Wetherspoon has launched a brewing initiative by inviting selected brewers from the US to produce a beer here in the UK for its pubs. This follows successful visits by overseas brewers to the UK, as part of the Wetherspoon beer festival.
The Wetherspoon twice annual beer festival sees up to 10 overseas brewers teaming up with a UK brewer to produce their own beer at a brewery in the UK. The beers are then among those available at the festival at the Wetherspoon pubs across the UK.
The company has now launched a similar project, with two US brewers visiting every month between August 2013 and February 2014, excluding the autumn festival month of October.
Each brewer will produce one of their own USA craft beers, at a UK brewery, and the beer will be available at all Wetherspoon pubs across the UK.
Brewers from New York kick-off the six month initiative, with an August visit.
Mark Szmaida, from Chelsea Brewing Co., is brewing Sunset Red (5.0% ABV) at Wadworth in Devizes, while Jan Matysiak and Heather McReynolds, from Sixpoint Brewery, are brewing Bengali Tiger IPA (6.4% ABV) at Adnams in Southwold.
Gary Holmes, Wetherspoon festival organiser, said: “Our collaboration with overseas brewers has proved such a success for our festivals, so we were keen to extend the idea and focus specifically on USA craft beer.
“There is a growing interest in the US craft beer market and this initiative combines the best of craft brewing with the traditional British cask-conditioned beer.
“This monthly brewing partnership will provide a great opportunity for Wetherspoon customers to discover this particular speciality beer.”
Picture: Mark Szmaida from Chelsea Brewing Co pours a pint of Sunset Red at The Crosse Keys pub in Gracechurch Street, London
