Fans of craft beer have been posting on social media to say how much they're loving our much-expanded range at Asda. We’ve recently introduced 100 new beers after travelling the UK to find independent brewers who are passionate about their craft. Here are some of them:
Powderkeg Brewery
John Magill, who's been a professional brewer for 10 years, started the business in Devon in 2015 with his wife Jill. Within 18 months their Cut Loose Pilsner was voted Best Lager at the IWSC Beer Awards and described as one of the best 16 beers in the world.
“We’re all about making beer interesting,” says John, “packing in the flavour, but keeping it refreshing.”
As well as Cut Loose (4.7%) we're also stocking their Speak Easy (4.3%) – a transatlantic pale ale that brings a little British reserve to the US style.
Atom Beers
Three years ago Allan Rice set up Atom Beers in Hull with Sarah Thackray. Their ethos was not just to make great beers, but to use the brewery as an educational facility to inspire people to consider careers in science and engineering.
They hold weekly brewery tours for the public and an eight-week long intensive Beer School for beer lovers wanting to improve their knowledge and craft. They’re also actively involved in scientific research, college outreach programs and collaborate with the University of Hull and the Science Without Borders programme to study the complex carbohydrate characteristic of beer.
Our range of Atom Beers features Atom Schrodinger’s Cat (3.5%), Atom Quantum State (4.2%), Atom Pulsar Pilsner (4.45%) and Atom Phobos & Deimos IPA (7%).
Boss Brewing
Four of the new beers in our collection come from Boss Brewing, an independent brewery based off Llansamlet in the centre of Swansea. Keen home brewers Sarah John and Roy Allkin started the business in April 2015 and have since opened a city centre bar called Copper serving craft beer and coffee.
Wer're stocking Boss Boss double IPA (7.4%) Boss Bare lager (5%) , Boss Blonde (4%) and Boss Brave IPA (5.5%).
Conwy Brewery
Conwy Brewery is a family-run brewery set up by husband and wife team Gwynne and Adele Thomas in 2003 in the hills above Colwyn Bay, overlooking the Irish Sea. It was the first brewery in Conwy for more than 100 years.
We’re the first supermarket to list their Beachcomber Blonde ale (4.2%) – joining four other Conwy beers in the range which all take inspiration from the local landscape and coast.
Brew York
When Lee Grabham and Wayne Smith opened their microbrewery and tap room in the centre of York last year, they were realising their life-long dream.
All their beers are naturally pure and vegetarian friendly.
Lee said: "This new deal is a great example of Asda's commitment to supporting Yorkshire suppliers, no matter how big or small the brand. Yorkshire provenance and taste is important, but what makes our brews stand out from the rest is our generous blend of the finest ingredients and our ethical stance in our approach to brewing.”
We've added these Brew York beers to our range: Brew York Brew York American Pale Ale (5.1%), Little Eagle Session IPA (4.5%) and Viking DNA Smoked Porter (5.1%).
Brewgooder
We’ve been stocking Brewgooder in some of our stores across the UK since October 2016 and we’re delighted that it’s now available in Northern Ireland too. Brewgooder is a craft beer with a difference – not only does it taste good, it also does good as 100% of the proceeds go to clean water projects around the world.
Brewgooder was founded in March 2016 and was one of the first social enterprises to benefit from our Retail Development Academy. Find out more here.
The man responsible for sourcing all these fantastic craft beers and ales is buyer Hywel Evans (pictured above). The 24-year-old chemistry graduate says it’s his dream job as he’s passionate about “exploring new tastes". He’d love to hear if you know of a craft beer you think should be added to the collection. Find out more about Hywel and his mission to make Asda the number one retailer in craft beer here.
If you’re new to craft beers and aren’t sure where to start, read our Good Living guide here.
