St Austell Brewerys trade marketing manager, Marc Bishop, leads the Halloween revels

 

With Halloween imminent, St Austell Brewery’s seasonal Bucket of Blood — a red ale infused with spicy hops — is back on the bar.

The beer takes its name from the brewery’s Bucket of Blood pub in Phillack, near Hayle. Legend has it that the pub got its grizzly name after a body was found in the well under the premises 200 years ago.

Instead of pulling a bucket of water, the pub’s shocked occupant pulled up a bucket of blood from the well and subsequently found a body, rumoured to be that of the local taxman — even now the victim’s ghost is said to haunt the inn.

Rick Shackelton — the brewery’s longest serving landlord, having taken on the reins of the popular pub back in 1975 — was the first to pull a pint of the red stuff back in 2009, and Bucket of Blood remains popular with ale lovers today.

St Austell brewing director, Roger Ryman, said: “Bucket of Blood is a really distinctive ale and its spicy flavours are perfect for Halloween and the winter months.

“As it’s a special you might not find it in every one of our pubs, but it will certainly be playing a part in our annual Celtic Beer festival on November 24.”

On the bar at 4.5% ABV, the beer has become a feature of Halloween. It is full, with a malty toffee palate and a good bitter skeletal backbone finish. Try it with Halloween-themed dead man’s fish finger sandwiches or hot dog ‘Frankenfurters’.

 

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