Box Steam Brewery raised a glass of Tunnel Vision at the seat of Government yesterday, after local MP Duncan Hames selected the popular Wiltshire beer as the week’s guest ale at the House of Commons’ Strangers’ Bar.Tunnel Vision is a 4.2% ABV well-rounded light amber ale – clean tasting, with a slight bitterness on the finish. Master Brewer Philip Downes made the journey to London to share a pint with Duncan and the many MPs for whom the Strangers’ Bar is effectively their ‘local’.
Duncan Hames, MP for Chippenham, comments: “It has been a pleasure to bring this fine beer from my constituency to Westminster and introduce my colleagues to an authentic taste of Wiltshire.
“Box Steam Brewery is a real asset to our constituency, brewing wonderful craft beers, providing jobs for local people and supporting other businesses including the pubs that are at the heart of our local communities.”
Master Brewer Philip Downes comments: “We were delighted that Tunnel Vision was selected for the Strangers’ Bar and very grateful to Duncan and the team at the bar for making it happen. We’d like to think that a pint of Tunnel Vision may help inspire some of our politicians to come up with ground-breaking new policies, and we’re delighted that so many MPs are enjoying drinking it this week.”
Tunnel Vision was made available in the Strangers’ Bar as part of a scheme run by the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group and the Society of Independent Brewers, to which Box Steam Brewery belongs.
ENDS
ABOUT BOX STEAM BREWERY
Box Steam Brewery is an award-winning, independent family-owned craft brewer founded in Wiltshire in 2004 and based just outside Bath.
Master Brewer Philip Downes and his team craft ales using skills passed down through generations of brewers, carefully engineered by hand in the brewery’s steam copper to ensure quality and minimise impact on the environment.
We use the finest local ingredients. Our malt comes from Warminster Maltings (Britain’s oldest working maltings), and we use floor-malted Maris Otter barley – the traditional variety for brewing British Beer.
We only use whole hops in our brewing process, supplied by Charles Faram (hop merchants since 1865), which provide the unique characteristics of our premium quality ale. All of our beers are brewed with a pure strain of Traditional English Ale yeast.
Our ales are the genuine article; real beer for real people who appreciate true quality, character and distinction.
ABOUT SIBA AND THE ALL-PARTY PARLIAMENTARY BEER GROUP
The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) was founded in 1980 to represent the UK’s smaller, independent breweries. Today it has more than 700 brewer members, on whose behalf it lobbies at Westminster and in Europe. SIBA campaigned for the ‘penny in the pint’ reduction in beer duty introduced in the 2013 Budget – the first cut 1959.
The All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group organises meetings, receptions, briefings and other activities for around 400 supportive MPs and Peers. Its purpose is to promote understanding amongst Parliamentarians of the UK beer and pubs industries. The Group is supported by around 70 individual brewing and pub companies and by SIBA. An officially registered all-party parliamentary group, the Group is one of the largest industry groups at Westminster. The Group’s formal objectives are to promote the wholesomeness and enjoyment of beer and the unique role of the pub in United Kingdom society, to increase understanding of the social, cultural and historic role of brewing and pubs in the United Kingdom and their value to tourism, to broaden recognition of the contribution of brewing and pubs to employment and to the United Kingdom’s economy, to promote understanding of the social responsibility exercised by the brewing and pub industries, to support the United Kingdom’s brewing industry world-wide and to promote a positive future for beer and the pub.
Photo caption (Left to Right):
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Duncan Hames MP and Philip Downes (Box Steam Brewery) pictured in the Strangers’ Bar at the House of Commons.
For further information, please contact Andrew Tapscott (PR Manager) on 07760 473140 orpr@boxsteambrewery.com.