CAMRA and The Chiltern Brewery announce new Ruby Anniversary Ale Gift Packs to celebrate 40 years of the Good Beer Guide
Truly special occasions warrant very special endeavours. CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, celebrate the 40th year of their landmark publication, the unique and totally independent Good Beer Guide, when they release the 2013 edition on 13th September this year.
To celebrate this 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.
“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 was thrilled to be approached and 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. He 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.
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.
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 reserved now at http://www.chilternbrewery.co.uk/GBG40 and will be dispatched from mid-October. 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
Regional pubs of the year announced on September 13th