St. Peter’s Brewery to Launch ‘English Lager’

25 Jan 2013 --- St. Peter’s Brewery has begun the New Year with a new product launch – St. Peter’s English Lager (5.2% ABV).This is the first time the brewery, which exports almost half its production to 32 countries around the world, has brewed a lager.

Managing director, Colin Cordy, commented: “We set ourselves the target of brewing a lager with some real taste, in common with our existing portfolio of beers and ales. During the development process we tasted lager-style beers from around the world and were surprised how many well-known brands offered little in the way of taste. Cold refreshment – yes, taste – no.”

Several development batches of the new lager were brewed before the team was completely happy with the taste. English Lager was bottled for the first time just after the Christmas / New Year break.

Head brewer / production director Mark Slater added: “We are very pleased with this new product which is bottom fermented and brewed using extra pale lager malt and Hallertau and Styrian Golding hops, traditionally used in lager brewing. The result is a full-bodied, tasty lager which has performed very well in consumer taste tests and also on draught at our London pub, the Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell where a lot of regular customers have switched from the international lager brand we stock there to the new product. Regular cask ale drinkers are also including this in their drinking repertoire commenting positively about the taste and flavour of the lager”.

Mark Slater said: “It is somewhat surprising, I believe, that a traditional English ale brewery should produce a top quality lager but this is by no means revolutionary. Indeed, several English breweries produced lagers from the middle of the 19thC onwards though the ‘lager revolution’ did not really begin in Britain until the last quarter of the 20thC when heavyweight international brands such as Heineken and Carlsberg set their sights on the British market. Fortunately real ales are fighting back against this lager invasion and now our English Lager will, I hope, take the battle closer to home.”

There is intense interest from export customers and expectations are high that consumers around the globe will be keen to try the new lager from the UK. Colin Cordy said: “Our vision at St. Peter’s Brewery is that we introduce delicious, high quality, interesting English ales and beers to a world market which, at present, believes in the main that only lagers exist which are bland in taste terms and served very cold.  By adding this new product to our product portfolio, we hope to attract new consumers to the St. Peter’s brand which will lead to drinkers trying other beers from our range such as our world-famous Cream Stout and traditional Old Style Porter.”

St. Peter’s English Lager will be available in the company’s iconic oval 500ml bottle and in 30 litre kegs. Presentations to major UK supermarkets of the new product begin next week, all of whom currently stock St. Peter’s premium bottled ales.

St. Peter’s, which has increased brewing capacity by over 60% in the last 18 months, has plans for two further new beers during 2013.