The brewing and pub industry has been quick to support the efforts of Shropshire brewer Edward Wood to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Edward, MD of the family owned and run Wood Brewery in Wistanstow, South Shropshire, is cycling almost 1,000 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats in May to mark two milestone birthdays – the brewery’s 30th and his own 60th.

In the process he aims to raise at least £6,000 for Midlands Air Ambulance – the charity whose swift airlift two years ago saved the life of his son Jonathan when he suffered a life-threatening head injury in a freak cricketing accident.

Edward said: “I circulated fellow brewers and suppliers to let them know what I was doing, and the response has been fantastic. I’ve already had cheques in from several breweries – Sarah Hughes, Purple Moose, Bathams, Wye Valley, Ludlow, Uley, Severn Valley, Holdens and Burtonbridge – and I’ve got promises of a lot more to follow. We’re past the £2,000 mark already. Thanks to everyone who has stumped up to date.”

To contribute to Edward’s fund-raising, phone him at the brewery on 01588 672523 or email Edward@woodbrewery.co.uk

In addition to the personal effort of cycling, the Wood Brewery Managing Director is inviting pubgoers to contribute in a more relaxed way – by buying a special double birthday brew, Wood’s 30-60 Challenge. The 3.6% ABV bitter will be on free house bars from April. The brewery will donate 10p to the Air Ambulance cause for every pint of 30-60 it sells.

“These are big birthdays for me, so I wanted to do something memorable by raising money for a cause that I know, from close personal experience, is very worthwhile,” said Edward. “I often cycle the two miles from home to the brewery in Wistanstow and back, so I thought it was the right time to take on something more ambitious!”

Edward, who has previously run the London Marathon and taken part in other endurance events, has been training for the John O’Groats adventure since January and is aiming to complete the ride in 12 days, starting on 4 May. He will cycle an average of 95 miles by day, celebrating his 60th birthday on 13 May somewhere in Scotland.

He recently handed over a cheque for £1,000 to Midlands Air Ambulance after brewing Triple A (Air Ambulance Ale) to mark the lifeline service’s 18 years in the air.

The Air Ambulance provides the primary response to counties including the West Midlands, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, dealing with over 3,500 callouts each year. It operates from Tatenhill Airport in Staffordshire, RAF Cosford, near Wolverhampton, and Strensham North Services on the M5. The cost of running and maintaining current level of operations stands at £5.6 million, for which the organisation relies entirely on voluntary donations.

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After a special request from The House of Commons The Waen Brewery beers are off to to London again for a special St David’s Day lunch showcasing the BEST of Welsh food and drink! Having had casks of their ale in the bars there last year, their bottled beers were in demand this time. d Brewster Sue Hayward says ‘We are thrilled to have been asked to supply beer for something that is shouting about the absolute best of Welsh food and drink. It’s great that our bottled beers are as in demand as the cask ales are, outside of Wales.

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INDEPENDENT brewing firm Otley has expanded its site in Cilfynydd to match customer demand for its cask ales and bottled beers.

The brewery’s Real Beer Box, a pack of hand-selected ales, ciders and perries that customers can select and order online, was its best-seller through Christmas and the company saw a 500% increase in sales compared to last year.

As a result of the Real Beer Box sales and the company’s growth, Otley has invested £4,000 to increase its capacity by around 75%, creating a customer shop, offices and a meeting room at its site in Cilfynydd.

Later this year, Otley – which had a turnover of around £385,000 in its last financial year – will expand its cold store and secure a new unit for bottling its beers.

Nick Otley, managing director of Otley Brewing, said: “It’s a really exciting time for us, and despite the current economic climate, we have experienced strong growth. There’s evidently a demand for our products, both through direct customers to the brewery and those who choose to drink our brews in pubs.

“Leading up to Christmas in 2008 we sold an average of 20 Real Beer Boxes per day and this time round we sold up to 100 each day. We almost ran out of stock, so we needed to call in three extra staff to help us get the beer boxes out on time.

To read the full article go to:  walesonline

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Wood Brewery MD Edward Wood presents the money to Stef Langford-Brown, Air Ambulance Fundraising Manager

Drinkers who tried Triple A, Air Ambulance Ale, a beer specially brewed by Shropshire’s Wood Brewery, have helped raised £1,000 for the Midlands Air Ambulance charity.

The Air Ambulance provides the primary response to counties including the West Midlands, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, dealing with over 3,500 callouts each year. It operates from Tatenhill Airport in Staffordshire, RAF Cosford, near Wolverhampton, and Strensham North Services on the M5. The cost of running and maintaining current level of operations stands at £5.6 million, for which the organisation relies entirely on voluntary donations.

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A south Shropshire brewer has been told he may be the only brewer in the West Midlands who produces beer suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

Beers brewed by Norman Pearce at the Sun Inn in Corfton qualify as vegan and vegetarian-friendly because he doesn’t use finings, or ingredients from fish swim bladders in the brewing process of his beers.

Finings, which are made using the swim bladders of tropical fish, are used by a lot of brewers

to help their products go clear.

Mr Pearce said: “It’s slowly coming to light that we may be one of the few places in the area doing beers for vegans and vegetarians. “We don’t use finings because we use a different system to most people who do bottling. Our beers go clear naturally.” He added that the  brewery was now looking at making it a unique selling point for its products. He said: “Now we are actually going to start pushing it that we are vegetarian friendly.”

The Sun Inn has been the only pub in the county listed on the website  www.vegetarianvistor.co.uk, which lists premises that cater for vegetarians and vegans.

Listed

But just before Christmas, they had one customer who had come all the way from  Abergavenny who told them they were one of the few places he could find to have a beer. Mr Pearce said: “We’ve been listed on the site for ages, but it’s only now that people are starting to ask. “We’ve always kept at least one vegetarian beer available on tap at the bar as well as our bottled beers.

“There are probably others who do similar, but I’m not aware of any.” Su Taylor, of the UK Vegetarian Society, said: “The problem with beer is that the finings used in the clearing process of brewing are usually a form of gelatine that comes from the swim bladders of these fish.”

She added: “If another company is finding an alternative process then that’s great.

“We’re always on the look out for new products, so it’s good to know there are manufacturers

out there supporting veggies.”

By Hannah Costigan

Taken from Shropshire Star

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2010 will be the 25th year of brewing for Stoke Lacy based Wye Valley Brewery, and they plan to celebrate by brewing even more excellent beer.

Wye Valley Brewery has come a long way since Peter Amor started brewing in 1985 in the old stable block at The Barrels, Hereford. Since then the brewery has moved to Stoke Lacy, increased its tied estate and invested in a state of the art bottling facility.

Wye Valley Brewery will start its 25th year on a high, with the launch of its popular cask beer HPA, in bottled format. Numerous other events are planned including the release of a special Limited Edition bottled beer in March and a race night at Hereford Racecourse in August where customers and staff will celebrate the brewery’s 25th anniversary in style with real music and real ale! Also, the brewery’s Herefordshire barley project will be realised and the first all Herefordshire beer will be produced, using local hops and local barley.

Fundraising throughout the year will benefit the brewery’s selected charity for 2010, Riding for the Disabled.

Said Peter Amor, Chairman and founder of Wye Valley Brewery, ‘It is obviously very gratifying to have come this far. It really is a collective achievement and our success is down to the dedication of the whole team at the brewery.’

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With at least 100 real ales on draught from small breweries in Wales and the Marches, brought to Ludlow with help of SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers, plus other drinks, and seriously good, local sausages and bread, you will find a great, fun atmosphere, suitable for all ages!

Follow on twitter http://twitter.com/Ludlowfoodfest

http://www.springevent.org.uk/

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Former Monty Python star Terry Jones was spotted supporting a Welsh brewery the other day at the Star Inn, Dylife where he enjoyed a few pints of Festival Landmark and Brewster’s from the Waen Brewery at Caersws. “Best pint around”, said Terry who expressed his love of the local beer and spent the afternoon drinking it.

The Waen Brewery was only set up earlier this year and has already featured on a bar in Parliament.

Terry Jones is known to be a fan of real ale, he was a partner in the Penrhos Brewery, Lyonshall, Kington, Herefordshire (1977-83) and even opened the Great British Beer Festival one year. The first brew of the Penrhos Brewery was the aptly named Jones’ First Brew. In 1983 the brewing equipment was sold to Summerskills Brewery of Plymouth.

Taken from:  Brew Wales beerbrewer.blogspot.com

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ONE of only a handful of brewsters – female brewers – producing real ale in the UK, Pam Honeyman has experienced huge success in less than a year in the business.

Mrs Honeyman, 39, launched Monty’s Brewery in the mid-Wales town of Montgomery in January, the first since the Eagle Brewery closed more than 20 years ago.

Her distinctively-named beers, Sunshine, Moonrise, Mojo, Desert Rats, Monty’s Midnight stout and Maple, are being supped in local pubs, supermarkets and delis. They’re also featured at food and drink festivals throughout Wales and parts of England.

The micro brewery at Montgomery’s Castle Works employs two full time workers and one part-time alongside Mrs Honeyman. Such has been the brewery’s success, she is already having to invest in more equipment, including her own bottling plant.

For the full article go to:  dailypost.co.uk

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