Moorhouse’s has rolled out ‘Chief Beer Taster’ ale in honour of chairman Bill Parkinson.
Bill Parkinson
A seven per cent strength ‘limited edition’ brew was released for the Manchester entrepreneur’s seventieth birthday celebrations. It is named after the fun moniker printed on his business card.
Since saving the Burnley brewery from closure 25 years ago ‘because he liked the beer’, the convivial brewery boss has invested heavily in the famous Pendle Witch brands. Now the internationally acclaimed brewer is bucking the recession to build a £4.2m brewing complex – and just days before a birthday toast the roof went on the new brew house
Just 20 barrels of the premium strength commemorative ale were brewed and split between cask and bottle. Licensees who ordered a firkin of cask also received a complimentary case of the bottled ale to raffle to their customers.
Managing director David Grant made a surprise presentation of several cases of the bottled version at a family birthday party. Later Bill sampled the cask in his very own ‘local’ (see photograph) – the Pendle Witch in Atherton, Greater Manchester, where he is also a member of the pub pool team.
Bill samples his ale with Pendle Witch landlady Joan Hougthon.
Bill said: “The beer was a wonderful birthday surprise. It is a great tasting brew, very suitable for a chief beer taster. It was big surprise to see my face on a pump clip and on the bottles as well. I like to have the title on my card just for a bit of fun – chairman seems a bit pretentious – and it makes a great ice breaker. But I never expected this. And my birthday couldn’t have come at a better time. The new brewery is rapidly taking shape, so we could also raise a glass to future.”
David Grant said: “This was a great opportunity for some of our loyal licensees and their discerning customers to have a pint with Bill.”
Moorhouse’s is the North West’s largest dedicated cask-conditioned ale brewer and is enjoying year-on year sales growth for its award winning brews, winning business with leading pub companies and in the free trade across the UK.