Rooster’s Brewing Co. is celebrating the listing of its highly decorated flagship IPA, Baby-Faced Assassin, which was recently selected in 440ml cans to form part of a new regional craft beer initiative being trialled by Sainsbury’s. Now available in 50 stores across Yorkshire and the North East, the news is the latest feather in the cap for the Harrogate-based brewery and marks the continued success of one of the most widely recognised independently brewed IPAs in the UK.
First launched in can in December 2014, one of the first beers to be canned by an independent craft brewery in the UK at the time, Baby-Faced Assassin has since become a stand out beer for Rooster’s. A single hop Citra IPA, Baby-Faced Assassin has won an enviable number of awards in the years since, with a gold medal in the small pack category at the prestigious International Brewing Awards being chief among them.
The American-style IPA has also become the brewery’s biggest-selling small pack product and is currently stocked nationally by both Morrison’s and ASDA in 440ml cans, with the latter also stocking the beer in 330ml four packs since April 2024.
Speaking of the news, Ian Galbraith, Rooster’s Sales Director said: “We are excited to be working with the Sainsbury’s team as they trial regional craft beer. We are also, rightly, proud of Baby-Faced Assassin as a flagship beer for us and one of the torch bearers for UK craft. Distribution in the north shows recognition for the quality of the brand and will see B-FA being picked up and enjoyed by Sainsbury’s shoppers for the first time.”
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For further information, please contact Tom Fozard on tom@roosters.co.uk
Rooster’s Brewing Co. www.roosters.co.uk
Notes to Editors
About Rooster’s Brewing Company
Rooster’s Brewing Co. has always been an independent, family-run brewery, focussed on creating quality new world pale ales, with an emphasis on flavour and aroma.
It was established in 1993 by the pioneering brewer Sean Franklin, who developed a new style of beer that had, up to that point, never been tried in the UK before. At a time when most breweries were taking flavour out, Sean was trying to put more in, using imported flavourful hops from the west coast of America.
His pioneering and innovative approach began to turn heads, with Rooster’s flavour-packed beers standing out in a sea of brown beer – with its flagship pale ale, Yankee, leading the way. The awards began to pour in, with Rooster’s beers winning gold medals at the biggest and most renowned international and national beer awards.
Having won pretty much everything there was to win, in 2011 Sean decided to retire and chose to sell the brewery to Ian Fozard and his sons, Tom and Oliver, in a move that ensured Rooster’s would remain a family-owned brewery.
Ian has had an affinity with beer for over forty years, having been an active member of CAMRA since the 1970s and the founder of Market Town Taverns, which grew into a portfolio of 15 bars and pubs across Yorkshire.
Oliver, who has been brewing professionally since 2000, became the head brewer at Rooster’s, and Tom, also an active brewer, became the company’s commercial director. Oliver was awarded Brewer of the Year in December 2020 by the British Guild of Beer Writers.
In 2018, it became clear that Rooster’s was rapidly outgrowing its site in Knaresborough and in 2019 the decision was made to invest in a new state-of-the-art brewery and taproom. Finding the right location, that offered Rooster’s the opportunity to become part of the fabric of the local community wasn’t easy, but the team were delighted when the perfect space became available at Hornbeam Park in Harrogate. Over the course of 2019 and the early part of January 2020, the company created a bespoke, state-ofthe-art facility that it now calls home, in a move that saw it return to the town where Rooster’s was first started some twenty-seven years earlier.
For further information, please contact Tom Fozard on tom@roosters.co.uk
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