Two of Cornwall’s best-known companies, St Austell Brewery and the Eden Project, are creating a distinctive new craft beer to celebrate a far-reaching new partnership agreement.
Eden Pale Ale, a 4.8% Cornish, golden draught beer will be spiced with a hint of saffron and alecost, a natural herb that was used to flavour beers in the 16th Century and which is grown at Eden by the side of the world-famous Biomes.
The three-year sponsorship deal means that St Austell Brewery will have exclusive pouring rights on the Eden site at Bodelva. The companies are also developing joint marketing plans across a wide-range of activities.
Customers will have the first chance to taste a test brew of Eden Pale Ale at this year’s Royal Cornwall Show where it will be on sale at the St Austell Brewery Bar.
Eden Pale Ale will be brewed with a blend of British malts plus continental and new world hops and will be the first of a portfolio of Eden-inspired beers to be developed.
James Staughton, Managing Director of St Austell Brewery said: “We are delighted to be working with Eden on this exciting collaboration. It seems a very natural partnership between such close neighbours.
“Eden Pale Ale will be an excellent addition to our range in the exciting new craft beer market and we look forward to developing a selection of Eden-inspired beers using ingredients grown just down the road at the famous attraction. There is a growing interest in craft beers at the moment and having recently won a national award for Admiral’s Ale we hope that Eden Pale Ale will also go down well.”
Gaynor Coley, Executive Director of the Eden Project, said: “Eden and St Austell Brewery are raising a glass to what feels like a partnership that has been waiting to happen for a long time.
“The brewery is steeped in tradition, providing great beers and pubs at the heart of the community for more than 160 years, while we are the new kids on the block with just 12 years under our belt but over a million potential customers every year. One of our herbs is going into the first beer recipe to mark this collaboration and it promises to be a great taste of the productive future ahead.
“This will not only be to our mutual benefit, we will also be exploring a whole host of joint marketing activities and ways of working for the benefit of the wider business community.”
The first brew of Eden Pale Ale beer will be jointly launched by St Austell Brewery and the Eden Project at the Royal Cornwall Show on Friday June 7 at 11:30am, and will also be sold at the Eden Project Café in St Austell town centre.
Eden Pale Ale will be craft brewed in the style of an American west coast pale ale using Saaz and Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand, saffron spice as well as some of Eden’s homegrown alecost. The flavour is dry and crisp with clean bitterness and a zesty hop character.
Alecost (also known as costmary) was introduced to Britain from the Orient in the 16th century and was once a popular herb with gardeners and brewers, who used it to flavour beer prior to the use of hops. Also once widely prized for its medicinal properties, alecost is a sweet smelling, aromatic herb and its combination with the fruity hops will give the new beer a crisp, refreshing character.
The news comes after another of St Austell Brewery’s craft beers, Admiral’s Ale, scooped gold in the SIBA National Craft Beer in Keg category at the prestigious National SIBA BeerX 2013 competition.
To celebrate the relationship with the Eden Project, St Austell Brewery will be running a competition at the Show where visitors will have a chance to win a Brewery Tours, visits to the Eden Project plus tickets to this year’s Eden Sessions.
Notes to editors:
Images: L-R – Eden Project Co-founder, Sir Tim Smit; James Staughton, Managing Director of St Austell Brewery; Gaynor Coley, Executive Director of the Eden Project, and Roger Ryman, Head Brewer at St Austell Brewery.
St Austell Brewery (www.staustellbrewery.co.uk)
· With a large number of award wins under its belt, including, most recently, Best Drink, at the Food Reader Awards in 2013 and voted the licensees’ Regional Cask Ale of the Year at the Publicans’ Suppliers Awards 2012, its flagship Tribute Ale (4.2% ABV) is currently in the top five of the UK’s best selling premium cask ales.
· Founded in 1851, St Austell Brewery is known to be one of the oldest businesses in Cornwall.
· It is one of only 30 Independently Family Owned Brewers in the UK.
· The company owns over 170 pubs and inns across the South West.
· It is the South West’s largest wholesale distributor of beer, ciders, wines, spirits and soft drinks, serving more than 3,000 free trade accounts, from pubs, clubs, restaurants, hotels and other licensed outlets in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Bristol.
· The company employs up to 1,000 people including part-time and seasonal staff.
· The company brews five main cask ale beer brands: Tribute, Proper Job, Trelawny, Dartmoor Best and HSD. Korev Cornish Lager is also available on draught.
· The bottled beer range consists of HSD, Tribute, Proper Job, Admiral’s Ale, Trelawny, Smugglers Vintage Ale, Smugglers Grand Cru, Clouded Yellow wheat beer, 1913 Cornish Stout and Korev Cornish lager.
· The company markets its cask ales nationally.
· The company also distributes a full range of national brands of beers and minerals and a full range of wines and spirits under the Walter Hicks label.
· The company is a recognised centre of excellence for training, accredited by the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), offering a wide range of courses to people who work in the licensed trade.
About The Eden Project
· Eden Project Limited is owned by the Eden Trust, which is a fully registered UK Charity (No. 1093070).
· Since fully opening in March 2001, nearly 14 million people have visited Eden and it has generated £1.2 billion for the local economy.
· So far capital funding of £141.4 million to develop Eden has been raised from a combination of £55.5 million from the Millennium Commission Lottery Fund, £25 million from the South West Regional Development Agency, £26 million from European funds, £1 million from local and regional government (outside the RDA) and £33.9 million in the form of loans, lease finance and Eden’s own revenue generation.
· Immediate information may be obtained from our website: www.edenproject.com.
For further information, please contact:
Jeremy Mitchell
Director of Marketing & Communications Deborah Clark Associates
St Austell Brewery
Tel: 01726 627149
e-mail: Jeremy.Mitchell@
David Rowe
Head of Media Relations
Eden Project
01726 811901
07813 041923