A team of brewers and beer lovers have launched an ale designed to get people back into pubs and bars - and they hope the celebration of beer culture will become an annual event.
Manchester鈥檚 Track Brewing Co and Liverpool branding agency Continuous teamed up with suppliers to the beer industry to create Fusion Pale Ale. The ale will only be available in kegs at pubs and bars, in a move to encourage people to visit pubs and bars that have been hit hard by the cost of living crisis. Independent bars across the country held launch parties last night to mark the launch of 5.1% Fusion, with one being held at Dead Craft Beer Company in Liverpool.
David Beattie, senior client director with Continuous, came up with the idea for Fusion. At the Liverpool event on Thursday he was clearly pleased at the reception Fusion has received. And he鈥檚 looking to make Fusion February a regular event in the 海角视频 to help bars recover from their quiet Januaries.
He said: 鈥淲e really hope that given the enthusiasm from all the venues taking part, as well as all of the partners, that we can make it an annual event at least in the 海角视频, or scale it to something bigger and make it a real date in the beer calendar. We鈥檙e hoping at this stage that it will be a once a year thing to really kick start the year in earnest for venues after a tough trading period in January.
"Obviously they鈥檝e got the December period which will be bountiful for them, but January is really tough for a number of reasons. We really want to drive footfall to independent on-trade venues in early February if we can."
The other partners in Fusion are Yakima Chief Hops, yeast and fermentation specialists White Labs Copenhagen, and Norfolk-based 海角视频 malt suppliers Crisp Malt Gareth and Vicky Morgan opened Dead Crafty in 2016 after being inspired by America鈥檚 craft brewing scene, and have grown it into Gareth said that, like so many other pub and bar owners, they were finding it tough right now.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still struggling. Christmas wasn鈥檛 Christmas. The cost of living is absolutely killing everyone at the moment. So people are being very wise. 鈥淲e鈥檙e lucky because people like coming here and we are a specialist bar. But people that would come once or twice a week are coming once or twice every two weeks. So it鈥檚 tough. But we鈥檙e getting on with it.鈥
Vicky and Gareth were serving plenty of pints of Fusion - and Gareth thought Fusion was a great idea.
He said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a good initiative. It鈥檚 great beer and yes, it鈥檚 a great idea to get people off their couches, out of the supermarkets, and into actual bars that are the bread and butter of the city.
The craft beer industry in the North West and beyond is close-knit, and companies want to support each other.
Stefan Melbourne, Events & Creative Manager at Track Brewing Co, said: 鈥淚 know it sounds cheesy, but the beauty of our industry is that it鈥檚 very connected. Bringing the whole supply chain together to give back to the front end - the bar and hospitality sector - is what we care about. Because without any of those parts of that chain, it all falls away.
鈥淭his is possibly about the hardest time it鈥檚 been since I鈥檝e been in the brewery game, which is coming on to ten years. It鈥檚 been really tough. Like we said in the press release Fusion is no magic wand. It can鈥檛 solve every problem. But it鈥檚 a way of giving back to as many many people as we can. It鈥檚 meaningful - it鈥檚 about bringing people in and having a beer, which is what hospitality is based on.鈥
