Pork scratching manufacturer launches chestnut ale

27-Aug-2013 - Last updated on 28-Aug-2013 at 13:38 GMT

Related tags Beer

Mr Trotter's Great British Chestnut Ale is the only chestnut beer to be brewed in the UK

Pork scratching manufacturer Mr Trotter’s has launched a new chestnut beer to be brewed and bottled in the UK.

Mr Trotter’s Great British Chestnut Ale has a 4% abv and is available in selected Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason stores, as well as various farm shops.

The beer, which blends roasted sweet chestnuts with malted Maris Otter barley, will also be made available to pubs in cask in September.

Beer guru

It was developed by the team behind Mr Trotter’s Great British Pork Crackling, which includes food writers Tom Parker Bowles and Matthew Fort and beer guru Rupert Ponsonby.

It has been brewed by Lancaster Brewery and is said to have a deep, sweet sourdough taste.

Ponsonby said: “Before hops arrived in Britain in the 1500s, brewers would have used all manner of odd sounding ingredients to reflect the seasons and to spice up the cereals such as barley, rye, wheat and oats used in their brews. So using chestnuts feels like a wonderful nod to the past, with flavours that should appeal even to those who don’t often choose a glass of ale.”