History Beers

From time to time, you may across a beer that has a connection to a historical event or figure from history. Over the years there’s been dozens of beers named after or inspired by a notable historical individual, ranging from monarchs to scientists and even the odd entertainer or two. Well-known historical figures like William Shakespeare, Horatio Nelson, Robert Burns, King John I, Winston Churchill and Charles Dickens have frequently been featured in a number of beers, although less well-known figures have also featured on beers like Long Strides (4.4%) - Orkney, inspired by John Rae, a Scottish explorer who was the first to explore the Northwest Passage of Canada, or Wilks Wonder (4.5%) – Burton Bridge, that celebrates the development of the Land Rover and it’s inventor Maurice Wilks. In this article we will explore the various historical figures from times gone by, who have influenced breweries all over the UK to name their beers in retrospect.

 

Certain figures from history tend to get more coverage than others when it comes to naming beers in their memory. Monarchs tend to be a popular draw, none more so than King John I, who was best known for the signing of the Magna Carta and a disastrous reign that led to the loss of British territories in France. Which in turn has inspired a number of breweries to produce beers that commemorate his plight, ranging from Magna Carta Ale (4.2%) – Nethergate, King John (4.2%) – Andwell Brewing Co., Magna Carta (7.2%) – Windsor & Eton, Bad King John (6%) – Hepworth, Lincoln Magna Carta (5%) – Milestone and King John’s Jewels (4.5%) – 8 Sail to name a few, the latter which was inspired by the disappearance of King John’s treasure that vanished in the Wash estuary during a disastrous trip across the Norfolk broads in 1216. Another notable example is Queen Victoria who has inspired a number of beers and pub names (both factual and fictional) over the years, noted for her eventful 63-year reign that saw massive changes in the Britain’s economy and industry. Such examples have flowed over the years, including Victoria Works (4.3%) - Weatheroak, Victoria Bitter (3.6%) – Earl Soham, Drina (4.2%) – Fuller’s, Victoria Pale Ale (3.5%) – Heritage Brewing Co. and Empress of India (6.1%) – Newtown, the latter example in commermoration of the notable event in 1877 when Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli bestowed the title to the Queen, in order to further Britain’s ties with India, and closely link the monarchy with empire. Her successors have also influenced beer names from Edward VII with the likes of First Emperor (4.6%) – Eden River Brew Co and Eddie’s Best (3.9%) – Nethergate, whilst George V has featured in King George’s Bitter (4%) – Littleover, King George (4%) – Little Brewing Co and King George V (4.3%) - Archers. Even, Queen Elizabeth II has featured on a slew of beers over the years Monarch (4.2%) – Rebellion, Cheers Ma’am (4.2%) – Marstons, Royal Wave (4.1%) – Skinners, Queen’s Tipple (4.2%) – Robinsons, and Diamond Reign (4.1%) – Castle Rock to name a few. Perhaps the most iconic example was Elizabethan Ale (7.2%) – Harvey’s, a barley wine first released in 1953 (on the year of her coronation), it became popular enough to be brewed every year until the final edition marking the Platinum Jubilee was released shortly after her passing in September 2022. 

 

Horatio Nelson is another celebrated historical individual has also heavily influenced the name of a number of beers and pubs across the country, he is noted for his sterling efforts as a commander in quelling the threats from the Franco-Spanish fleets during the early 19^th century before perishing at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, a number of beers spring to mind including Tapping the Admiral (4%) – Shepherd Neame, named after the well-known rumour when crewmates tapped the barrel of brandy in which Nelson was embalmed in enroute to England, Victory Ale (6%) – Bateman’s, in remembrance of the ship Nelson commandeered during his final voyage, and Nelson’s Revenge (4.5%) – Woodfordes, one of a number of Nelson themed beers produced by the brewery, which has become their most notable and successful releases. Former prime ministers have also attracted brewers to reference their name sake, from the likes of Benjamin Disraeli Hughenden Ale (4.8%) – Chiltern, which was commissioned by Hughenden Manor Museum, former residence of Disraeli; Baldwin IPA (4.2%) – Bewdley, named after the town’s most iconic MP and three times Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin; and most notably Winston Churchill who led the country through World War Two and is considered by some as being one of this country’s greatest leaders, his namesake has been referenced in beers from breweries across the world from the likes of the US, Australia and even Russia. Across the UK a number of breweries have referenced him, including the likes of Churchill HPA (4.5%) – Oxfordshire Ales, Churchill IPA (4.6%) – Greene King, Finest Hour (4.2%) – Rebellion, Churchill’s Fall (3.6%) – Brewhouse & Kitchen and British Bulldog (4.1%) – Westerham, the later example is coincidental, as the brewery happens to be based near his former residence Chartwell. Away from the world of politics and monarchy, certain figures from the illustrious world of the arts have been lauded by brewers. Perhaps the most potent example is William Shakespeare, who is purported to influenced the greatest number of pubs, breweries and beer names across the globe, more than any other playwright or figure from the arts. His likeliness has inspired a number of beer names including the likes of Shakespeare’s County (5%) – The Warwickshire Beer Co, The Globe Shakespeare’s Ale (4.2%) and Shakespeare’s IPA (6%) – North Cotswold Brewing Co. One brewery has gone to the lengths of naming themselves in his honour, The Shakespeare Brewing Company; based in Stretton on Fosse near Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford upon Avon, they have produced a selection of suitably themed beers including The Bard’s Best (4.2%), The Othello (5%), The Macbeth (4.8%), The Tempest (5.2%), The Falstaff’s Folly (4%), The Puck’s IPA (3.6%) and King Lear’s Mocha Stout (5.6%), in commemoration of his much lauded range of plays. Perhaps a close second to Shakespeare would be the acclaimed Scottish poet Robert Burns, noted for such classics like 'Auld Lang Syne', 'Tam O’Shanter',  'Ae Fond Kiss', 'To a Louse' and 'Address to a Haggis', enough to promote him to national hero status in Scotland. A number of breweries both north and south of the border have named their beers after him, including Bard (4.6%) – Invarelmond, Burn’s Auld Sleekit (5.5%) – Coach House, named after a line his poem To a Mouse; Haggis Hunter (4.3%) – Harvistoun, Scottish Bard (4.1%) – Cairngorm, Robert Burns Brown Ale (4.1%) – Belhaven and Guid Ale (3.8%)- Arran, inspired by Burn’s poem ‘Gude Ale Keeps the Heart Aboon’ which deals the jollified excesses of its drunken protagonist, whom regularly proclaims the beneficial qualities of ale. 

 

Over time, some of these historical beers have become highly successful and well known,  certain ones come to mind like JHB (3.8%) – Oakham Brewery, which was one of their very first releases after the launch of their brewery in 1993 and was named after Jeffrey Hudson a courtier from King Charles I’s court whom measured 3ft 6in and was also a skilled duellist, adventurer and fought with the royalists in the English Civil War; like his stature the beer is suitably low in ABV, yet it packs a citrussy and hoppy bitterness which echoes Hudson’s fervent personality. The beer has won a huge number of awards over the years including Champion Beer of Britian (1999) – Silver, SIBA Beer of East Anglia – Gold (2007) and International Beer Challenge (2012) – Bronze, to name but a few.  Another notable example is Nelson’s Revenge (4.5%) – Woodfordes, which first appeared in October 1989, less than a year after their current Broadland Brewery site opened. One of several beers of theirs inspired by Horatio Nelson, this one is perhaps the most notable. A rather bitter beer, it is made with five varieties of hops together with local Norfolk barley, in order to give its distinct citrussy spiced malty taste. It has been voted Champion Beer of Norfolk and has won a slew of other awards including a good number at the Champion Beer of Britain awards where it won gongs in the Best Bitter category several times including Gold in 2014. Perhaps the most successful example in recent years is Darwin’s Origin (4.3%) – Salopian Brewery, first released in 2009 to mark the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth. Darwin whom has been considered one history’s greatest naturalists and biologists, is widely known for his contributions into the development of evolutionary biology and his landmark publication ‘The Origin of the Species’, of which the beer is named after. In the spirit of the great man himself, the beer uses both new and old world hops that gives it a distinctive international taste. The beer has also won a number of awards ranging from Gold at the SIBA Digital Awards (2020) and more recently Bronze for Supreme Champion Beer of Britian at GBBF 2023, which proves indeed it’s a product of Darwinism as it has achieved survival of the fittest.

 

Breweries from across the UK have produced a number of beers featuring the likeliness or namesake of a notable individual from history. Sometimes these beers have appeared a one-off special like for instance Bo66y (4.2%) – Greene King, which was released in 2016 to mark the 50^th anniversary of England winning the World Cup finals and celebrates the efforts of the team’s captain Bobby Moore; or Tapping the Admiral (4%) – Shepherd Neame, which was initially released on 2005 to mark the bicentenary of Nelson’s victory at The Battle of Trafalgar. Occasionally breweries have released a succession of limited-edition releases as part of a ongoing series, for instance between 2016-18, Rebellion Brewery released a series of limited edition beers under several series titles, including the likes of English Greats 2016, Great Britons 2017 and World Greats, notably featuring such beers like Armada (4.2%) – Sir Frances Drake, Engineer (4.2%) – Isambard Kingdon-Brunel, Humbug (4.2%) – Charles Dickens, The Greatest (4.2%) – Muhammed Ali and Relativity (4.2%) – Albert Einstein, to name a few.  A few years ago, Falstaff Brewery, a microbrewery based in Derby released 16 beers under their Catchphrase banner, all featuring individuals and fictional characters from the world of entertainment known for their classic catchphrases, including the likes of Bowen (4.3%), Cooper (4.2%), Everett (4.3%), Grayson (4.3%) and Robinson (4.3%) for instance. Meanwhile for several years Burton Bridge Brewery was involved in it’s ongoing Gold Medal Series which charts famous moments in history, notable individuals like L.S. Lowry, Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Pat Phoenix and Kenneth Williams have featured on releases, to less obvious ones like John Flamstead, Robert Watson-Watt, Tom Stevens and Maurice Wilks. Some notable releases include Horizontal Hold (4.5%) which celebrates John Logie-Baird’s first showing of a practical television system to members of the Royal Society in Jaunary 1926, Big Swig (4.5%) which commemorates astronaut Jack Swigert’s ingenious efforts to maintain the survival of his crew during the ill-fated voyage of Apollo 13 in 1970, and Screwbedoo (4.5%) which memorialises the efforts of Sir Jospeh Whitworth, whom in 1841 devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for screw threads.

 

More frequently is the case however, that breweries have featured such ‘historical beers’ as part of their regular range, either sold on a frequent or seasonal basis. There’s notable award winners like JHB (3.8%) – Oakham Brewery, Nelson’s Revenge (4.5%) – Woodfordes and Darwin’s Origin (4.3%) – Salopian Brewery, beers inspired by monarchs like First Emperor (4.6%) – Eden River Brew Co., Bad King John (6%) – Hepworth and Tickle Brain (8%) – Burton Bridge, which coincidentally was the Tudor name for strong ale and bears the likeliness of Henry VIII on its bottle design. Moreover, there are ales named after notable politicians and militarists, like Baldwin IPA (4.2%) – Bewdley, Victory Ale (6%) – Bateman’s, Tom Paine (5.5%) – Harvey’s, Cromwell Bitter (4%) – Milestone, William Wilberforce’s Freedom Ale (4.8%) and British Bulldog (4.1%) – Westerham. Alongside beers named notable individuals from the arts, such as Bring Me Sunshine (4.2%) – Tring, inspired by famed local resident Eric Morecambe; Juice Forsyth (5%) – Brew York, a distinctly fruity tropical IPA made in tribute to the legendary entertainer Bruce Forsyth; A Dickens of an Ale (4.2%) – Hornes, a seasonal spiced ale in honour of Charles Dickens, author of A Christmas Carol, and The Bard’s Best (4.2%) – The Shakespeare Brewing Company, one of a number of Shakespeare themed beers produced by the brewery. Even individuals who have made a valuable contribution to society have featured on well-known releases like Telford Porter (6%) – Conwy, in commemoration of one of the county’s greatest industrial engineers Thomas Telford , Mompession’s Calling (5.5%) – Eyam, in honour of clergyman William Mompesson noted for successfully containing an outbreak of the plague in his parish of Eyam; Long Strides (4.4%) – Orkney which lauds John Rae’s accomplishments as a explorer, and Edith Cavell (3.7%) - Wolf, named after the nurse who helped pioneer modern nursing practises in Belgium, and notably treated soldiers on both sides during WW1.

 

Many historical influenced beers have come and gone over the years, although the more well-known examples like Shakespeare, King John I, Churchill or Nelson tend to take the spotlight, a whole manner of notable historical personages from various walks of life have appeared on beer names over the years. Some may feature just their names, whilst others take inspiration from well known instances from their lives and present in a creative fashion. Some breweries have even gone to the lengths of naming themselves after famous historical individuals like the Shakespeare Brewing Co. and Dickensian Brewery for instance. Moreover, the UK is not alone at this, breweries from all around the world from the US, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and even the Netherlands for example have released beers that have commemorated historical individuals. Yet on the whole, this area tends to be a niche one, but when one finds a bottle or a pump clip at a pub that their bears the likeliness of a famous civil engineer, monarch, inventor, politician or entertainer, this inclines to pique the curiosity with anyone with an interest in history as they prepare to sup their pint and commemorate that drink to their memory.   

The Rise of Fruit Beers (Part 1)

When visiting a bottle shop or a craft beer pub, the chances of encountering a fruit beer nowadays are quite high. With a dizzying array of options out there such as Sours, Gose, Saison and IPA’s, it’s hard to avoid them; even the breweries themselves have gone to great lengths to boldly proclaim its fruity contents like Juice Forsyth (5%) by Brew York, an punchy IPA featuring the likes of pineapple and mango along with whole host of hops that promises a ‘tropical explosion’, Wild Un-Bongo (5.8%) a NEIPA inspired by the famous tropical drink, packed with mango or Fruitbooter (5.7%) by The Wild Beer Co., a sour made with raspberries and pink peppercorns that has nothing to do with rollerblades. Fruit beer is not a specific beer style like Old Ale or Stout, Josh Weikert states “as a Specialty style, Fruit Beer is necessarily broad (or, more accurately, user- and declared-style-defined). The overarching theme of the style is “balance,” though, with a beer that’s still recognizable as “beer” but also with “evident” fruit character.”[1] Weikert suggests that certain types of fruit are more suited to specific beers, dark beers are better suited to bright acidic fruits, whilst pale and lighter beers are better matched to more subtle fruits. The strength and quality of a fruit beer is down the fruit that is used, some fruits likes Raspberry, Cherries and Plums are more potent than the likes of Peaches or Blueberries; overall it shouldn’t give the impression of a fruit juice drink, although this is not always adhered to. When it comes to fruit beer, Roger Protz notes “the inspiration for fruit beers comes from Belgium. Lambic and gueuze beers are one of the world’s oldest beer styles and are made by spontaneous fermentation.”[2] We usually associate fruit beers with classic Belgium examples like Kriek, Frambroise, Cassis and Peche, which are made by adding fruit to maturing barrels of beer and leaving them to mature for several months. According to Craft Beer & Brewing, in the UK brewers usually use frozen fruit purees, concentrates and extracts due to the high cost of using fresh fruits, purists may baulk at this practise but it has been regularly utilized for the past 30 years.  The rate of fruit beers on the current domestic market has dramatically increased in the past decade following the craft beer revolution, they often get good press and attract sufficient demand. Yet there was once a time where it was hard to find a bottle fruit beer on the shelves or find it available in a pub, even at the turn of the century fruit beers were generally relegated to festival specials or seasonal one-offs. Although these beers were few and far between, when sampled they were often derided and ridiculed by critics, the Beer Monster summed this up in an issue of Opening Times in 1997, “they ruin the palate, almost necessitate being drunk in halves (slowly) and most of them taste like amateur vimto. If this is the micro-brewers answer to alcopops then my advice is not to give up the day jobs, and stick to malt, hops, yeast and water.”[3] At the time fruit beers were alien to British tastebuds, that were used to the likes of Bitter, Mild and Stout, and any attempts were often criticised and at worst unfairly compared to their established Belgian counterparts. In this series of articles, we will chart the struggles brewers had to go to produce fruit beers for market, from the one-off specials in the Nineties to the efforts of pioneering brewers like the Kitchen Brewery, Salopian, Coach House, St. Peter's and Lloyd’s Country Beers to give fruit beers a better reputation, and the establishing of staple regulars like Banana Bread Beer (5.3%), Lemon Dream (4.5%), Bramble Stout (5%), Orange Wheat (4.2%), Blueberry Classic Bitter (5%), Fruit Beer - Grapefruit (4.7%) and Plum Porter (4.9%) that helped place fruit flavoured beers firmly on the map.

 

The earliest recorded records of brewing fruit with beer date from neolithic China in 7000BC where villagers created a beverage which contained honey, rice, and hawthorn fruit and/or grapes, whilst in ancient Egypt, they were using dates and pomegranates in their beer. In Britain brewing fruit with beer can be traced back to the 9^th century when Welsh druids whom emigrated to Scotland brewed ale with elderberries. This Elderberry Ale, as William Bros brewery in Alloa mentions that the brew “was part of the Celtic Autumn festivals when the ‘elders’ would make this strong ale and pass the drink round the people of the village.” Meanwhile, in England the brewing of beer with fruit dates back a few centuries, the writer Dorothy Hartley in seminal book ‘Food in England’ published in 1954, notes “old ale flavoured with cherries, known in many locations at least since the early 18^th Century, but especially associated with Kent.”[4] Indeed, she mentions in the same book, trying out a Cherry Ale brewed and sold at a village pub near Molash, Kent. The earliest widespread use of mixing fruit adjuncts with beer in this country occurred in the mid-19^th century with the introduction of Shandygaff (later shortened to Shandy). Initially it was a mixture of ale with ginger beer, but over time as Vritti Bansal notes “in the late 19th century, shandygaff was modified to shandy, and mixologists began to use lemonade instead of ginger beer. Orange and grapefruit juice followed, as did cider.”[5] These mixtures were usually mixed by the barman onsite rather than produced in the brewery; however this all changed in 1974 when Watney’s released Biaritiz (ABV ?), one of the first fruit beers commercially sold and brewed in the UK, which featured a mix of their Pale Ale with Merrydown Orange Wine, it was sold in third pint nip bottles and designed to attract female drinkers, in order to divert competition from the likes of Babycham and Cherry B. Despite their audience, the label had a rather chauvinistic design, featuring a ring of ladies’ legs around the centre, the likes of Biaritz barely made an impression on the market and was soon forgotten.

 

In 1988, Heather Brewery was set up by brothers Scott and Bruce Williams initially in a brew-shop in Glasgow, who came onto the scene with Froach (5%), an ale produced with heather that was based on a historic recipe called ‘Leanne Froach’ which was donated to the brothers by a woman of Gaelic descent whom wanted them to recreate her family recipe, so that she could share this brew with her relations, after several years of development it was released commercially in 1992. Before long, the brothers set up a brewery in Taynuilt, in 1995 Roger Ryman joined the brewery and encouraged the brothers to diversify their range, Ryman notes “eventually, Williams Bros started to look at producing some secondary brands. They were selling niche beers into a broad market, which was really unusual at the time. It was a strong brand – selling the Scottish dream. I helped to develop Grozet, Ebulum and Alba. It was about finding the right balance between interest and authenticity, and practicality.”[6] Around this time they introduced several more beers that utilized botanicals in their recipes, including the likes of Alba (7.5%), Kelpie (4.4%), Grozet (5%) and Eblum (6.5%); the latter two beer utilized fruit in respectively in their recipes. Grozet is a golden ale brewed with Gooseberries and Bog Myrtle, Mark Dredge describes the beer as “the aroma is light and fruity and inconspicuous which belies the first taste of pale ale with a kick of sour berries, not wild-beer-sour, but fresh fruit sour. It’s bready and clean with a kick of earthy, heathery, flowery hops and then that fruitiness, which mellows as you drink.”[7] Conversely, Eblum is a strong dark ale brewed with Elderberries which was based on a 16^th century recipe for Elderberry Ale. Jeff Alworth describes the beer “it is a deliciously rich and creamy ale, and fairly beery--although interesting new flavors abound, you're on more familiar footing here. The elderberries are rooty more than sweet, and they contribute a strange astringency that seems like it's anesthetizing your tongue.”[8] Both of these beers are usually available in bottle form, sold in 330ml bottles, and to this day the brewery continues to the sell them as part of their regular range. When inquired about these beers, Ryman adds “I was aware of how unusual these beers were but I don’t think I had any sense that we were being ‘revolutionary’.” But revolution was already afoot as brewers across the country began experimenting with their beers, brewing with them with fruit, spices and botanicals, change was underway but the brewers faced an uphill battle with critics and punters alike.

 

The development of fruit beers gathered pace during the mid-1990’s as other breweries based across the UK started to produce their own fruit beers, often released as seasonals or limited-edition releases at beer festivals. This push to develop fruit beers was spearheaded by the rise in popularity of Belgian fruit beers which had become increasingly available in the UK as the decade drew on, even appearing in off-licence chains like Threshers. In the summer of 1995, Whitbread introduced Colonel Pepper’s Lemon Ale (5%) as part of their series of single varietal cask ales released that year. Brewed at Flower’s Brewery in Cheltenham, it was a golden ale infused with lemon and black pepper which the brewery audaciously proclaimed in their trade ads “is a wonderfully refreshing beer, unusually light and golden in colour for an ale, with a spicy aroma – the lemon peel and ground black pepper added into the brew give it a clean and fresh ‘tingle’ for the drinker’s palate.”[9] Whitbread were seeking to promote this drink as an alternative to lager, although this barely made a dent as it was only available between the 10^th July – 5^th August that year. Later the same year, Batemans released Strawberry Fields (4.2%), which the writer John Clarke described at the time as truly horrible. While in September, Greene King flexed their muscles with Mad Judge (4.2%), a red ale brewed with cranberries to give the beer a sweet-bitter taste with just a hint of fruit flavour, which the brewery promoted as a very appealing and drinkable bitter. The following year, in 1996 the brewery released Waynflete Hedgerows (3.7%) an elderflower pale ale, fruit beers were also beginning to make appearances at CAMRA beer festivals with the likes of Banana Madness (4.6%) – Blackmoor, and Cherry Bomb (5.6%) - Hanby, both appearing at the 23^rd Cambridge Beer & Cider Festival. In 1997, the newly launched St. Peter’s introduced Fruit Beer (3.6%) released in both Elderberry and Raspberry varieties, and is one of the few fruit beers to make it onto Roger Protz’s ‘Real Ale Almanac – 5^th Edition’ published the same year. Whilst, the fledgling Salopian Brewery in Shrewsbury produced their first fruit beer Dragonfly (4.4%) made with raspberries, sold exclusively at Oddbins. Subsequently in 1998, Salopian followed this with produce their second fruit beer Puzzle White Wheat (4.8%), a wheat beer made with orange and coriander. Other fruit beers on sale that year included the likes of Krieky Knees (4.3%) – Finnock and Firkin, Raisin Stout (4.8%) – Kitchen, Damson Beer (6%) – Strawberry Bank, Very Cherry (4.2%) – Funnel and Firkin, Strawberry Blonde (4.2%) - Kitchen and Raspberry Lambic (4.7%) – Leatherbritches, the latter of which was described by one reviewer at the time as smelling like Sherbert with strong raspberry and vodka like flavours and resembling a cloudy Tango. The slew of fruit beers released at the time attracted disapproval from critics, with John Clarke thunderously stating “a growing and unwelcome development, in my opinion, is the growing obsession of British brewers with fruit beers as the end product is usually quite disgusting. lt was bad enough when this was confined to a few micros but now more established brewers are jumping on the bandwagon.”[10] The common consensus felt at the time was that Belgians did a better job as producing fruit beers which were well established and respected by that time, whilst the British examples were in comparison amateurish and dire. However, the tide was beginning to turn for British made fruit beers, later that year, St. Peter’s gained an award for Best Speciality beer for Lemon & Ginger Spiced Beer (4.7%) at the 1998 Norwich Beer Festival. The same year, Sameul Smith’s reopened the defunct Melbourne Brewery in Stamford, exclusively producing fruit beers that included the likes of Cherry, Strawberry, Raspberry and Apricot all of which continue to be sold to this day. As the 20^th century due to a close, the Kitchen Brewery in Huddersfield was making big waves in the fruit beer scene, set up by former chef Robert Johnson. He experimented with a wide a variety of fruits (and even vegetables) releasing the likes of Pert Pear (4.4%), Grimacing Grapefruit (4.3%), Tropicana (4.3%), Laminated Lemon (4.6%) and Tubby Tangerine (4%). The Beer Monster gave a glowing response about Johnson’s beers describing Grimacing Grapefruit as “pale and dry with a nose of hops and citrus, a lightish body is dominated by light and dry malt flavours, with some bitter hop hints”[11], whilst reviewing Tubby Tangerine as “it was very nice with a citrus sweetness that cut through the malt, and whilst in the taste it could have been almost any fruit, there was a just perception of tangerine on the nose.”[12] Johnson experimented with a slew of fruits such as Rhubarb, Plum, Dates, Sultanas, Grapefruit, Cherry and even Mango, many years before they became popular flavours among modern craft brewers, John Clarke notes this in his article on the brewery. Unfortunately, due a series of poor business decisions, the brewery closed in March 2001, and Kitchen remains an overlooked footnote in the history of home-grown Fruit Beers. Meanwhile in September 1999, J.W. Lees debuted their first ever fruit beer, Sloeberry (4.4%), a copper-coloured beer made with real sloeberries. The October 1999 issue of ‘Opening Times’ (the branch magazine for the CAMRA Stockport and South Manchester region) reported “its not only of the few British fruit beers that is worth drinking, it’s worth actively seeking out.”[13] Meanwhile with the Christmas season fast approaching, on 15^th November, Fuller’s released Jack Frost (4.5%) a winter ale made with blackberries. London Drinker (the branch magazine for the CAMRA London region) noted at the time “Jack Frost is a warming yet deliciously light amber ale with a malty flavour. Thanks to blackberries in the brew, it also provides a smooth, fruity sweetness complimented by a refreshingly hoppy finish.”[14] The beer was put on sale at Fuller’s pub that Christmas, and subsequently continues to be released on a seasonal basis every Christmas, and was is briefly sold in bottle form. With a new decade and a new century just around the corner, the next few years would prove pivotal towards to the shift in public opinion towards fruit flavoured beers, and several major beers would first appear on the scene that would help engineer this sea change.

References

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[1] ‘Make Your Best Fruit Beer’ by Josh Weikert; Craft Beer & Brewing, 30^th September 2018

[2] ‘Big surge in fruit beer sales: up 80%’ by Roger Protz; Protz on Beer, 30^th July 2012

[3] ‘The Beer Monster’; Opening Times Magazine, Issue 157, May 1997

[4] ‘Foods in England’ by Dorothy Hartley, MacDonald General Books, MacDonald and Jane, 1954

[5] ‘Shandy: The History Of The British Drink’ by Vritti Bansal, 31^st March 2022

[6] ‘Williams Bros: Craft Before It Was A Thing’ by Boak and Bailey, 28^th February 2015

[7] ‘Williams Bros Historic Ales’ by Mark Dredge, Pencil and Spoon, 7^th January 2010

[8] ‘Froach and Eblum, Ancient Beers of Scotland’ by Jeff Alworth, Beervana, 2^nd August 2006

[9] ‘Artyfacts from the Nyneties #1: Lemon Ale’ by Boak and Bailey, 14^th September 2015

[10] ‘In the Editor’s View’ by John Clarke, Opening Times Magazine, Issue 136, August 1995

[11] ‘The Beer Monster’, Opening Times Magazine, Issue 195, July 2000

[12] ‘The Beer Monster’, Opening Times Magazine, Issue 190, February 2000

[13] ‘Brewery News’, Opening Times Magazine, Issue 186, October 1999

[14] ‘Brewery News: Chill out with Fuller’s Jack Frost’, London Drinker Vol 21, No.11, Dec 1999/ Jan 2000