Rooster’s Celebrates Dual Sainsbury’s Listings

Sainsbury’s has added two beers from Rooster’s Brewing Co.’s line-up to its range of independent beers within a selection of the supermarket’s Northern stores. Yankee, the Harrogate-based brewery’s flagship pale ale (4.3%), first brewed over thirty years ago and named as a nod to being the first of its kind to use imported hops from the USA. Hazy Faced Assassin, a hazy IPA (5.7%) launched by Rooster’s in May this year has also been selected in 440ml cans. 

The dual listing not only reflects Rooster’s continued innovation but also celebrates over three decades of brewing excellence. Founded in 1993, at a time when brown, malt-heavy ales dominated the market, Rooster’s helped redefine British beer with Yankee proving to become a pioneering pale ale that introduced drinkers to the bright, citrus-forward character of American hops. 

The launch of Yankee in 500ml bottles across 26 selected stores in Yorkshire takes the Harrogate based brewery back to its roots, as it marks Rooster’s return to the package type for the first time in nearly a decade, with the brewery having been one of the first in the country to install a canning line back in 2014.

At 5.7% ABV, Hazy-Faced Assassin is a crushable, flavour-forward IPA that punches well above its weight. Brewed with a bold blend of Citra, Galaxy and Mosaic hops, it delivers a tropical hit, with standout notes of mango and peach. True to its namesake, Rooster’s flagship IPA, Baby-Faced Assassin, the new addition to the brewery’s line-up is also ‘deceptively drinkable, not to be taken lightly.’ Both gluten-free and vegan-friendly, the beer has already found success within Morrisons, Co-op and ASDA, who were quick to include the beer within their respective craft ranges.

“We’re proud to have both Yankee and Hazy-Faced Assassin sitting side by side in Sainsbury’s,” said Tom Fozard, Rooster’s Commercial Director. “Yankee is where our story began; over thirty years since it was first brewed it continues to be a very sought-after beer in all pack types. Equally, but for very different reasons, Hazy Faced Assassin is very much a beer of the here and now, so its particularly pleasing both have been selected side by side. Both beers embody our love of hops and unwavering devotion to brewing fantastic pale ales and IPAs.”

Ends

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-of-theart 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 or

01423 222312 

Third-party news items that are posted on the Guild website come from press releases and emails received by the Guild. These are posted as they have been received. Their publication on the Guild website is an informational service only and is neither an endorsement of the content, nor its sender, by the Guild. For enquiries, please use the contact details that can be found at the bottom of each post.