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8th November 2012

Protz gets bottling to celebrate 40 years of guide

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Good Beer Guide Anniversary Ruby Ale Pack is the Perfect Christmas Gift

The Ruby Anniversary Ale Gift Pack CAMRA and The Chiltern Brewery recently launched to celebrate 40 years of the Good Beer Guide is now bottled and ready to go. Described by Roger Protz as “superb and amazingly complex” the pack makes an ideal gift for Christmas which can be enjoyed over the festive period or laid down to improve with age for a later date.

To celebrate the momentous occasion and milestone in the history of the organization in true style, CAMRA approached The Chiltern Brewery, the oldest craft brewery in Buckinghamshire and The Chiltern Hills, to brew a special one-off bottle-conditioned beer in a fabulous limited edition gift pack.

Head Brewer, Tom Jenkinson, was thrilled to be approached by CAMRA and worked on the concept with the help of award winning beer writer and editor of the Good Beer Guide, Roger Protz, both of whom wanted a strong beer that could be laid down as well as drunk young and one whose recipe reflected the significance of the occasion. “The result is no ordinary run-of-the-mill offering, but something truly special to make your mouth water” says Head Brewer Tom Jenkinson, who leapt at the opportunity to brew this commemorative beer. “I have taken my inspiration from the history of brewing, using ingredients both ancient and modern, and the chance to showcase the best of British hops and grains to create a fabulous rich Ruby Anniversary Ale” says Tom. In a recent tasting, Roger Protz described the beer as “superb and amazingly complex, a beer that will also improve with ageing.”

 

This true gem of a beer blends Maris Otter barley malt, widely used in the 1980’s and still the preferred grain of many craft brewers, with more modern varieties and with a fine selection of English hops from across the years, including Fuggles, Goldings, Whitbread Goldings Variety, Challenger and Pioneer. The result is a creamy smooth rich balanced malt base with hints of roast barley, full flavoured and hoppy, and claret red in colour.

 

The limited edition gift packs in beautifully distinctive and original packaging contain 5 x 500ml bottles, one to reflect each decade of the Good Beer Guide and one for the decade ahead, with a lovely unique commemorative half pint stemmed and lined glass and a numbered Certificate of Authenticity, signed by Tom and Roger, in each pack.

 

The Good Beer Guide features over 4,500 pubs in rural and urban areas and is the work of more than 143,000 members over the course of a year. It is totally independent and pubs do not pay to be included.

 

The strength of this wonderful bottle conditioned ale is 7.2% ABV which means that it needs a long conditioning period. It is on sale and can be ordered now at http://www.chilternbrewery.co.uk/GBG40 for immediate dispatch. The gift pack can also be ordered for collection direct from the Brewery Shop. A £1 royalty is paid to CAMRA for the sale of each box.

 

It is 200 years since dark ales had their heyday and their return to popularity is long overdue added Tom.

 

Contact details for further information:

 

The Chiltern Brewery Press

Sally Dorling Marketing Foods

sally@marketingfoods.co.uk 01844 202884

 

CAMRA Press Manager Jon Howard 07939 425471

Please purchase your copy of the Good Beer Guide from www.camra.org.uk/shop