Majestea is the new commemorative ale from Surrey-based Hogs Back Brewery.
Brewed to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Majestea is based on T.E.A. (Traditional English Ale), Hogs Back’s multi-award winning flagship ale, a favourite of cask conditioned ale drinkers throughout the UK.
Majestea will be 5.2% ABV, as against T.E.A’s 4.2% ABV.
Rupert Thompson, joint owner of Hog’s Back Brewery, comments:
“T.E.A. is the proud winner of many awards, including Supreme Champion Winter Beer of Britain at the CAMRA British Beer Festival and Gold Medal for Best Bitter, so we wanted to use its recipe as the base for our special Jubilee ale. Majestea has used exactly the same ingredients but in different proportions. The flavour profile of both beers is generously honeyed and floral, with a refreshing citrus element, but Majestea’s extra hopping has added exotic hints of mango as well. ”
Majestea will be available in bottle in the south east through Majestic (22 stores), Oddbins (20) and Waitrose (18) at around £1.95 a bottle, and in cask it will be available all over Britain.
Hogs Back’s brewster, Mo Zeiher, comments:
“Majestea is a very regal dark corgi colour, with a rather fruity hoppy bite. Our brewery uses no imported barley or hops, so creating a 100% British ale for the Jubilee was second nature to us. For Majestea, we have used 100% English Fuggles from the neighbouring Hampton estate (www.hamptonestate.co.uk/hops.html) just across the Hogsback Road. Theirs are exceptionally good hops, with about 5.2% alpha acid in them and packed with those vital essential oils so necessary for our premium ales. They give the floral notes I wanted for Majestea with a seductive citric/mango element and Fuggles’s legendary earthy notes as background. Our cereals are English Pearl pale malt for its honeyed sweetness, with crystal for its caramel and a low level of malted wheat for its head retention qualities.”
Both T.E.A and Majestea are 100% Fuggles – an English hop stalwart bred in 1875 when Queen Victoria was on the British throne.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The Hogs Back Brewery is an independent brewery based in Tongham, Surrey. The original brewhouse was part of the complex of 18th century farm barns which house the brewery today. It originally took its name from the ancient roadway and trading route between Guildford and Farnham, the Hog’s Back, today less romantically known as the A31.
The brewery was established in 1992 by Martin Zillwood-Hunt and Anthony Stanton Precious. Previously, Martin had had his own courier company, whereas Tony was a Land Surveyor/ Cartographer.
From January 2012, Rupert Thompson, former chief executive of Refresh UK, one-time owners of Wychwood Brewery, is the new chairman of Hogs Back Brewery after acquiring the interest of Anthony Stanton-Precious.
Hogs Back supplies over 1,000 outlets in its South East heartland.
17th May 2012