Scottish brewery takes ‘Pride’ in National Beer Day with new product launch

One of Scotland’s leading independent breweries has teamed up with LGBTQ+ rights charity, Stonewall, to celebrate diversity with a new product launch today - National Beer Day - Tuesday 15th June 2021. 

As part of Pride month in June, Cold Town Brewery in central Edinburgh has just released a new limited edition ‘Proud as Helles’ lager as part of its ongoing support for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people across Britain. 

In addition to raising awareness with this beer Cold Town Brewery is making a £2,500 donation to Stonewall. Cold Town Beer is also proud to be part of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme to support its LGBTQ+ employees.

This is the first time that Cold Town Brewery has created a unique lager specifically to celebrate diversity and show its support for the LGBTQ+ community with its own take on an Helles style lager. 

‘Helles’ lager is a German style that celebrates the light and vibrant flavour of the malt whilst using the traditional noble hop Tettnanger in order to balance the malty sweetness with notes of citrus, herbaceousness and floral character.

A beer to be enjoyed by everyone, ‘Proud as Helles’ (5.1% ABV) has additions of dark munich malt, which shifts the focus away from the traditional German lager’s hop character and instead focuses on delectable brioche flavours. 

Mildly spicy and hints of citrus garnish the earthy characters of ‘Proud as Helles’, originating from the traditional noble hop tettnang. This beer is an amber colour, slightly darker than Cold Town Lager, with a bit more bitterness to help balance the sweetness from the darker malt. 

‘Proud as Helles’ will be enjoyed by fans of the popular Cold Town Lager, as well as craft beer fans who would enjoy something a little bit different from Cold Town Brewery’s usual lager offerings. It pairs well with barbecued meats, salty snacks or a pizza. 

Cold Town was named in honour of Calton Hill Brewery in Edinburgh, which was reputed to be the first in Britain to brew lager in 1835. Calton Hill Brewery was situated in the Edinburgh suburb, Caldtoun, at the bottom of a large hill, which we now know as Calton Hill.

Craft beer drinkers can enjoy the freshest ‘Proud as Helles’ Lager in town at Cold Town House in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket. Drinkers can follow the pipes from the microbrewery tanks to the taps behind the bar and the venue also features a taproom and roof terrace with iconic views of Edinburgh Castle. 

Chris Andrews, one of the head brewers at Cold Town Brewery, said: 

“We’re really proud to be working with Stonewall in support of our friends in the LBGTQ+ community and to celebrate diversity during Pride month.

“This is the first time we’ve created a lager specially to mark Pride month, which we think will appeal to everyone. 

“In celebration of Pride month, we’re also making a donation to Stonewall to support their work towards ensuring that every LGBTQ+ person is free to be themselves.”

Joe Waterton, Director of Fundraising at Stonewall (he/him), said:

“At Stonewall, we want to live in a world where all lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and ace (LGBTQ+) people can thrive as themselves, wherever they are. We’re grateful to the generous support of Cold Town Brewery, and hope people enjoy their beer in celebration of Pride month.”

Cold Town Beer was first launched in 2018 as a draught beer for beer drinkers. Over 20 different beers have been brewed in the main brewery on Dunedin Street to date. Styles include pale ales, IPA’s, pilsner, saison & berliner-weisse sour beers.

Cold Town Brewery uses Scottish Pale Malt from Crisp Malt in Alloa as the base malt across its range. The barley is 100% Scottish and is sourced from the east coast, which makes it perfect for Cold Town Beer. Crisp Malt work with farmers on long term agreements to support their livelihoods and businesses. The maltings at Alloa date back to the 1890s and so are continuing a long tradition of making malt for Scottish beer production. 

‘Proud as Helles’ is available on draught from selected pubs and bars across Scotland from June until September, including Cold Town House in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket. The limited edition lager is also available to buy direct from the Cold Town Beer online shop, priced at £23 for a pack of 12 cans or £2 per can in the Pick n Mix section of the online shop at https://coldtownbeer.com/cold-town-pride-2021 & https://coldtownbeer.com/product/proud-as-helles/

For more information about Cold Town Brewery and Cold Town Beer, visit https://coldtownbeer.com and follow Cold Town House on Facebook www.facebook.com/Coldtownbeer and Instagram https://instagram.com/coldtownbeer

To find out more about Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme, visit: www.stonewall.org.uk/diversity-champions-programme