Hertfordshire Ale Tapped at Parliament's Strangers' Bar
- Guild Secretary
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
One of Hertfordshire's best-selling ales has been served at Strangers' Bar in the Houses of Parliament, with MPs raising glasses to the local brew.
Side Pocket for a Toad, Tring Brewery's flagship beer, was nominated through the parliamentary Guest Beer initiative by Victoria Collins, MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
As part of the nomination, Tring Brewery beer sommelier Jared Ward was invited to Parliament for a tour of Westminster, and a tipple of 'Toad' at Strangers' Bar - Parliament's private pub.
Named according to Tring Brewery's theme of local legend, Side Pocket for a Toad takes its' title from an old-Hertfordshire saying which alludes to a sense of uselessness, akin to a 'chocolate tea pot'. Far from useless as a beverage, 'Side Pocket' celebrated a quarter-century of brewing last year and was proclaimed 'Hertfordshire Beer of the Year' at the St. Albans Beer and Cider Festival in November.
Strangers Bar and its' Thameside terrace are located within the Houses of Parliament, restricted to MPs, officers of Parliament and parliamentary staff. Members of the public may be admitted as guests of officials only.
Jared Ward, beer sommelier at Tring Brewery, commented on the occasion:
“To have Side Pocket for a Toad nominated for service at Westminster is truly historic. What started as an unconventional name and playful mascot twenty-five years ago, soon morphed into the brewery’s champion ale and remains top of the pack after all these years.
We’d like to thank Victoria Collins for her work in getting Tring ale into Strangers Bar. We relished the opportunity to tour the hallowed halls and chambers, and to prop up the bar at one the country’s most exclusive pubs. To have our local representative give us this platform is a very special moment indeed for Tring Brewery.”
As a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers, Jared was delighted to mentor Victoria in her Tring Brewery pint pouring – a task which Jared said the MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted ‘excelled in’.
Victoria Collins, LibDem MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, remarked:
“It has been great to be able to champion a brewery within the Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency in Tring Brewery. It was such fun to pour a pint of Side Pocket for a Toad in Strangers’ Bar. Here’s to supporting local.”
Tring Brewery’s parliamentary visit comes at a time when conversations in the beer industry are dominated by discussions concerning on-trade VAT relief, Market Access Review for independent brewers and consideration for Cask Beer to recognised as an asset of Intangible Cultural Heritage - with each topic raised by Jared at Strangers’ Bar.
Described as ‘Crisp, gold and hoppy’, Side Pocket for a Toad is a traditional Golden Ale, brewed with the finest US Cascade hops to a ‘session’ strength of 3.6%.
Though the Tring Brewery’s visit to the Houses of Parliament has concluded, Side Pocket for a Toad will continue to be served at Strangers’ Bar in weeks to come, with cellars stocked with four more casks of ‘Hertfordshire gold’.
Here’s to local ale poured at the heart of Westminster. Cheers!
Notes to Editor/An Introduction to Tring Brewery
Tring Brewery Co.
Tring Brewery Co, Dunsley Farm, London Road, Tring, Herts, HP23 6HA
01442 890721
Tagline: ‘Legendary Beer from Hertfordshire’
Business: Independent, Established 1992
Product offer: Independent cask ales, craft-keg beers and artisan lager
Production: 2M pints per annum
Distribution: Home-Counties (Herts, Beds, Bucks), Oxford, Reading, Cambridge, London, Essex + nationwide through our webshop and other online retailers
What makes Tring, Tring? “Each Tring beer is crafted with imagery and namesake of the historic home-counties, keeping a local tie with the land around us. This local tie is strengthened by our use of mineral rich water from the Chiltern Hills and finished with our signature house yeast strain, now thirty years old, imparting a local terroir to our portfolio of 15 core range beers along with monthly, seasonal and one-off specials.”
Customer introduction to Tring Brewery:
“Tring Brewery is an independent microbrewery based in Hertfordshire, established in 1992 by Richard Shardlow. Tring Brewery’s second director, Andrew Jackson, joined in the year 2000 as him and Richard set about crafting what is now our flagship beer, Side Pocket for a Toad. Side Pocket for a Toad is named after an old-Hertfordshire phrase for ‘something useless’ i.e. chocolate teapot!
At Tring Brewery, we are proud to produce beer that has been inspired by home-counties folklore both in namesake and imagery, crafted with premium hops and malted barley, blended with Chiltern Hills water before finishing with our signature house yeast strain.
Our brewhouse, today situated on the picturesque Dunsley Farm, has crafted quality ales for over thirty years, each made with a little local folklore.
Visit Tring Brewery to experience our welcoming on-site shop, brewery tours, food pairings and plenty of Legendary Beer from Hertfordshire!”
Useful Links/Further Reading
Our Beers: https://tringbrewery.co.uk/our-beers/
Food Matching Our Beers: https://tringbrewery.co.uk/food-matching/
Brewery Tours: https://tringbrewery.co.uk/tring-brewery-tours/
The Brewery Shop: https://tringbrewery.co.uk/about-the-shop/
The Piggeries Taproom and Courtyard FAQs: https://tringbrewery.co.uk/the-piggeries-taproom-faqs/
Charity Commitment: https://tringbrewery.co.uk/charity/
Images:
High-res images (DropBox): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/um7py9ck4gimpribn0og2/AAnbawXLXP4QlIQKfZSkU6c?rlkey=5v98h0pv2huqqfyciexpfx4f4&e=2&st=ol8js2o0&dl=0
For more information:
Jared Ward, Marketing & Communications
jared@tringbrewery.co.uk - 01442 890721
@TringBrewery on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
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