Greene King Brewery is launching two seasonal brews for September as the industry gets set to celebrate Cask Ale Week later this month.
The first is a new seasonal, Watch Room, which has been inspired by a part of the brewery’s heritage. The 4.3% ABV golden ale is a juicy and tropical brew, bursting with fruit flavours of pear, watermelon, mango, and pineapple.
The name is a nod to Greene King’s own fire brigade, formed in 1888 and disbanded in 1997. The Westgate Brewery Fire Brigade played an important role during the war years to fight fires during raids on the town. In more recent times, it was there to protect the brewery and its local public houses.
Greene King has collected many artifacts over the last 300 years, including images and clothing items used by the fire brigade volunteers throughout its time.
As part of the creation of Watch Room, Greene King enlisted the help of the previous fire chief for the Westgate Brewery brigade, the late Brian Crack, to design a beer that commemorated his service and also included his favourite flavours. Following a discussion with Brian, the brewing team crafted a golden ale to match his preference of a lighter beer, with low bitterness and a hint of sweetness. Watch Room was the end product, hopped with El Dorado, Kohatu and Azacca.
The other seasonal is a returning favourite, Bonkers Conkers (4.1% ABV). Brewed with several hop varieties, it’s a complex beer, ideal for the start of the autumn months, with fruit aromas set against biscuity malt that adds body and warmth to the beer. There are also fragrant notes of blackcurrant, lemon, and orange.
“Watch Room is a brilliant example of storytelling through our beers, and paying tribute to our history and our brilliant people that make us proud,” said head brewer Jack Palmer. “It was a pleasure to create something for Brian as a thank you for his time spent volunteering in our fire brigade service.
“Watch Room is a delicious fruity beer and a great addition to the bar as guests try to capture those last moments of summer, and so it’s great to have a limited-time beer available as pubs start to look at changing their range for a new season.
“Bonkers Conkers has been a much-loved beer for many years, and it had great success in the calendar last year, so we felt it right to bring it back for such a key month for cask. We are excited to celebrate Cask Ale Week this year and we have many activations taking place in our pubs, brewery, and also with our customers, so we encourage pubs to get behind it too and inspire people to enjoy a pint, or sample, of cask ale.”
