Watneys has launched a new range of beers in celebration of the lighter side of life, balancing the serious craft credentials of the beers with the importance of sharing a pint and a joke with friends while enjoying the many different things that make us laugh.
Named Sarcasm, Slapstick, and Irony, the three-strong Headliners range launches in September and features a Citrus Pale Ale, Double IPA and Craft Lager in keg and can. The launch will be supported this autumn with a Pop-up Stand-up campaign, which will see surprise gigs in pubs and bars by some of the UK’s best up-and-coming comedy talent.
Nick Whitehurst, managing director of Brands Reunited, which returned the Watneys brand to the bar in 2016, says, “We love a good time down the pub with our mates, and we love craft beer – but beard oil and Birkenstocks is really not us. So we’ve created three premium beers for laid-back laughter lovers who want to enjoy the flavours of craft beer but don’t necessarily buy into the full-on hipster experience.
“There’s a real opportunity to bring a broader range of beer drinkers into the craft category by making it more accessible, so with our Headliners beers we’re celebrating all the funny things that make us laugh, and different styles of humour. We all know a sarcastic mate, an ironic uncle, or someone who is always playing the joker, who we enjoy spending time with.
“Don’t get us wrong – these beers are great, but we know there’s much more to life. Drinkers appreciate a great beer as part of the experience of having a laugh and spending time with mates.”
The three Headliners beers are:
- Sarcasm Citrus Pale Ale 4.5% ABV
- Slapstick Double IPA 7.5% ABV
- Irony Craft Lager 4.6% ABV
The range will be available to pubs and bars in kegs and cans, with the cans also available to order online at www.watneys-beer.com. The cans will feature tasting notes which take a more tongue-in-cheek approach than many craft brewers. Watneys beers are brewed at Sambrook’s Brewery in Wandsworth, continuing the Watneys tradition of brewing in London dating back to 1837.
Watneys will be taking the Pop Up Stand Up tour to a range of pubs and bars, with venues to be announced. Licensees interested in stocking the Watneys Headliners range should contact cheers@watneys-beer.com.
Ends
Issued on behalf of: Brands Reunited
By: ShielPorter Communications
Further information: John Porter: john@shielporter.com / 07734 054389
Ros Shiel: ros@shielporter.com / 07841 694137
Notes to editors:
- Brands Reunited was launched in 2015, to bring heritage brands back to the craft market. The old recipes are gone, and replaced with beers for today’s drinker. Home Ales launched in 2015, and Watneys in 2016.
- Watneys, once the UK’s biggest beer brand, fell on hard times in the 70s and 80s as the beer market was homogenised by merger after merger. Watneys is now back with beers including Watneys Pale Ale and Watneys IPA – and it tastes nothing like it used to!
The on-can tasting notes for the Headliners range are:
- Sarcasm Citrus Pale Ale 4.5% ABV: “Oh God! Here we go. Stand-by for a bunch of hipster guff about how this is the perfect fruity juicy combo of Mandarina Bavaria and Amarillo hops, blah blah, thirst quenching citrus frickin’ pale gold ale. With a surprising subtle sweetness, no doubt. Yada yada. Notes of grapefruit, melon and apricot. And a zesty orange finish. See, told you so. *Eye roll*”
- Slapstick Double IPA 7.5% ABV: “Give it a bit of the old Mr Bean. Strap on some roller skates and enjoy this clean crisp, floral and tropically fruity West Coast inspired DIPA, lovingly crafted with Chinook, Citra and Mosaic hops. Savour its piney bitterness and gentle malty sweetness as you carelessly cross the lightly-oiled Teflon floor of a ball bearing factory. Blindfolded. At night. In a power cut.”
- Irony Craft Lager 4.6% ABV: “Craft? Lager? Isn’t it ironic? Erm, no. People can be so sniffy about lager. Even this crisp, delicate, refreshingly refined, über-drinkable, Kölsch-style stunner. With a super satisfying citrus kick thanks to Lemondrop hops. “Lager’s so mainstream,” they bleat. So tell them this. You can’t spell ‘mainstream’ without all the letters in ‘artisan’.”