In a project to commemorate the Centenary of the First World War, twelve beers will be brewed over the five year period to 2019.
Castle Rock Brewery, based in Nottingham, England, is behind the The Commemoration Collection, which will see donations from sales being made to charities including the Royal British Legion and Amnesty International.
The beers will mark the major personalities, incidents and anniversaries of the conflict.
The initiative was announced during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Victoria Cross Memorial in Nottingham.
Liv Auckland, who attended the ceremony and is the Project Leader for The Commemoration Collection at Castle Rock Brewery, said that “every beer in the range will be created with respect, consideration and dedication”.
The official logo of ‘The Commemoration Collection’
“It’s an enormous responsibility to work on this given the historical significance. For me, there are lots of valuable messages with remembrance being the most important.
“We hope to give our customers an opportunity to remember and reflect amid the hustle and bustle of modern life. Plenty of them will be passionate about history while others may realise they are less well informed than they thought”.
“I was definitely in this latter category when I started work on the project,” Ms. Auckland confessed, but, “I’m learning something new every day about the people and events that shaped our world”.
The first in the range, ‘The Great War’, is a 4.8% strong ruby mild.
Andy Jack of Amnesty International said that the organisation is “grateful” for the support from Castle Rock Brewery and its customers.
Andy Gregory, the Royal British Legion’s Nottinghamshire County Chairman, echoed these sentiments: “We’re grateful to all Castle Rock customers and I encourage them to support this project by having a pint and remembering what each brew stands for”.
Later beers in The Commemorative Collection are ‘Tommy Atkins – a call to arms’ and ‘Christmas Truce – peace on no-man’s land’. The range will end in June 2019 with ‘Versailles: lest we forget’.
Source: Castle Rock Brewery
Images courtesy of Castle Rock Brewery
Posted by: Daniel Barry, Centenary News