UNIQUE BEER MADE BY TV STAR NEIL MORRISSEY AIMS TO BECOME HOLY GR-ALE

12 September 2008

A beer made by TV celebrity Neil Morrissey aimed at turning lager drinkers onto ale looks set to become a top seller after going on sale this week. The beer, made by Men Behaving Badly star Morrissey and TV chef Richard Fox follows the success of the pairs pub and microbrewery which they set up in Yorkshire in May. Called Blonde Ale, the beer, which is being sold exclusively by Tesco, has become a top seller just days after going on sale at 500 stores around the UK. Said Tesco ale buyer Ian Targett: We have high hopes for this beer and believe it could become the Holy Gr-Ale that helps turn more lager drinkers onto ale. It was launched along with 14 other lagers, ales and stouts on Monday and is outselling all of them so early signs of it becoming a champion ale are extremely positive. If sales continue at their present level we think the beer could become one of Britain’s top 10 selling ales within a year. The 4.2% abv beer is an ale/lager hybrid that is refreshingly light in colour, with a citrus, fruity aroma and finish, combining the refreshing qualities of a lager with the artisan complexity of a fine ale. Morrissey and Fox opened their pub called Ye Olde Punch Bowl Inn, in Marton cum Grafton near Boroughbridge, Yorkshire, and their nearby microbrewery in May. The whole adventure was filmed and will be shown on Channel 4 in November in a series all about their endeavours called Men Brewing Badly. It will show them setting up from scratch including finding and buying their own pub and then creating their own microbrewery. Said Neil Morrissey: Our ultimate aim for the pub as well as our Blonde Ale is to turn lager drinkers onto the wonders of ale and show them how well it can be matched with food. The wine world has had it too good for too long and we hope that soon more people will begin to match food with fine ales. Our own Blonde Ale, by the way, goes very well with fish dishes. This is just the start for us and we plan to have two other beers out by the end of the year. Added Tescos Ian Targett: There is already retail evidence that some lager drinkers are switching over to ale. Lager sales have fallen in the last year while ale sales have shown strong growth. Hopefully Morrissey and Foxs Blonde Ale will encourage further interest. Thanks to their growing popularity we now sell 300 ales from all over the UK and plan to add even more to the range. Morrissey Foxs Blonde Ale is sold in 500ml bottles and costs £1.89. Ends Note to editors Independent retail analysts TNS record that in the last year ale sales across all retailers grew by 2.3 per cent in a market worth £165 million a year. Lager sales have fallen across all retailers by 3.3 per cent in a market worth £327 million a year.

Source: Tesco Mobile

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