Northern Monk’s April Fools’ prank turned out to be no April Fool after all.
Pub snacks and beer are natural bedfellows, so it was only a matter of time before one brewer put them together – step forward Northern Monk!
The Leeds-based independent initially ‘launched’ their trio of beers inspired by three popular salty delights on April 1 in what appeared to be an April Fools’ joke, only the joke was that they were really being produced: a Scampi & Lemon Pale Ale, Pork Scratching Best Bitter, and a Dry Roasted Peanut Stout.
Casks and kegs of the trio will be hitting pubs across the country, with the brewery also using the launch to highlight the difficulties facing pubs in the UK at present. With the cost of living crisis hitting customers in the pocket and the running costs of premises sky high, Northern Monk will pass on the profits made from the sales of the beers to the pubs themselves, the idea part of their Faith in Boozers campaign.
“Pubs and breweries have had a really tough few years with the pandemic, navigating guidelines, rising costs and changes in consumer habits, but there’s a real love for the pub and all profits from the beers will be passed to them,” said Russell Bisset, co-founder of Northern Monk. “We hope people will be curious to try the beers, head to a local with them on and give them a go – maybe with a bag of the snacks themselves alongside.”
The idea for the beers, as Russell explained, came from chat amongst staff at the brewery. “The ultimate pub snack is one of our favourite topics around the brewery; we even ran a tournament on our Instagram to see what other people think and try and settle the debate – pretzel pieces won. Brian Dickson, our Technical Director and Co-Founder, decided we should try and replicate some of our favourites in a beer.”
The beers were also available in a limited can run, but they sold out within hours, and will now only be available at a specific number of pubs.
