St Austell beer joins M&S range

June 2, 2008: St Austell Brewery has been selected by Marks & Spencer to brew a new beer to be sold in its stores.

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Cornish IPA is part of a new range of regional beers being launched by M & S and is being sold in stores across the south of England, from Cornwall to London.

The 5% ABV bottle conditioned ale has been given the thumbs up from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and is brewed using Cornish spring water and locally-grown barley to produce a premium IPA, with a refreshing, full flavour that makes it an ideal summer drink.

Roger Ryman, St Austell Brewery’s head brewer, is delighted that Marks & Spencer chose the Cornish firm to create a new beer offering their customers in the south a true taste of Cornwall.

He said: “We’ve very much enjoyed working with Marks and Spencer to develop Cornish IPA and I’m really pleased with the result — it’s a modern, high quality and distinctive beer with a lot of dry hop character.

“We put a huge effort into ensuring a consistently high level of quality in all our ales and we’re very proud to have the St Austell Brewery name, alongside that of one of the UK’s most respected brands, on bottles of the new Cornish IPA.”

The first bottling run of 20,000 bottles of Cornish IPA took place at the end of May, with the bottles — designed around a nautical theme — scheduled to appear on shelves in Marks and Spencer stores from the first week of June.

Sue Daniels, Marks & Spencer, beer expert, said: “The history of St Austell Brewery and the quality of the beer is a perfect fit for our bottle conditioned beer range, which we introduced last August as part of our drive to raise the profile of regional products. We have been delighted with customer reaction, who really seem to appreciate being able to buy these local beers.”

The deal with Marks & Spencer comes as the popularity of St Austell Brewery’s flagship Tribute Ale continues to soar, with the brand this year entering the top 20 of the UK’s best-selling cask ales.

Tribute was the highest new entry — and the only Devon or Cornwall-brewed ale — to feature in the annual Brands Report 2008, published by The Publican in April, which ranks the top 200 drinks brands sold in UK pubs based on annual sales. Overall, Tribute was ranked in the 100-110 category for the UK’s most popular drinks brands.