UK’s first ‘botanical’ beer launched

UK distillery Chase and London’s Meantime Brewing Company have joined forces to release what they describe as the UK’s first “botanical beer”.

The Meantime Brewing Company turned a construction site into London’s first permanent hop farm in more than 100 years earlier this year.

Created by replacing essential hops with a unique blend of botanicals from Chase’s gin, the beer has been described as a “modern twist on traditional Gruit style beers” in which botanicals were used to counteract bitterness, bringing together “delicate floral undertones of gin with a blend of rich and sumptuous malts”.

Rich Myers, marketing director at Meantime Brewing said: “Our shared passion for flavour has resulted in the creation of ‘Botanical Beer’ – something we are certain will delight the drinker by offering them a truly unique and full-bodied brew that stands as the perfect example of how far modern craft has come.”

The brew has been described as having the aroma of “citrus and background notes of fiery ginger.” complemented by a blend of “cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, almond, coriander, cardamom, cloves, liquorice, lemon and of course juniper.”

James Chase, Marketing Director from Chase Distillery added: “Craft gin, much like craft beer is undergoing a huge revolution and we are proud to be joining forces with Meantime, the UK’s most forward thinking brewer.”

The “Botanical Beer” will be unveiled at Meantime’s BrewFest on 23 to 25 August and will be available at Chase’s Rock the Farm Music Festival on 30-31 August.

A small amount will also be on sale at Meantime’s online shops, Chase’s distillery shop and the Running Horse pub in Mayfair.