Jack Nowell with St Austell brewing director Roger Ryman (left) and chief executive James Staughton

 

Having just been drafted into the England Six Nations squad, Cornwall’s rugby union star and Royal National Lifeboat Institution ambassador, Jack Nowell, has put his name down again for a draught of an altogether different nature.

Cousin Jack ale has been brewed in collaboration with St Austell Brewery to raise funds for the RNLI, the charity that saves lives at sea.

A traditional English pale ale, it was first crafted on St Austell’s Small Batch by Jack alongside the company’s award-winning brewing team at the beginning of last year and was launched at Havener’s Bar & Grill, in Fowey, to coincide with the Six Nations rugby union championships.

St Austell Cousin JackThanks to the giant thirst of South West rugby fans during the competition, more than 100,000 pints of Cousin Jack Ale were sold, raising in excess of £6,350 for the RNLI through St Austell Brewery’s Charitable Trust, while the launch event itself raised over £2,000 for the Fowey lifeboat.

Following last year’s success, Jack and the brewery are looking to raise even more money for the RNLI in 2018. Jack said: “We raised a phenomenal amount last year and we’d all love to go even higher this year for the charity, so that whatever the outcome of the Six Nations, the RNLI will come out on top.”

St Austell brewing director, Roger Ryman, said: “With the strong connections that both we and Jack have with the RNLI, it always made perfect sense to cement our partnership with a brew that gave something back to the charity that is so important to the Cornish way of life.

“Our usual rugby-focused spring brew, Ruck & Roll, has always been popular, but adding Jack Nowell to the mix gave Cousin Jack a much bigger profile and allowed us to raise such a great total for the RNLI — here’s hoping we can do even better this year.”

Ellie Walker, community fundraising manager at the RNLI, added: “The RNLI is delighted that St Austell Brewery and Jack Nowell are supporting the charity again in such a fantastic way. Cousin Jack beer was hugely successful last year and an enjoyable venture for everyone involved.

“Jack is a great ambassador for the RNLI and St Austell Brewery. We’re very lucky to have their support and we’re very much looking forward to working with them again this year on Cousin Jack and other joint ventures.”

 


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