Mr 'G' Turns To Mr 'E' To Brew Exclusive Festival Ale
Posted on 12th October 2009
Ian Ramsay, brewer at Galbraith’s Alehouse in Auckland, New Zealand, spent two days with the team here at our Castle Acres brewery to prepare around 72,000 pints of Mr G’s Luncheon Ale (3.7% ABV).
The beer will go on sale exclusively next month in all 732 pubs operated by JD Wetherspoon as part of an international ale festival running from 28 October to 15 November. With up to 50 different ales and ciders available, the event will celebrate the pub group’s 30th anniversary.
Ian said: “I first got the idea for a lower strength ale during a visit to the UK last year. I tried a pint of Everards’ Beacon bitter, absolutely loved it and subsequently starting brewing Mr G’s.
“It was many months later when Wetherspoon’s approached us to include Mr G’s in their beer festival because they were impressed with how closely it resembled a traditional English pint.
“Everards was an obvious partner for brewing our beer under licence in the UK and after spending time with them perfecting the recipe I have every confidence the end result will be superb.
“It has been a great experience and the team at Castle Acres have made me feel instantly at home. They are clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about their beer, just like everyone at Galbraith’s.”
Mr G’s Luncheon Ale is a well balanced and full bodied ale made from a blend of Czech and England malts, plus American and English hops. The lower ABV percentage makes for an ideal lunchtime drink, hence its name. As for the Mr G part, that’s down to Ian and brewery boss Keith Galbraith.
Ian said: “At work if I need to interrupt Keith during a meeting I’ll say ‘excuse me, Mr G..’. It’s a polite but not too formal way of addressing your boss, which has stuck over time and just seemed like a fun name for a new beer.
“I later found out that it’s quite an English thing to do, especially in the brewing industry!”
Galbraith’s was established in 1995 and at the time was New Zealand’s only brewer of cask conditioned ales. The company offers five permanent ales, a further seasonal ale, two different lagers and a Trappist style beer called Resurrection.
All brews are sold over the bar in its popular Auckland brewpub Galbraith’s Alehouse along with an array of fine food.
This is the second time Everards has been selected to brew an international ale under licence for a Wetherspoon’s festival. In March the company partnered with Epic, also based in New Zealand, and brewed 80,000 pints of Epic Pale Ale.
Watch the slideshow of Ian’s visit or click here to find out more about Galbraith’s
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