monk tie-up with Young Women’s Trust

Leeds-based brewery Northern Monk has announced the launch of a beer for IWD in collaboration with Young Women’s Trust.

Starting in January, an all-female project team composed of 14 Northern Monk volunteers from different areas of the business worked on what IWD would mean for the brewery this year, and they had full control of the creative and technical development of the project.

International Women’s Day 2022’s theme #BreakTheBias​ encourages a more inclusive and equitable society through confronting stereotypes, discrimination and inequality, and Northern Monk said it wanted to match that message of hope, optimism and pragmatism rather than dwelling on the negative connotations, so the project team has decided to collaborate with an organisation making practical steps towards economic justice for women – Young Women’s Trust – and to brew a beer that would platform their efforts.

As part of the collaboration, Northern Monk has brewed a bespoke and exclusive 5.5% Hazy Pale Ale, featuring a peel-and-reveal label to help maximise the message of the project. It is showcasing on the outer part 16 women who played a role in breaking the bias for women – selected by each member of the project team – and on the inner part a description of Young Women’s Trust mission, actions, services they provide to women, how to get involved and create change and a QR code to make a donation to the organisation.

If you have any new products that are being released to the on-trade, email the details with high resolution images before Thursday at midday for potential inclusion on Friday’s article to tnel.yyblq@jeoz.pbz​​​​​​​​​​​​​. 

The Morning Advertiser’s International Women’s Day coverage is sponsored by Peroni Nastro Azzurro, which is an Asahi UK brand. Asahi UK is home to an exceptional portfolio of premium beer, ale and cider brands, including category leaders in the UK.​

The range includes international brands Peroni Nastro Azzurro, the No.1 Super Premium lager in the UK with every drop brewed in Italy; Japan’s No.1 beer, Asahi Super Dry, and firm favourite for the UK, Grolsch.​

A portfolio to be envied which also includes local heroes: Fuller’s London Pride, Meantime, Dark Star and Cornish Orchards. Asahi UK’s focus is on enriching experiences for our customers and consumers through innovation, unrivalled service and offering brands with undeniable quality and provenance. ​

Asahi UK believes that every business has a responsibility to understand and act upon its environmental impact and we continuously work towards sharing more information with our suppliers, customers and consumers about both the footprint of our beers, and how we are working to reduce it.​

Our place in the local community is highly valued and we strive to ensure that we are always making a positive contribution to the communities in and around our UK Breweries. For more information on Asahi UK and parent organisation, Asahi Europe International visit www.asahibeer.co.uk​.​