PARTNERSHIP WITH EVERARDS BREWERY by Pete Sikes

Back in December last year the office passed on an email that had been sent by Claire Cannell of Everards Brewery asking if we would be interested in talking to them about our Project. Myself and Andy Collinson were only too happy to meet with Claire over a pint at a local Everards pub in Leicestershire – hard work, but someone’s got to do it. The message read as follows:
Hello, my name is Claire and I work at Everards Brewery. Part of my role is to develop ideas for our upcoming beer calendar. As a proud Leicestershire company I often seek inspiration from Leicestershire history, in this case that being No. 5503 The Leicestershire Regiment, and therefore would like to mark the build of The Unknown Warrior with a commemorative beer in November. The beer would be an amber session ale. You may be aware that our Tiger beer is synonymous with Leicestershire after The Royal Leicestershire Regiment were nicknamed ‘The Tigers’ in 1825 following long service in India. Our chairman, Richard, also comes from a military background and brought my attention to your project back in 2012 when Mr. Leicester wrote a piece in the Leicester Mercury.

I would love to meet with you to learn a bit more about your work. In 2017 we very successfully launched two beers with a charity angle with Friends of the Tenth and Tubby, which donated 5p per pint to COPS (Care of Police Survivors). Please let me know your initial thoughts and we would be pleased to meet up with you if interested.
Many thanks

As a consequence of meeting Claire, and her colleague Kia, it was agreed that we would be happy to receive the support of Everards. During the meeting we explained that the locomotive wouldn’t be ready for November 2018 so Claire kindly brought forward the brewing process so that the beer would be launched at the upcoming Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival that takes place at the newly refurbished Haymarket Theatre in the city centre from 7th to 10th March. They have also kindly agreed that we can have a small sales stand there on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th, if you are in the area please pay us a visit and try a pint of Patriot ale. You can find out more about the event at
http://leicester.camra.org.uk/beer-festivals/leicester-beer-festival-2018/

A brilliant pump clip has been designed for the ale and Everards have written the following for their press release:

Everards love delving into Leicestershire’s rich history to bring flavoursome beers which tell an interesting story. They met with Pete Sikes and Andy Collinson from The LMS-Patriot Project to learn about the story behind the inspiration for their new March beer.

Everards will brew a special beer called ‘Patriot’ – a 4.3% golden hoppy ale bursting with citric flavours of grapefruit with a crisp bitter finish. The brand-new beer ‘Patriot’ will support The LMS-Patriot Project in building an entirely new ‘Patriot’ class steam locomotive named The Unknown Warrior.

By building The Unknown Warrior there will be a lasting, moving memorial for the British public to see and cherish and Everards are delighted to be able to support and help raise awareness of this exceptional build to celebrate its history and its future.
“Each year we deliver an interesting and diverse range of monthly beers for our drinkers to enjoy. We take inspiration from annual events such as St George’s Day, to great local stories such as The LMS-Patriot Project. We then start to build the links such as teaming up with Pete and Andy from The LMS-Patriot Project to brew a great tasting beer which is reflective of the story, and if it can help a local community, project or charity along the way, even better!” said Claire Cannell, Events and Promotions Manager at Everards.
The beer will be available in many Everards pubs this March as well as at the Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival. For the full story visit www.everards.co.uk/our-beers/patriot