Beer Day Britain – a national beer day is coming!
When Magna Carta was drafted in 1215, article 35 of the Great Charter included the following words:
‘Let there be throughout our kingdom a single measure for wine and a single measure for ale and a single measure for corn, namely “the London quarter‘
Ale was so crucial in England during the medieval era that it was mentioned in one of the most significant legal documents ever written. And beer is still hugely important not just in keeping our pubs open and social life healthy, but for all the jobs it helps to create and for the £21 billion a year that beer and pubs contribute to Britain plc.
June 15th 2015 will be the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta so what a perfect reason for the debut of Britain’s national beer day. Beer Day Britain is to be an annual celebration of Britain’s incredible national drink marked on June 15th. Jane Peyton, current beer sommelier of the year had the idea for a national beer day on Magna Carta Day and she is driving the project forward with the help of brewers Sophie de Ronde and Sara Barton. The major stakeholders in the beer and pub industry (including SIBA) have given their approval to the project.
The idea is for everyone who makes, sells, or drinks beer to take ownership of Beer Day Britain and celebrate the day with whichever activity suits them best, whether that is brewers making celebratory Beer Day Britain beers (N.B. Windsor & Eton Brewery own the trademark for any beers named ‘Magna Carta’ or permutations of it); breweries hosting open days; pubs hosting special events; pubs, local CAMRA groups arranging beer festivals; organisers of ale trails, ale rail, or sail ale producing special BDB events; beer lovers trying to convert a non-beer drinker by taking them to the pub and buying them a drink; and everyone who uses social media helping to spread the word to make Beer Day Britain the world’s best national beer day!
Will you join the beery throng working to commemorate Beer Day Britain? For more suggestions of ways to get involved please download the information pack from the website. You can also download free artwork for the Beer Day Britain logo, and artwork for a beer mat. And please follow on Twitter and Facebook and help to proclaim Beer Day Britain and tell everyone what you are planning for the day. Contact details, artwork and information are on the website: www.BeerDayBritain.co.uk.
Cheers, and here’s to beer!
Jane Peyton, Beer Sommelier
