Brewery News

Chorister!

Chorister, the latest occasional guest beer from Baths only micro brewery Abbey Ales will be available to Baths top real ale pubs from Wednesday 25 August.

The 4.5 % abv brown malty ale brewed with local Wiltshire Maris Otter malt and finished with Fuggles hops proved popular the last time it was released with drinkers and visitors to Bath that Landlords in Bath have been advised to order early.

Managing Director Alan Morgan commented, "We always try to brew a range of different beers to compliment our best selling Bellringer but the need to meet the demand for our flagship ale Bellringer takes up nearly all of our production. Head brewer Martin Langham, has to fit in brewing occasional beers when possible and he has slotted Chorister in before autumn. Our regular customers are aware how quickly the guests sell and fortunately for us order early."

Abbey Ales started brewing in Bath in 1997 and have regularly won awards for their flagship brew Bellringer a golden 4.2% best bitter. They have four pubs situated in the centre of Bath the Star Inn the Coeur De Lion Old Farmhouse and the Assembly Inn. Delivery is strictly within a twenty mile radius of Baths famous Abbey.

Hells Bells!

Baths own brewery Abbey Ales has launched a traditional cider to sell alongside its famous Bellringer best bitter. Produced for Abbey Apples by the Tricky Cider company situated in the Blackdown Hills in Somerset the traditional 6.5% abv cider called Hells Bells is pressed from a carefully selected blend of local cider apples to produce a crisp, refreshing drink of the finest quality.

“We will be offering it to our existing Bellringer customers initially” said Alan Morgan Managing Director of Abbey Ales, and in our own pubs The Star the Coeur De Lion and The Assembly Inn then to one and all as well as online at www.abbeyales.co.uk

The Tricky Cider Company was formed in 2004 by Steve Watkins and Alistair Brice and through their passion for cider and their love of the traditional cider making choosing Tricky Cider to produce a cider was an easy choice for Abbey Ales to make.

“I know Al and Steve initially started making cider as a hobby for many years and regard it as an art form, and they are as determined to preserve the art of traditional cider making as Abbey Ales is to preserve the art of traditional beer making”. Added, Alan Morgan.

Founded in 1997, Abbey Ales is the first and only brewery in the historic City of Bath for over fifty years, and is the initiative of experienced brewery sales and marketing manager Alan Morgan.

Bellringer is the only cask beer continuously produced at the Abbey Brewery, a golden 4.2% abv best bitter although a range of monthly guest beers has now been introduced. Successfully launched at the Bath CAMRA beer festival in October 1997 Bellringer is now the top selling cask bitter in the World Heritage City of Bath and is as popular with the many visitors to the Georgian City as it is with Bathonians.

New brew - Heritage

Drinkers at The Assembly Inn in Bath will be the first to try Abbey Ales new brew, Heritage, when the pub re-opens this weekend. The beer, brewed by Bath's only brewery, will be launched officially the following week at the Camra Bristol beer festival held at Temple Meads Station.

Abbey Ales Managing Director Alan Morgan said, "It is a very exciting time for us at present. Although many pubs are unfortunately suffering, we seem to be prospering, with both the Star and Coeur De Lion in Bath enjoying increased local and tourist trade, whilst the Foresters at Beckington - just 9 miles south of Bath - is building up an excellent reputation for good food. So we are very excited with our new pub in Bath, The Assembly Inn, which is situated on Alfred Street in the city and will be managed by Michelle Spence."

Abbey Ales is also very pleased with the new beer, which will not be a guest beer but a permanent fixture brewed to compliment its prize-winning golden hoppy ale, Bellringer. Described by our head brewer as a darker malty bitter, the new brew will be brewed to an abv of 3.8% and is named after the Heritage city of Bath and so features an image of the royal Crescent on its clip.

Abbey Ales started brewing in 1997 based at Camden in the centre of Bath it remains Baths only brewery.

Maximus!

Maximus, the latest occasional ale from Bath's Abbey Ales, has proved so popular that the brewery has already sold out!

The 5.0 % abv malty ale - launched at the Bath CAMRA beer festival - sold out almost immediately it went on sale. The beer was only sold locally to pubs in the Bath area.

One of the first pubs to fire off a repeat order was the Coeur De Lion Abbey Ales own pub in the city centre where manager Julian Waters experienced a immediate demand. “We had visitors to the City wanting to try it as well as locals who had heard about it.Many of Baths rugby supporters were also toasting Baths excellent win over old rivals Leicester with Maximus!"

Managing Director Alan Morgan commented, "Maximus was brewed as a one off to celebrate ten years of brewing in Bath. We try to brew a range of different beers to compliment our best selling Bellringer but the need to meet the constant demand for our flagship ale takes up much of our production schedule. However the success of this special birthday brew has been so positive we have been brewing over the week end to satisfy demand and Maximus will be available again for this week end."

Abbey Ales started brewing in 1997 and was and still is the first and only brewery in the World Heritage City for over 50 years.

New Abbey Beer for Bath Festival

A new beer from Baths only brewery Abbey Ales will be launched at The Bath CAMRA beer festival being held at the Pavilion from 19-20th October.

The beer Bellringer Maximus is 5% abv a strong hoppy best bitter made from Wiltshire Maris Otter malt and finished with the finest Worcestershire hops and has been brewed to celebrate the brewery's launch ten years ago at the 1997 Bath Festival.

Ten years on, Bellringer continues to win numerous CAMRA awards but more importantly is the number one beer for locals and the thousands of tourists who either live in or flock to this famous Georgian city.

“We are extremely fortunate that although we are not big we are big in Bath and there are only a handful of pubs where - mostly for tie reasons – our beer is not available,” explained MD Alan Morgan.” We also get tremendous support from our customers many who have supported Abbey from the start and are proud to sell the only beer brewed in Bath.".

The brewery supplies over 40 pubs within a 20 mile radius of Bath and a small amount to free trade outlets around the south west via selected wholesalers.

This year Abbey Ales is not only celebrating its tenth anniversary but still remains the only brewery to be launched in the city in the last 50 years. While nationally many other micro brewers have fallen by the wayside Abbey Ales is not only surviving but dominating the scene in and around the city.

Although Morgan insists he is first and foremost a brewer he has taken on two pubs and is keen to own more…providing they are right for him.

Recently the Coeur De Lion in Northumberland Place was added to Abbey Inns alongside the Star Inn, one of Bath’s oldest pubs which was first licensed as a public house back in 1760. Both of which feature in this years Good Beer Guide.

“We would love to own around 10 pubs, but, like the Star and the Coeur De Lion Bath’s smallest pub, they would have to be something really special. I don’t just want a collection of pubs for the sake of it.He Added.

If you cannot make the festival the 5% Bellringer Maximus will be available in Baths top real ale pubs from next weekend.

Salvation

Salvation, the latest occasional guest beer from Baths only micro brewery Abbey Ales will be available in Baths top real ale pubs from Monday 13th August.

The 4.8 % abv mid brown strong best bitter is brewed with local Wiltshire Maris Otter malt and finished with Challenger hops.

Managing Director Alan Morgan commented, “Martin our Brewer has managed to fit in brewing Salvation at a very busy time for the brewery. Extra Bellringer has been brewed for The Great British Beer Festival and for our bottled Bellringer. We always try to brew a range of different beers to compliment Bellringer but the need to meet the demand for our flagship ale takes up nearly all of our production.”

The Great British Beer Festival was held at Earls Court for the first time in 2006 and was the biggest festival so far with over 450 real ales and over 65,000 visitors. Also known as the Biggest Pub in the World, the festival played host to a wide range of beers and real lagers from the UK and around the world. This year over 500 real ales from over 200 different British brewers! Wheat beers, ginger ales, beers flavoured with herbs and spices, lots of tasty bitters, milds and stouts – in fact something for everyone at this years Great British Beer Festival which is held at Earls Court, London, 7th to 11th August 2007.

New free guide to Bath's nest pubs launched

The third edition of a free guide to some of the best real ale pubs in Bath city centre has just be published.

Compiled by beer writer Chris Freer on behalf of Abbey Ales Bath’s own brewery based at Camden Row, the guide features 14 top real ale hostelries within easy walking distance of the Abbey itself, a familiar landmark in the World Heritage city of Bath.

Managing Director of Abbey Ales Alan Morgan said” Each of the pubs is known to regularly stock the famous Bellringer, the company's flagship beer and it’s a handy guide for real ale drinkers visiting Bath for the first time.”

Appropriately, the guide is entitled 'The Bellringer City Centre Crawl and features articles on the fourteen pubs, information on Abbey Ales and its raw material suppliers, plus a map indicating where all of the pubs can be found.

Copies of the guide can be obtained at all the outlets featured including Abbey Ales two city pubs – the Star Inn and the Coeur de Lion.

Pubs featured:
The Porter the Star the Bell the Pig and Fiddle Old Green Tree Gascoyne Place Sam Wellers Volunteer Rifleman’s Arms Flan O Briens Coeur De Lion Crystal Palace Huntsman Inn Lambrettas Bar and the Ram.

Bellringer now on sale in Off-Licences

Bottles of one of Bath's top tipples have gone on sale in off-licences for the first time.

Abbey Ales began bottling its premier pint, Bellringer, late last year. Since then the drink has proved a big hit with punters in pubs across the city.

Now drinkers are able to enjoy the award-winning ale at home by buying it at selected shops owned by the Thresher Group.

The bottles are being stocked in selected shops within 30 miles of Bath under an agreement struck between members of the Society of Independent Brewers and the national chain.

So far Abbey Ales' bottled Bellringer has been dispatched to seven Thresher shops.

Alan Morgan, managing director of Abbey Ales, said: "We will definitely have to do more brewing as so far the orders have been very good and we have said we will squeeze in another bottling run.

"We will really have to gear up production to meet the demand this will create."

Roger Whiteside, chief executive of Thresher, said: "There is huge demand for local products.

"Offering quality ales from local brewers with a passion and enthusiasm for beer is a far more interesting proposition than the supermarkets' use of price-led lager deals."

Abbey Ales is also continuing its search for a new home.

Since the company began brewing it has been run from a site just off Lansdown Road.

But now it needs a new, bigger home.

"We could sell and make twice as much beer as we do if we had the right premises," said Mr Morgan.

"But finding them is difficult, especially as we want to stay in Bath."

Kennet Morris Men

Morris men kicked off an epic journey to celebrate their 50th anniversary with a jig outside Bath's smallest pub.Kennet Morris Men dancers met at the Coeur de Lion pub on Saturday for the first event on a 75-mile tour along the Kennet and Avon Canal.

The Golden Jubilee journey will see the dancers take two boats through almost 100 locks and visit more than 50 pubs before the finale, which will be held in Reading on Saturday, May 19.

Kennet squire Bill Martin said the secret to his group's success over the last half a century was the mixture of music, colour and friendship.

"We are a very mixed bunch of people and a lot of us joined in the 1970s and 1980s, but we do have young people coming in," he said.

"Our youngest member is 17 and essentially morris dancing is a party.

"It is about friends and music and dancing and having a bit of fun, within the structure of the morris tradition.

"I think morris dancing is evolving and we are looking for young men who like to enjoy the music and dancing and the very strong social aspect to the tradition."

The Kennet Morris Men say the origin of the morris tradition is unclear, but England's earliest records of the dance date back to Reading's St Mary's Church in 1513.

Mild in May

CAMRA (the CAMpaign for Real Ale), who will be promoting Mild throughout May - and in fact celebrating national Mild Day on May 5 - will be asking Licensees to come on board and stock this style of beer and actively encourage pub goers to try it.

With this in mind Bath's only brewery, Abbey Ales has again brewed it’s 4.0% abv mild ale for its local customers.

Mild is ale of reasonably low gravity and hop rate, consequently rounder and sometimes sweeter and distinctly less bitter on the palate and in aroma than more highly hopped bitters. It is also invariably darker than bitter through the use of a higher rate of roasted malt.

Tracy Saunders, spokesperson for CAMRA’s Light and Dark Supporters said, “Mild Month is now firmly established on the calendar, and is a time when most seasonal milds are produced. It’s important that breweries like Abbey Ales, participate, to attract drinkers to this wonderful drink, and hopefully can encourage people to give mild a try.”

Managing Director of Abbey Ales Alan Morgan said, “We are very happy to support the Camra Mild in May promotion. We have already had interest from the local landlords I have mentioned it too and in fact I have already taken orders.

Landlord Paul Waters of The Star in Bath and Julian Waters at the Coeur de Lion both Abbey Ales Brewery pubs Tap will be amongst the local pubs supporting the mild in May promotion.

Visit www.camra.org.uk/mild to find out more about Mild Month, and other events taking place around the country.

Ten years of top tipples

Drinkers across Bath will soon be able to raise a toast to mark ten years of top tipples from Abbey Ales. Alan Morgan set up Abbey ten years ago - reviving a brewing tradition in the city that had been lost for decades.

And, to this day Abbey Ales are still brewed in Camden Row.

The firm's first pint was produced in October 1997 and since then the brewery has been swamped by demand.

Because of that, it has also been able to introduce a range of guest and seasonal beers, such as Black Friar, Twelfth Night and Chorister and this months special Steeplejack.

New Bellringer clip To mark the company's tenth birthday it has produced a new clip for its popular Bellringer beer, which will be appearing in pubs across the city from this week.

Mr Morgan said: "I think it is quite an achievement in this day and age for a small brewery to survive as long as Abbey Ales has.

"There is so much competition out there and there are so many new breweries starting up and even more closing.

"Everyone we talk to in Bath seems amazed that it has been ten years.

"People keep telling me how quickly it's gone - especially many of our customers who have been with us since day one.

"This new clip is part of our birthday celebrations which will go on all year."

Abbey is also planning a special birthday brew to mark its anniversary.

Great British Beer Festival

The Great British Beer Festival from August 1st to August 5th will this year be bigger than ever before as it moves from London's Olympia to Earls Court.

A handpicked selection of more than 700 different real ales including beer from Baths only brewery Abbey Ales , ciders, perries, and bottled beers will be available at the festival - confirming Earl's Court as the new home of British beer.

CAMRA Chief Executive Mike Benner said: "More than 47,000 people came to the 2005 Great British Beer Festival and because of the new larger venue we are looking forward to welcoming even more visitors this year.

"The Great British Beer Festival is the best thing about the summer for beer enthusiasts. But even if you have never tried real ale before it is the perfect place to meet up with friends, come for a drink with colleagues after work, or simply soak up some Great British hospitality."

Alan Morgan Managing Director of Abbey Ales said."We will be there on the trade day with many of Baths landlords.This year we have been asked to brew White Friar our straw coloured 5% abv best bitter for the show and we have also been asked to supply the VIP bar with Bellringer our flagship bitter.We will also be releasing White Friar as our special in August for drinkers in Bath not able to get to the show."

This year the festival will include:

Over 450 of the UK's finest ales from the smallest microbreweries to some of Britain's best known beers.
A Bottled Beer Bar offering more than 100 varieties of real ale in a bottle.
The prestigious CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain 2006 will be announced on Tuesday August 1st during the trade session.
Beers from around the world at Bières Sans Frontières, including Germany, Belgium, Italy, USA and the Czech Republic.
A wide variety of unique and tasty ciders and perries from some of the UK's finest independent producers.
Tutored beer tastings with brewing experts
Full liquid pints guaranteed thanks to the use of oversized lined glasses.
A great selection of delicious food
Live Music
A family room for under 18's.*

A Limited amount of tickets are available to the media for use as competition prizes (Contact the Press Office on the number below.)

Mike Benner added: "This Great British Beer Festival is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever before. With so much to see, do - and of course, taste - a trip to Earls Court in August will be a terrific experience."

Abbey Ales White Friar!

Advance orders taken for White Friar the beer chosen by the Campaign of Real Ale for this years Great British Beer Festival, have passed all expectations and Abbey Ales Bath's own brewery are now trying to fit in a another batch.

The 5.0 % abv golden-coloured hoppy ale was originally created as Jubilation to coincide with the Queens visit to Bath in her Golden Jubilee year and was so well received that Abbey Ales re-introduced it under the name of White Friar

Managing Director Alan Morgan commented, "We are regularly trying to brew a monthly guest beer to compliment our best selling Bellringer but the need to meet the demand for our flagship ale takes up nearly all of our production. Head brewer Martin Langham, has to fit in brewing occasional beers when he can and he is now working overtime to fit in another batch. Obviously CAMRA choosing it for the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) has had an influence. Our regular customers are aware how quickly the guests sell and fortunately order early."

Abbey Ales started brewing in Bath in 1997 and have regularly won awards for Bellringer a golden 4.2% best bitter. Delivery is strictly within a twenty mile radius of Baths famous Abbey although Bellringer is available nationally via beer wholesalers.

The beer will only be sold locally to pubs in the Bath area from 1 August. However, drinkers further a field will be able to taste it at the Great British Beer Festival being held at Earls Court for the first time this year from the 1st-5th August 2006.

New pub for Abbey Ales

Abbey Ales Baths only brewery is taking over The Coeur de Lion in Northumberland Place Bath reputed to be Baths smallest pub.Abbey already owns The Star Inn on The Paragon which is run by Paul Waters and keeping it in the family the Coeur de Lion will be run by Pauls brother Julian formerly of The Midland.

Alan Morgan Said "The pub is temporally closed and will hopefully re-open next week after some redecoration. I really feel that The Coeur will be a good outlet for Abbey Ales and I am sure Julian will do as good a job as Paul is doing at The Star. At Abbey Ales we are always looking for pubs but we feel that they have to be special and the Coeur fits the bill perfectly.

Mild for May

Bath brewery Abbey Ales has put its weight behind a Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) drive to get people drinking mild. The brewery says it will be producing its own mild in support of Camra's Mild in May campaign.

Mild is a beer that gets much of its flavour from malts or roasted barley, and is usually of a lower alcohol content than many other styles.

Despite a resurgence in popularity among real ale fans, mild is still hard to find in the nation's pubs.

As a result, Camra has dedicated May to promoting mild as a refreshing real ale alternative to lager.

Alan Morgan, managing director of Abbey Ales, said: "We will be brewing a four per cent dark mild again this year as we are more than happy to support the Camra Mild in May promotion.

"We have already had interest from the local landlords who have sold it in previous Mild in May promotions.

"We have already taken orders from The Old Green Tree, The Volunteer Rifleman's and The Star Inn in Bath.

"However, it will not be available until the middle of May because we have been very busy keeping up with the regular demand for our flagship beer, Bellringer."

Tracy Saunders, chairman of Camra's light and dark supporters' group, which campaigns specifically for Britain's endangered beer styles, said: "Some milds are brewed seasonally and so the best time to find them is in May. We are asking licensees to stock at least one mild during the month and take advantage of the free packs from Camra that can be used to promote it."

The free packs include leaflets about mild and ideas for mild- themed events.

Easter Ale

Choosing a name for a new beer can be a dilemma for all brewers, large and small, and has certainly been a particular problem for us at Abbey Ales in Bath.

We always try to find a name that fits in with our Abbey theme but it is never easy. Bellringer came out of the blue after Kent brewers Shepherd Neame objected to us calling our debut beer 'Abbey Best Bitter'. It forced us to be a bit more original, Bellringer was chosen and it has proved a popular name and - more importantly - a popular beer.

Our second beer was destined to be Cardinal Sin. This time Tolly Cobbold from Ipswich objected. They said that they had a bottled beer called Cardinal and Please do not continue to use the name!

Recently we have pursued a Friar theme with Black Friar followed by White Friar and we could probably have continued this ad infinitum with Grey Friar, Orange Friar etc, but divine intervention has taken a hand!

In the 2004 Camra Good Beer Guide, Abbey Ales has been credited with a brand called Resurrection, a 4.6% guest beer for April. We have no idea where this came from and can only surmise that Roger Protz, the editor, can truly see into the future. Either that or he recognised our eternal naming problem and decided to help us!

Such is the power of the Drinker's Bible, that we are now getting requests from Beer Festival organisers all around the country for "Resurrection please, you know, your Easter Guest beer"!

Thus it was meant to be and our Head Brewer Martin Langham has now produced a golden new 4.6% brew. We let him decide the recipe (not your shout, this time Mr Protz) although he is welcome to join us for a pint at The Star (our National Inventory-listed pub in Bath.)

Black Friar continues the Abbey habit

The latest in a series of one-off special brews has just been unveiled by Bath's own brewery, Abbey Ales, as it celebrates yet another milestone in its history.

Black Friar, dark warming winter ale brewed to an abv of 5.3%, has gone on sale nine years after the company was founded, in October 1997.

Recalls Abbey Ales managing director, Alan Morgan, "Time has passed so quickly since 1997 I remember walking into Ye Olde Farmhouse in Bath after I had just been made redundant and landlord John Bradshaw telling me that he was pleased I'd lost my job because we could now start Bath's first brewery for over 40 years!

"I can also remember not being that keen to do it as I preferred working for someone else. Having said that, I had no doubt that we could succeed and was extremely fortunate to raise the capital required from our shareholders in record time."

The first beer, Bellringer, was launched in October 1997 at the Bath Beer Festival - proving an instant success and is still the only beer brewed on a regular basis-more recently the brewery has introduced a monthly guest beer programme Black Friar being the latest.

"We have enjoyed tremendous support from the people of Bath and I have recently been told that many now look upon the brewery as an important attribute for this world heritage city," continues Morgan. "Drinkers and Landlords alike have supported us all the way, and we have, in turn, hopefully given them some of the tastiest beers ever produced in these parts. Black Friar certainly falls into that category!"

The beer which came runner up in the Siba maltings beer festival (Porters and Old Ales)goes on sale in many of Baths top real ale pubs from Monday 6 February with a newly designed pump clip.

Arctic

ANTARCTIC SCIENTIST'S BAR TOWEL IS HOMELY REMINDER

He Has spent much of his life probing the small life forms that flourish in glaciers. But just like anyone else, Professor Martyn Tranter misses his home comforts when his job takes him to some of the most inhospitable places on earth.

However, the 49-year-old can now be reminded of home and his favourite tipple after he was donated a bar towel bearing the name of the beer served at his local in Monkton Combe.

So while Prof Tranter can only dream about supping the ale while working in faraway destinations such as Antarctica, he can keep his special towel close to hand wherever he is in the world.

The academic, who is professor of physical geography at the University of Bristol and works in the Bristol Glaciology Centre, said: "It is a great job but it does mean being away from my family for a long time.

"I go to Antarctica about once every two years.

"My most recent trip was for one month, and I took the towel as a reminder of home.

"I took it out with me every day for superstitious reasons, just in case something bad happened.

"I have also been to the Alps a few times, the ice caps in Norway and I have been to Greenland."

Prof Tranter lives in Mill Lane, Monkton Combe, with his wife Penny and children Ieuan, 11, and Isabelle, nine.

He is a regular at the Wheelwrights Arms, also in Mill Lane, which donated the towel.

The professor, a big fan of the Bellringer beer brewed by Bath brewery Abbey Ales, said: "I miss my pint of Bellringer when I'm away.

"It was fantastic to have one in the Wheelwrights Arms when I came back."

Prof Tranter arrived back from his latest trip to Antarctica, which was part of a long-term ecological research programme, at the end of last month.

The team he was with stayed on Canada Glacier in tents, enduring temperatures as low as minus 15 degrees centigrade, before returning to their base to analyse the results.

The professor's work involved taking sample ice cores of mesocosms, which are small goldfish bowls of water that hold life just below the surface of the glacier.

Prof Tranter said that very simple blue-green algae grew in these goldfish bowls about half-a-metre below the glacier surface, and he explained how the life forms pointed to the possibility of life on Mars.

He said: "I look at biogeochemical processes in glaciers, and I also look at life in extreme environments.

"Wherever there is water, there is life, however extreme the environment is.

"There were the right conditions for life on Mars about four billion years ago, and if there was life it is just possible that vestiges of that life have managed to survive, either on the surface of the Martian polar ice cap or the bed of that ice cap.

"The balance of probability says there will be life somewhere else, and it is just possible there are simple life forms in other icy planets like Mars."

Prof Tranter's next trip will be to Greenland, probably in 2007.

Chorister

Chorister, the latest occasional guest beer from Baths only micro brewery Abbey Ales will be available to Baths top real ale pubs from Monday 14 November.

Managing Director Alan Morgan commented, "We always try to brew a range of different beers to compliment our best selling Bellringer but the need to meet the demand for our flagship ale Bellringer takes up nearly all of our production. Head brewer Martin Langham, has to fit in brewing occasional beers when possible and he has slotted Chorister in before Christmas and our special Christmas brew Twelfth Night. Our regular customers are aware how quickly the guests sell and fortunately for us order early.”

Abbey Ales started brewing in Bath in 1997 and have regularly won awards for Bellringer a golden 4.2% best bitter. Delivery is strictly within a twenty mile radius of Baths famous Abbey.

Bath has recently been voted real ale capital of Britain by The Real Ale Pub Guide and the beer will only be sold locally to pubs in the Bath area.

It will be interesting to see if there is an influx of drinkers coming to “The Capital” to try the new brew as we will only be selling Chorister within our local trading area,” added Alan.

First pubs to order are The Star Inn, The Old Green Tree and The Volunteer Rifleman’s Arms.

Salvation

A beer originally brewed to help local drinkers contribute towards the Asian tsunami disaster relief appeals has proved so popular it has now been brewed again!

Salvation, a guest ale from Abbey Ales - Bath's only Brewery - is slightly darker than the company's classic 'Bellringer' ale, and boasts a stronger ABV (Alcohol by Volume) of 4.8%. It is being produced from Maris Otter and Crystal malts and finished with Challenger hops.

Abbey Ales Managing Director Alan Morgan explained; "We hadn't intended to brew Salvation again so soon after it's first appearance, but demand was strong and so we decided, 'why not? We will also again be donating some of the profit to charity this time it will be Mandylyns/Carolyn Sewards Kisumu project."

Being released at the same time is the latest issue of the company's indispensable guide to the best Bath pubs. The 'Bellringer Crawl' has been completely updated for 2005 and as well as including old favourites such as the Volunteer Rifleman's Arms, Lambrettas, the Porter and the Bell, has included new Bellringer stockists such as the Crystal Palace, Huntsman and The Raven.

The booklet is available free of charge from most of Bath's real ale pubs including the Star Inn, Abbey Ales' brewery tap.

Mild in May

CAMRA (the CAMpaign for Real Ale) who, annually promote Mild throughout May - and in fact celebrate national Mild Day on May 7 - are again asking Licensees to come on board and stock this style of beer, and actively encouraging pub goers to try it.

With this in mind Bath's only brewery, Abbey Ales, has again brewed a 4.0% abv mild ale for its local customers in Bath.

Mild is an ale of reasonably low gravity and hop rate, consequently rounder and sometimes sweeter and distinctly less bitter on the palate and in aroma than more highly hopped bitters. It is also invariably darker than bitter through the use of a higher rate of roasted malt.

Camra’s spokesperson said, "Mild is one of Britain's finest styles of beer but it can be difficult for the beer drinker to locate pubs that supply it. I would urge all Licensees to put on some mild in May, promote it to local pub goers and this will hopefully benefit the pub, the consumer and go some way to saving this wonderful drink from disappearing from British Pubs forever."

Managing Director of Abbey Ales Alan Morgan said, “It is the second time we have brewed Mild and last years sales justified us brewing it again. We are more than happy to support the Camra Mild in May promotion once more and we have already had enquiries from the local landlords who stocked it last year and wanted to know if we would brew it again. However it will not be available until 7th of May as we have been very busy keeping up with the demand for Bellringer."

Paul Waters at The Star Inn and Paul Alvis of The Volunteer Rifleman’s in Bath were the first to re-order the Mild and Paul Alvis said “I stock all Abbey Ales occasional beers as they sell so quickly and I can't wait for the mild to arrive. I also like the fact that it will only be sold in Bath as it means that you have to visit Bath to drink it."

Bath LVA Banquet and Ball

Abbey Ales Baths own brewery is to be President of this years Baths Licensed Victualers Association annual Banquet and Ball which will be held at The Francis Hotel on Tuesday March 8th.

Managing Director of Abbey Ales Alan Morgan said "I am extremely proud to be asked again to be President at this years Ball as it is a wonderful opportunity to say thank you to all Bath's Licensees and guests who have supported Abbey Ales since we started in 1997”.

Bath LVA is believed to be the oldest LV association in the country and Chairman Nick Luke of the Green Tree in Bath promised an even better ball than last year which is being held for the first time at The Francis Hotel in Queen Square.

Nick said "We have listened to what members wanted and we feel that this year we have even improved on last years ball. It promises to be a very interesting year ahead for the licensed trade and members and their guest can relax on a special night starting with a free drinks reception which includes Bellringer from Abbey Ales alongside wines and spirits from other local and national companies so come early to get your monies worth!"

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at Mandalyns in Lansdown Road. Seating has been restricted this year and members are asked to book there tickets early to avoid disappointment.

Drinkers set to boost tsunami appeal fund

The release date for Salvation a new guest ale from Baths only Brewery Abbey Ales has been brought forward to allow local drinkers to contribute towards the Asian tsunami disaster relief appeal. For each barrel (36 gallons) of Salvation sold, Abbey Ales will donate £20 to the appeal fund.

Released at the end of January, 'Salvation' will boast an ABV (Alcohol by Volume) of 4.8%. It will be slightly darker than the brewery's classic 'Bellringer' ale, being produced from Maris Otter and Crystal malts and finished with Challenger hops.

Managing Director Alan Morgan explained; "We hadn't intended to launch another beer so soon after Christmas but everybody involved with Abbey Ales felt that we would should do something for the tsunami disaster appeal fund, and a new beer with some of the profit going to the fund seemed a sensible idea and a positive way in which we as a small brewery could contribute."

Abbey Ales Sermon

You may not yet have heard any carol singers or even seen any reindeers but you are probably still facing up to the fact that Christmas is nearly here! The brewing team at Bath's own Brewery Abbey Ales, however, are feeling that Christmas has already arrived!

The Brewery, based at Camden Row, started taking advance orders earlier in the month for 36 pint and 18 pint Christmas party Boxes and Head Brewer Martin Langham has now brewed the special barrels of Christmas cheer in the shape of Twelfth Night, the breweries annual Christmas Ale.

Brewed to give drinkers a glass of winter warmth, Twelfth Night is a dark strong bitter brewed to an abv of 5.0%.

Managing Director Alan Morgan said "The orders for beer in a box grows every year as people want something different to supermarket cans and whilst Bellringer is our best seller Twelfth Night is catching up. It is an ideal winter warmer, a malty dark beer perfect for celebrating at home and supping in your local. It is seasonal beer that we still get asked for even after Christmas."

The brewery, which is the first and only brewery to be based in the World Heritage City of Bath for more than forty years, recently celebrated its seventh birthday at the Bath Beer Festival and produced. Steeplejack, a special tawny bitter brewed to celebrate the occasion.

Limited supplies of Twelfth Night - which features an unusual flashing pump clip - will be available from Abbey Ales from the last week of November and should be on sale in Bath's top pubs well in time for Christmas plus this year Mark Heather of the Raincheck bar will also be offering it to customers at Baths famous Christmas market.

Steeplejack

Special birthday beer debuts at Bath CAMRA festival

Bath's only brewery is to brew a special one-off limited edition ale for the forthcoming Bath Beer Festival. Abbey Ales expects its tawny hoppy 4.7% abv premium bitter - which also commemorates the company's 7th birthday - to be a big hit with drinkers in the brewery's trading area in and around Bath.

Alan Morgan, Founder and Managing Director of the micro brewery based in Camden Row, Bath, said; “Drinkers can expect to see the new beer - called Steeplejack - launched at the Festival, held on 15 and 16 October at the Pavilion, roughly seven years from the day we launched our first ale, Bellringer. However, be aware that it is a limited brew and will be sold on a first come first served basis!”

Steeplejack brewed with Maris Otter malt and Northdown hops will also be on sale in selected real ale pubs from the following day.

Abbey Ales is based just a stones throw from the centre of Bath and the famous Abbey from which it takes its name. Only one beer, Bellringer, is in continual production at the brewery a golden hoppy 4.2% abv best bitter which was also launched at the City's CAMRA beer festival, in 1997.

Bellringer, which has now won prizes every year since its launch enjoys a tremendous loyal local following and is now Bath's top selling cask beer.
Other beers are introduced on a regular basis but due to the brewery's limited capacity, priority is always given to Bellringer.

According to Mr Morgan, part of Bellringer's success has been down to the continuing support received locally from drinkers and from publicans who are proud to support the beer of Bath. We want to be Baths favourite beer and maintain a strict delivery service, with the brewery dray only delivering within a 20 mile radius of the brewery.

Abbey Ale's booklet, The Bath Bellringer Crawl, has also proved so popular with drinkers and visitors to Bath that a reprint has proved necessary. It is available from most of the Bath Pubs which it features, as well as the tourist office, or direct from Abbey Ales if you send a 21p stamped addressed A5 envelope to the brewery at Camden Row.

Brewers toast the best of British

Staff at Abbey Ales Baths own Brewery will join millions of beer drinkers across the UK in raising a glass or two of their own locally-produced ales in celebration of Cask Beer Week which runs from 17th – 26th September.

Cask Beer Week has become a time to highlight the best of British beers and emphasise the fact that cask ale is part of our tradition and heritage. Research shows that 61% of regular pub-goers believe that at least one beer in every pub should be locally-brewed.

According to Managing Director Alan Morgan, “There is a vast selection of beers being produced by the UK’s microbrewers. Small local brewers and cask conditioned ales are an important sector of the overall British beer industry. We pride ourselves on maintaining the tradition of local brewing and using only the finest local ingredients. We are currently brewing Chorister our dark malty 4.5% bitter which will be available for cask beer week along with Bellringer our regular golden 4.2% prize winning best bitter.

Paul Waters Manager of the Star Inn on The Paragon Bath added “The vast range of different flavours gives beer drinkers an incredible choice and we hope that many will help toast Cask Beer Week preferably at The Star with a pint of Bellringer but wherever they are with some locally-produced, top quality cask ale!

White Friar

White Friar, Abbey Ales latest occasional guest beer has sold out before it has even gone on sale! Advance orders taken for the beer, chosen by the Campaign of Real Ale for this years Great British Beer Festival, were in before the beer had even finished brewing!!!

The 5.0 % abv golden-coloured hoppy ale originally created as Jubilation to coincide with the Queens visit to Bath in her Golden Jubilee year was so well received that Abbey Ales re-introduced it under the name of White Friar.

Managing Director Alan Morgan commented, "We have has always wanted to regularly brew a range of different beers to compliment our best selling Bellringer but the need to meet the demand for our flagship ale takes up most of our production schedule. Head brewer Martin Langham has to fit in brewing occasional beers when he can and it is highly unlikely that he will be able to brew another batch of White Friar. Our customers are aware of this and therefore always order guests early but this is the first time we have sold out before brewing has finished.!

One of the first pubs to place an order was the Volunteer Rifleman’s, where Licensee Paul Alvis has held back casks of the previous guest Bath Star and intends to put on both beers with Bellringer for a mini Abbey Ales beer festival. It will be the first time all three Abbey Beers have been on sale together in Bath.

Likewise at Abbey Ale's own pub, the Star on The Paragon Bath, new manager Paul Waters quickly experienced the pulling power of Bath's only brewery and has had customers ringing to ask when it will be available!

White Friar was recently voted the favourite occasional beer on a poll recently held on the brewery web site www.abbeyales.co.uk.

The beer will only be sold locally to pubs in the Bath area. However, drinkers further a field will be able to taste it at the Great British Beer Festival being held at Olympia from the 3-7 August.

Mild for May

CAMRA (the CAMpaign for Real Ale), who will be promoting Mild throughout May - and in fact celebrated national Mild Day on May 8 - are asking Licensees to come on board and stock this style of beer, and actively encouraging pub goers to try it.

With this in mind Bath's only brewery, Abbey Ales, has brewed a 4.0% abv mild ale for its local customers in Bath.

John Norman, Camra's light and dark supporters spokesperson said, "Mild is one of Britain's finest styles of beer but it can be difficult for the beer drinker to locate pubs that supply it. I would urge all Licensees to put on some mild in May, promote it to local pub goers and this will hopefully benefit the pub, the consumer and go some way to saving this wonderful drink from disappearing from British Pubs forever."

Managing Director of Abbey Ales Alan Morgan said, " It is something very new from Abbey Ales and we are happy to support the Camra Mild in May promotion. We have had great interest from the local landlords I have mentioned it too and in fact I have already taken orders from The Volunteer Riflemans The Old Green Tree and The Star Inn in Bath; However it will not be available until May 20th as we have been very busy keeping up with the demand for Bellringer."

Landlord Paul Alvis of The Volunteer Riflemans in Bath one of the first to order the Mild and said, " I stock all Abbey Ales occasional beers as they sell so quickly and I can't wait for the mild to arrive. I also like the fact that it will only be sold in and around Bath. Paul Waters Manager of The Star Inn Bath said "I am sure this beer will be another winner from Baths only brewery."