Davenports Brewery, a great Birmingham brewing and pub company, raised a glass of its popular Gold Ale at the seat of Government yesterday, after local MP the Rt Hon John Spellar, chose it as the week’s guest ale in the Strangers’ Bar, sited inside the House of Commons.
The beer, a light golden, modern English cask ale, with a white creamy head is 3.9% and described as refreshing with a hoppy, grapefruit aroma leading to a gloriously balanced and citrusy finish. The Gold Ale was enjoyed by the many MPs and other parliamentarians for whom the Strangers’ Bar is effectively their ‘local’, whilst other invited guests to include local dignitaries, industry representatives from CAMRA and SIBA as well as Davenports staff also joined the drinks reception at the prestigious venue. Paran Sandhu, Head Brewer for Davenports, also made the journey to London to share a pint with the Rt Hon John Spellar MP.
John Spellar MP said; “It has been a pleasure to bring this fine beer from my constituency to Westminster and introduce my colleagues in Westminster to a taste of Davenports Brewery. The company was established in 1829, and over the years has helped shape the culture not just of the brewing industry, but also of Birmingham itself.”
“Davenports Brewery is a real asset to our constituency, brewing wonderful craft beers, providing jobs for local people – not just within the brewing company, but in their network of pubs that are at the heart of our communities.”
Baron Wayne Davenport said, “We were delighted that Gold Ale was selected for the Strangers’ Bar and grateful to the Rt Hon John Spellar, and the team at the bar for making it happen. We’re very proud of our beers and this was a great opportunity to spread the word about them beyond our usual area of trading.”
He added, “We’d love to think that a pint of Gold Ale may have inspired some of our politicians to dream up ground-breaking new policies, but we are nonetheless delighted that so many MPs enjoyed drinking it.”
Gold Ale 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 (SIBA), to which Davenports Brewery belongs.
Baron Wayne Davenport added, “Since 1829, Davenports has been pioneering – not just within the brewing industry, but pioneering technology, recycling – recycling 12,000 bottles per hour in the 1930’s and continues today to be an active supporter of the communities we serve via our pubs. It is such an honour to have our brand present in such a prestigious venue.”
-ends-
Notes to editor:
- 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 since 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.
Press release from Davenports Brewery
For further information, Katie McPhilimey Katie.mcphilimey@davenports.co.uk