We know there is nothing more synonymous with an English Summer than watching cricket and in recognition of Gloucestershire’s contribution of some of the greatest Batsmen like cult heroes Bomber Wells and David Lawrence, to Gloucester-born modern legend, Alistair Cook MBE – the greatest run-scorer in Test matches and on 30th May 2015 he scored his 9000th test run, the first English Test batsman to do so. Enjoy a taste of summer with our light and fruity seasonal beer.

Gloucester Cathedral Cloisters are a popular destination with the film community having famously appeared in many films such as Harry potter, Dr Who and Sherlock Holmes but none moreso as when the Crafty is set up there – that’s the nickname of film terminology ‘Craft service’ – the area where delicious food and drinks are served all day for the crew. Celebrate our burgeoning British film industry with a glass of our delicious English Brown craft beer.

It is only fitting that we name at least one of our beers in tribute to Gloucester’s most famous acting son and Hollywood Superstar ‘Simon Pegg’. Down a glass of our malty, caramel Amber ale and toast his ‘almost too many to mention’ comic and acting achievements but most notably zom rom com Shaun of The Dead, comic satire Hot Fuzz, an iconic role as ‘Scotty’ in the 2009 remake of Star Trek, and Mr Cruise’s co-star in Mission Impossible.

The similarities between the Gloucester – twinned Parish of St Ann’s Bay, on the north coast of the jewel of the Caribbean ‘Jamaica’, with its swaying palm trees, tropical heat, turquoise waters and white sandy beaches, may be hard to fathom during the ubiquitous cold, wet and dreary typical climate of Blighty, so we have made this delicious Stout to take you on your very own Caribbean adventure and to help you ‘weather’ the British Autumn and Winter.

The story of King Edward I (nicknamed Longshanks due to him being over 6 foot tall) and his disastrous trip to Gloucester which saw him fall into a huge muddy puddle and inspired the famous poem ‘Doctor Foster (went to Gloucester)’ – a warning to children in bygone days, prior to modern roads, that what appears to be a shallow puddle could in fact be much deeper – and result in total humiliation! Some would say the adage is still relevant today ….. so watch out for those metaphorical puddles!

Charles Dickens’ novels have a reputation for developing characters whose behaviour, although dramatic, is somewhat far-fetched and implausible, and none more so than Ebeneezer Scrooge in Dickens’ 1843 ‘A Christmas Carol, but legendary miser of Gloucester and owner of Gloucester Bank, Jemmy Wood (1756 – 1836) was Dickens’ real life inspiration for the embodiment of winter Scrooge. Unlike Dickens’ Scrooge who went on to have his cold, pinched heart restored to the innocent goodwill he had experienced in childhood and youth, Jemmy Wood died before the book was printed and he could benefit from the powerful statements of ‘A Christmas Carol’. Share the beer and share the love, that’s what we say!

The Romans loved Gloucester – founded in 49AD under Emperor Nerva, it was named ‘Colonia Glevum Nervensis’. By AD97 it was the preferred place for retired Roman soldiers to enjoy a more leisurely life. Perhaps it was during a retired pastime that after many disastrous attempts of wine making, eventually the veterans realised that hops grow better in colder climates and so started experimenting with brewing beer. As a toast to their determination to find an alternative to wine raise a glass or two of this aromatic and fruity Saison and salute their ingenuity.

In tribute to Gloucestershire’s hero Sir Frank Whittle (1907 – 1996) who invented the turbo jet engine. He was only 21 when he first presented the idea of turbo-jet propulsion to his then bosses at the Air Ministry. When they showed no interest he patented the idea himself in 1932, but had to allow the patent to lapse as he couldn’t afford to renew it. It was only many years later that his dream became a reality, when working with the Gloster Aircraft Company, the first jet-powered aircraft ‘E28/39 Pioneer’ took off from Brockworth airfield in 1941 and so started the 20th century jet age of international air travel. It’s only fitting that we dedicate our 5.5% ABV Black IPA in his memory.

Our Head Brewer is as passionate about brewing a great IPA as Gloucester is about its rich rugby heritage and the rugby greats the club has spawned such as Phil Vickery, John Gordon A’Bear, Mike Tindell, Phil Greening, and Anthony Allen, to name but a few. Skill, Talent and Dedication are all qualities that make a great team but the fans with their loyalty and unswerving support provide the magic, which all in all makes for a fantastic, successful club. Much like our session IPA, although we use the finest American hops the real magic happens when it is brewed in small batches, right here by our Head Brewer.

As a tribute to all the hard working men and women who have been at the beating heart of Gloucester Docks, loading and unloading ships over the centuries, whose cargoes were transferred direct to narrow boats which could then carry the goods up the river and through the inland canals to the industrial towns and cities of the Midlands. Early important imports included corn from Ireland, Timber from the Baltic and North America, Wines & Spirits from Portugal and France, ………for returning ships their holds were not empty, quite the contrary, they were full of SALT, Worcestershire’s most famous export! Raise a glass of our Session Bitter and toast the toil of dock workers throughout the centuries.

A great story about ingenious lateral thinking – consider the Walls Sausage factory pre 1922 when it used to lay off the majority of its workforce every summer as the demand for sausages and meat products fell dramatically, until the founder’s grandson suggested deploying the workforce to make and sell ice-cream during the summer. This subsequently ended the ‘Walls Lay off’ every summer and because of Thomas Wall II’s vision, the Walls factory is now the largest ice-cream factory in Europe.Toast a continuing buoyant ice-cream economy and raise a glass of our Belgian Wit-influenced wheat beer to some great lateral thinking.

Gloucester born John Stafford-Smith 1750 – 1836 certainly left his mark on American culture – he wrote the music to the Star Spangled Banner – the national anthem of the USA. Smith’s patriotic melody was picked up by Francis Scott Key, an eminent American lawyer and author who also dabbled in writing poetry, to accompany his 1805 poem ‘When the Warrior Returns from the Battle Afar’. This was adopted by the U.S. Army and Navy after the attack of Fort McHenry, Massachussetts by (ironically) the British fleet in 1814. Perhaps it took a while to view Britain in a different light, but Congress didn’t make the now entitled “Star Spangled Banner” the country’s national anthem until 1931.

Enjoy a pint of this floral Pale Ale with truck loads of piney, grapefruity American hops. Inspired by our Italian Head Brewer’s love of great American Pale Ales, with their big characters and citrusy hop flavours, and his desire to showcase the best of Italian Craft Pales, with their crisp, clean flavours and just the right amount of bitterness.