24TH APRIL 2009
AllGates Director Ian Thorpe said "This is a great achievement for the AllGates team and we are proud to be the only north west brewer in the Sainsbury's final"
Microbrewery shows pulling power
AN award-winning microbrewery has won through to the final of a superstore chain’s beer contest with a brew it had only produced for a taste test.
AllGates entered one of just 70 test bottles it had made of its classic draught porter, Porteresque, to Sainsbury’s British Beer Competition 2009. But now it is all hands to the beer pump after landing an order from the supermarket giant for 40,000 more bottles.
Having beaten off competition from 114 other bottled ales and 57 breweries to reach the finals, brewers John Woodhead and John Spedding now hope the public will drink to its success.
Having reached the final, Porteresque will now go on sale in hundreds of Sainsbury's stores with the first two to sell 40,000 bottles being named winners and landing a further supply contract.
"That would be brilliant as last year’s winners are still stocked and selling well at Sainsbury's," explained AllGates’ director Ian Thorpe.
Porteresque will square up to its rivals when it goes on sale as part of Sainsbury's Summer Beer Festival which runs across July and August.
Ian said: "It's a lovely dark rich porter at 4.4 per cent abv, bursting with the flavour of roasted barley, British chocolate and crystal malts and English and American hops. It goes down a treat!"
The huge order is by far the biggest secured by AllGates since it started brewing its own traditional ales in 2006, having restored the listed tower brewery on Brewery Yard, off Wigan’s Wallgate.
Formerly the brew house for the Dog & Partridge pub it now provides pale, mild and golden ales to five AllGates pubs. It also supplies other award-winning beers to pubs across the region, including the Young Pretender pale ale, Mild At Heart and Golden Brightblade.
Ian added: "This is a great achievement for the AllGates team and we are proud to be the only north west brewer in the Sainsbury's final."
For tasting notes and details of AllGates’ pubs and beers, visit www.allgatesbrewery.com.
