The Keltek Brewery in Redruth is delighted to announce that another of their Cornish real ales can now be referred to as ‘Award Winning’ after scooping a prize at the 18th SIBA South West Beer Competition at Tucker’s Maltings in Newton Abbott.

Mike Carter of Keltek Brewery

Over 300 different ales from all over the South West were entered into the competition, and ‘Beheaded 7.6%’ - Keltek’s strongest ale – took bronze prize in the Strong Cask Ale category.

Andrew Hawken, Keltek’s General Manager said, “We’re delighted that Beheaded has won this award. It is often the first beer to run out at beer festivals and it is great for it to get official recognition.”

“We work really hard to maintain the tradition of hand crafting our real ale, and we’ve stuck with it despite the vast increase in our production over the last couple of years. We still pitch and mix in the malt by hand, and only use whole hop flowers in our beers – not high-yielding processed hop pellets or industrial hop oils. I think that’s why we’ve won so many awards over the years.”

Beheaded – which is now available in bottles - joins Regional Champions ‘Golden Lance’, ‘Magik’ and ‘4K Mild’, and the National Grand Champion ‘King’ in Keltek’s repertoire of award winning beers.

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Cornish beer icon Betty Stogs has doubled “her” money in 12 hectic months of colourful fund-raising for charity.

Named after its best-selling beer, the figurehead of Truro-based Skinners Brewery has raised a mammoth £5,000-plus over the past year - equal to the previous two years put together.

Betty, aka 44-year-old agricultural sales representative Fred Thomas, originally signed up to help Skinners celebrate their tenth anniversary in 2007. Dressed as a woman, his character has since become a fund-raising phenomenon and an increasingly well-known figure at popular events across the county.

These have included Falmouth Carnival, when his two-and-a-half gallon bucket was filled to the brim with the event’s biggest individual collection, contributing to a total of £1,500 collected during the big parade.

At Newquay’s Lusty Glaze Beach, Fred claimed a new “world record” for the longest zip wire journey, raising around £1,600 for the multiple sclerosis Merlin Project through sponsorship.

Other highlights for Fred have included Falmouth’s beer, oyster and sea shanty festivals. Biggest beneficiaries have been the RNLI and the Children’s Hospice South West Precious Lives Appeal.

“It’s a win-win situation all round,” he says. “I enjoy doing it, I make a lot of people laugh, and at the end of it all charities are benefiting.”

A lot of it is thirsty work, as he explains: “For the likes of Sport Relief, when I ran four miles at two events on the same day, I can lose a bit of weight on the road and then promptly put it back on again with a pint or two of Betty Stogs afterwards! So that’s what I call a give-and-take scenario.”

He adds: “I get some kidding at work and I don’t necessarily enjoy dressing up as a woman quite as much as some people seem to think I do, but there’s no denying that it is good fun all round, which can’t be a bad thing!”

Brewery chief executive Steve Skinner comments: “Fred just gets better and better. There’s nobody more skilled at persuading people to put money into a charity collection bucket. He’s a great character and a real inspiration to everyone around him. I feel sure he will raise even more money in the coming year.”

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Cheddar Ales, a microbrewery based in Cheddar village, has recently brewed its millionth pint.

“It’s a big milestone for us” says Head Brewer Jem Ham, “We’ve come a long way in a relatively short time, under some fairly challenging trading conditions.” Around this time three years ago the brewery was only a few months old and was producing around 3,000 pints a week. Since then it has battled increasing taxes, cheap supermarket booze, closing pubs and, along with everyone else, the recession. But despite these challenges, Cheddar Ales is thriving, having more than doubled its output since 2006 to around 8,000 pints a week. Its beers are now a regular fixture in many pubs in the county and it has a strong following among local beer drinkers, to whom Jem is very grateful, “We would like to thank everyone who has supported us through these early years, for their good taste, positivity and ongoing support.”

The quality of the brewery’s output has also often attracted attention from outside the area, and the brewery has become something of an awards-magnet, culminating last year in its first international prize – a gold medal for its bottled porter, Totty Pot. “It’s nice for us to receive such recognition,” says Jem, “but where these awards really help is in making people realise that produce from their local area can be world-class.” And it is still very much the local market that Cheddar Ales is interested in, with no plans to expand beyond Somerset at the moment. “We’ve sold a million pints in the area now, but that really is just a fraction of what we can achieve here. We’re happy to stay local, keep our standards high and wait for more people to discover us.”

One of the best ways to get to know more about Cheddar Ales is by visiting its annual beer festival, held at the brewery in June. It’s a great opportunity to meet the team and to have a look around the brewery itself. On offer will be a range of the brewery’s own beers, including its elusive special brews, and around 40 beers from other microbreweries around the UK. As you would expect from a brewery so focussed on quality, the team cherry-pick the most prized beers they can source, to provide a best of British showcase of real ale. “Last year was our first attempt at a beer festival and it went really well. We had almost a thousand people visit us over the weekend and they practically drank us dry. This year we’re looking to improve it further, with more entertainment, more fun for families and a wider range of drinks. It’ll be bigger, better and beerier than ever before, and hopefully should set us well on our way to brewing our next millionth pint”.

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Cornish beer icon Betty Stogs, aka Fred Thomas, who will complete the final lap of the Rally4Haiti students’ fund-raising multi-athlon event in Cornwall

Cornish beer icon Betty Stogs, aka Fred Thomas, will do his own “Olympic torch” act in the grand finale to a multi-athlon event by students aiming to raise at least £10,000 for the ShelterBox disaster relief charity.

Over the weekend of May 8-9, some 50 students will run, walk, swim, sail, cycle and kayak their way around the Cornish coastline and overland, starting and finishing at Falmouth in “Rally4Haiti.”

Their circumnavigation of Cornwall will be spread over 17 legs. The last one will be a sail back from St Mawes to Falmouth’s Prince of Wales Pier.

Waiting at the pier will be “Betty” – figurehead for Truro-based Skinners Brewery – who will take over from the students and run through the town to The Front bar, where there will be a special finish ceremony followed by a big party for participants, supporters and spectators.

A baton – in the form of a bottle of Betty Stogs ale – will be carried throughout the rally, being handed over to Fred for the final lap through the town.

The bottle will be dipped in resin and securely stowed in the base of a backpack for the duration – but there will be a secondary baton riding in a support vehicle, just in case.

Rally4Haiti logo

For the celebration party, Skinners are donating three casks of Betty Stogs beer and The Front will give £1 to Rally4Haiti from every pint of Betty Stogs sold. An 18-pint Skinners voucher will be auctioned, with all proceeds to the charity.

Rally articipants will be followed through software provided by Viewranger that will enable them to navigate on their phones and support crew and other observers to track progress with the aid of a Betty Stogs icon.

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The new Handstand Appeal rugby shirt, sponsored by Skinners Brewery, is launched by Phil Vickery and modelled by two-year-old Marshall Janson and his parents

Former England captain and World Cup winner Phil Vickery has helped launch a new charity rugby shirt sponsored by Skinners Brewery.

It has been created in support of the Handstand Appeal for two-year-old Cornish meningitis victim Marshall Janson.

The new shirt will be sold alongside the Handstand Appeal’s original rugby shirt, also sponsored by Skinners, which was launched in February and sold out almost immediately.

Marshall and his Mum and Dad, Stephanie and Moss, met Phil to launch the new shirt which Phil’s clothing company, Raging Bull, is manufacturing on behalf of the appeal.

“It was such a pleasure to meet Phil and he was so kind to Marshall. He gave him two special little shirts of his own,” said Stephanie.

Appeal co-ordinator Gerry Reilly recalled: “Phil has supported the Handstand Appeal since it was set up and Raging Bull provided the kit for the Handstand Harlequins when they made their first appearance at the Penryn Sevens Tournament last year.”

“We needed a second shirt because we have two teams representing the Handstand Harlequins taking part in this year’s Penryn Sevens.”

“Raging Bull” Phil commented: “I think the Handstand Appeal is doing a great job in raising funds to help Marshall and also helping to raise awareness about meningitis. As a dad, I know that meningitis is every parent’s worst nightmare. Marshall is a very brave little boy and it was a great pleasure to finally meet him.”

Both the Handstand rugby shirts are available, priced £39.95, through Lovell Rugby www.lovellrugby.co.uk.

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Meningitis victim Marshall Janson with mum and dad, Stephanie and Moss, meet some of the biggest names in the rugby and entertainment worlds. Rick Stein and Matt Dawson hold the Handstand Appeal rugby shirt, flanked by Simon Easterby, left, and Keith Wood. They met prior to the “Evening With Rick Stein,” which raised £12,000 for Redruth Rugby Youth Development and the Handstand Appeal in aid of Marshal.

Rugby shirts sponsored by Cornwall’s Skinners Brewery helped raised £12,000 in a mammoth fund-raising event in aid of rugby at Redruth and a little boy facing a lifetime of struggle.

Some of the game’s biggest names attended a black tie dinner for 180 people at the Royal Cornwall Showground in aid of Redruth Rugby Club Youth Development and the Handstand Appeal for two-year-old meningitis victim Marshall Janson.

The meal was prepared by Rick Stein’s team of chefs from The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow and the gala event was compered by Matt Dawson, the former England and British Lions star and current BBC “Question of Sport” captain. Matt was joined by rugby legends Keith Wood, Simon Easterby and Nick Beal.

Eighteen of the Handstand rugby shirts sponsored by Skinners Brewery as part of a three-year support package were auctioned along with 18 signed rugby balls, together raising £1,895. The shirt has been created for the Appeal’s own rugby team.

Ahead of the big dinner, Marshall and his parents met the rugby celebrities and Rick Stein in his restaurant.

Rick declared: “One of the most courageous youngsters I know of is Marshall Janson. He’s a local Cornish boy and faces a lifetime of struggle. I am personally delighted to be involved in supporting this inspiring little boy.”

Marshal has lost both his hands and both his legs. He has been “adopted” by the Redruth club and elected honorary junior vice president.

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Martin Clunes with chief executive Steve Skinner at Skinners Brewery, Truro, during the TV star's visit to Cornwall to help promote a campaign to raise awareness about meningitis

Britain’s best-known fictional doctor called in on Skinners Brewery at Truro during a visit to Cornwall to help promote a campaign to raise awareness about meningitis.

Martin Clunes – TV’s Doc Martin – had earlier been to Bosvigo School, where he helped launch “Colour My Friday,” a joint campaign by the Handstand Appeal and Meningitis UK.

Handstand has been set up for two-year-old meningitis victim Marshall Janson who, together with his mum and dad, joined Martin in the Skinners tour.

Accompanied by chief executive Steve Skinner, Martin pulled a pint of Handstand Hooch, the special limited edition beer Skinners are producing on behalf of the appeal. He was presented with a case of bottled Handstand Hooch by Steve and his sales manager, Stuart Hughes.

Martin also signed two Handstand rugby shirts, which Skinners are sponsoring for the next three years. The signed shirts will be auctioned to raise money for the appeal.

Martin Clunes at Skinners Brewery, Truro, with chief executive Steve Skinner (centre) and sales manager Stuart Hughes, during the TV star's visit to Cornwall to help promote a campaign to raise awareness about meningitis

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Taken from:  The Brewing Network

“The Brewing Network, a live web radio show in the US, with some 30,000 listeners, and 100,000 downloads per podcast featured SIBA Member Moor Beer from Somerset this past week”

In our annual pre-game show for Superbowl Sunday we welcome a wonderful UK brewery to the studio, Moor Beer Company. What better way to celebrate an American tradition than with Europeans! We talk about real ale, cask conditioning, and how Moor’s brewmaster Justin Hawke is able to infuse new American styles with traditional English beer. Phil from Beer Merchants joins us too and we get to try beer from 1985! It’s better than a new pair of nutters.

Click here for the link to the MP3

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APPEALING SHIRTS. Marshall Janson and parents Moss Janson and Stephanie Harris are joined by Redruth rugby skipper Darren Jacques at the unveiling of the Handstand Appeal shirt

Skinners Brewery has lent more support for a two-year-old meningitis victim with sponsorship of new rugby shirts to be worn by a team created to help raise funds for him.

The Handstand Harlequins will play charity matches in aid of Marshall Janson, of Carharrack in Cornwall, who has had both his hands and both his legs amputated.

The Handstand Appeal is raising money to buy prosthetic limbs for Marshall, who has been “adopted” by Redruth Rugby Club. Stars of the club’s first team formally unveiled the new shirts, which are part of a three-year sponsorship package agreed with Truro-based Skinners.

As well as the shirt sponsorship, Skinners are also producing a limited edition beer every year over their three-year sponsorship period. The first, Handstand Hooch, went on sale recently.

021 – APPEALING SHIRTS. Pictured at the unveiling of the Handstand Appeal shirt are Marshall Janson and parents Moss Janson and Stephanie Harris, with Redruth rugby players, left to right, standing, Mark Bright and Richard Carroll, and, kneeling, Darren Jacques and Sam Heard

The new shirt, priced £39.95, is now on sale in the Skinners Brewery Shop in Truro and through distributors Lovell Rugby (www.lovellrugby.co.uk) and at the “Red Shop” at Redruth’s Recreation Ground.

“The design, manufacture and distribution of the shirt has been a substantial undertaking for everyone concerned and the brewery is delighted and privileged to be involved in such a worthy cause; everybody is rooting for young Marshall,” said Steve Skinner, the brewery’s chief executive.

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