IT ALL started with a dance off in rural Ireland, and ended with a local pub pouring Scottish pints.
Pilot Beer, a brewery based in Edinburgh, has launched its beers in six pubs in the South East — and one of them is The Lord Raglan in Wokingham’s town centre.
Patrick Jones, founder of Pilot Beer, explains: “We were invited over to a brewery in Ireland, The White Hag, and attended a big beer festival they hold every year”.
And at the end of the festival, everyone travelled over to the town of Sligo for a few more drinks.
“We went to a local pub and hit the dance floor pretty much as soon as we got there.
“And we really bonded with the people from Big Smoke Brew Co. and there was a bit of a competition to see who could be the last man standing on the dance floor,” Patrick says.
“We sell our beers across the north of England, but it’s not permanent in the way our line in Wokingham is.”
Big Smoke is a brewery based in Surrey, and it owns a number of pubs in the South East of England, opening The Lord Raglan days before lockdown started in March.
And after the dance off, the company offered to give Pilot Beer a permanent home in its pubs.
“The dance off isn’t the entire reason we formed a partnership with Pilot Beer,” says a spokesperson for Big Smoke Brewery Co. “Another reason is that their beer is very good.
“We are fellow brewers; they are independent crafters just like us so we share a lot of the sam| e values and passion for quality.
“And in Scotland at the moment, where they have their own lockdown rules, it’s really important for us to try and support Pilot Beer who can’t necessarily trade with any pubs up there,” the spokesperson adds.
Next time you’re down the pub, keep an eye out for a Scottish brew because you might just find one.
