Thousand Yard Stare, a new hazy pale ale from Harrogate-based Rooster’s Brewing Company, is making its retail debut in Waitrose this month.
Named after the phrase coined to describe the unfocused gaze of a battle-weary soldier, Thousand Yard Stare is a light, full-flavoured, beer with an intense tropical fruit nose. Like many of Rooster’s beers, the 5.4% ABV beer is vegan friendly and also gluten free. It joins multi-award-winning Rooster’s IPA Baby Faced Assassin on the Waitrose shelves.
Ian Fozard, director at Rooster’s Brewing Company, said: “Thousand Yard Stare was initially conceived and developed over last year’s lockdowns and it represents a number of firsts for us as a brewery, with it being the first time we’ve created a beer in this style and used a Stateside hop called Ekuanot, which is known for bringing a complex array of fruity aromas and flavours to the palate.
“It’s fantastic that Waitrose has moved so quickly to champion this new beer and is testament to the incredible efforts of the whole Rooster’s team in maintaining the brand’s pioneering, forward-thinking approach to brewing beers over what has been a challenging 12 months for everybody.”
Louise Witchell, Waitrose’s buyer for beer and cider, added: “We’re thrilled to be the first UK retailer to launch this exciting new beer into the Waitrose range, alongside Rooster’s popular Baby-Faced Assassin IPA. Rooster’s focus on creating award-winning quality beers makes them a great partner for Waitrose.”
To support the launch of Thousand Yard Stare, Rooster’s tasked beer fans to come up with a catchy advertising slogan, as part of a social media competition. Beer. Face. Taste. — a riff on the government’s Hands. Face. Space. campaign strapline — was eventually crowned the best of a brilliant crop of entries (pictured above). The winner, Michael Brown, from Gateshead, received a unique print of his slogan and the opportunity to see it mocked up and plastered on virtual billboards across New York City.
Thousand Yard Stare is the latest in a series of new releases to come out of the brewery in recent months, with Rooster’s using much of the three lockdown periods to conceive and develop a range of fresh brews.
In April, Rooster’s unveiled Wild Wild Life (7.4% ABV), the first bottle-conditioned release from its Barrel-Aged Project, delivering all the rustic and spicy, Belgium-style farmhouse notes you’d expect from a classic saison that has been soured and left to mature in French Pinot Noir barrels for nine months.
The pioneering brewery is also experiencing strong demand for its recently released My Name Is Øl (6.3% ABV), a juicy and upfront IPA brewed using the fast-fermenting Norwegian yeast strain Kveik, which delivers a resinous and moreish hop hit of pine, gooseberry, mango, and fresh grapefruit.
The start of the year also saw Rooster’s release Strength In Numbers (7% ABV), a resinous West Coast IPA bursting with piney and citrus fruit hoppiness, balanced against a strong, chewy malt backbone, and with a moreish bitterness.
• All of the above beers are available through Rooster’s online shop.
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