Queer Brewing is to introduce three new, permanently available, core range beers this Friday (5th February).
The brewery will also unveil a revamped visual identity with the aim of creating a space for LGBTQI+ people in the world of craft beer.
Having spent the last two years brewing limited edition beers in collaboration with some of the world’s most respected craft breweries, Queer Brewing is introducing three core beers brewed at Cloudwater Brew Co, in Manchester.
These beers will be available to buy through the Cloudwater website and, for the first time in Queer Brewing’s history, will be permanently available for pubs, bars, shops and venues to stock.
Queer Brewing founder, Lily Waite, said: “We wanted to create a range of beers that is as exciting to someone who’s yet to fully experience the full scope of flavours available across beer’s spectrum, as it is to someone who’s loved craft beer for years.
“We wanted to brew beers that can bring people in through their approachability, and also open their minds through the beers’ complexity and character.”
Lily Waite
With this in mind, the core range comprises Flowers (a witbier), Existence as a Radical Act (a pale ale), and Tiny Dots (a pilsner), styles which simultaneously encompass approachability and subtle complexity. The core range will sit alongside Queer Brewing’s continued collaborations.
“Our aim is to use beer as a platform and as a vehicle for social change, pushing for more representation, visibility, and community for LGBTQ+ people, both in the beer world and beyond,” said Lily.
“Queer Brewing is built around the values of collaboration, education, fundraising, and taking up space for LGBTQ+ people within the industry, centred around the mechanism of brewing delicious beers with a range of breweries around the world. These collaborations will continue to take up space and raise money for vital charities, whilst sitting alongside our approachable, accessible, and flavourful core range.
“With a core range that we truly believe can appeal to anyone, regardless of beer-drinking status, we’re now looking beyond solely the craft beer market, to reach LGBTQ+ communities and venues who have, so far, long been overlooked by the beer world.”
Queer Brewing was chosen as the first participant in Cloudwater Brew Co’s groundbreaking Wayfinder initiative, which saw Lily win a grant of £10,000 and a three-month term of support from the Cloudwater team, to work on a project that brings “lasting change to the craft beer industry”.
Taking Queer Brewing to the next level
“Working with Cloudwater as their first Wayfinder has been invaluable to the success of Queer Brewing,” said Lily. “Their guidance, experience, and advice has allowed me to take Queer Brewing to the next level, and to leave behind our role solely as collaborator, and to set out as a brewery in our own right.
“After the three months with the team, I’m now confident in not only the beers that we’re producing, but the direction in which we’re headed and the impact that that will have.”
Paul Jones, founder and director of Cloudwater, said: “When you design beer, you’re designing social experiences. Most of these have so far been centred on a narrow demographic, informed by the white, straight men that predominantly make up the industry.
“The future is Lily and people like her, who can conceive experiences beyond the craft beer’s self imposed constraints, to offer consumers new takes and transform people’s expectations both within and outside the industry.”
• The three new core beers are available to trade outlets now. They will available directly to consumers from 9am on Friday, 5th February, and sold via the Cloudwater online shop.
