Fixed Wheel Brewery of Halesowen raised a glass of its popular Through & Off Session IPA at the seat of Government recently, after local MP James Morris chose it as the week’s guest ale in the Strangers’ Bar, sited inside the House of Commons.
The beer, a light refreshing citrus pale ale was enjoyed by the many MPs and other parliamentarians for whom the Strangers’ Bar is effectively their ‘local’. Scott Povey, Director and Head Brewer, MADE THE JOURNEY TO LONDON TO SHARE A PINT WITH James Morris and his team.
James Morris MP said, “It has been a pleasure to bring this fine beer from my constituency to Westminster and introduce my colleagues in Westminster to a taste of Halesowen & Rowley Regis.
Scott Povey and his partner Sharon Bryant are a real asset to our constituency, brewing wonderful craft beers, providing jobs for local people and supporting other businesses including the pubs that are at the heart of our local communities.”
Scott said, “We were delighted that Through & Off Session IPA was selected for the Strangers’ Bar and grateful to James Morris and the team at the bar for making it happen. We’re very proud of our beers and this was a great opportunity to spread the word about them beyond our usual area of trading.”
He added, “We’d love to think that a pint of Through & Off may have inspired some of our politicians to dream up ground-breaking new policies, but we are nonetheless delighted that so many MPs enjoyed drinking it.”
Through & Off was made available in the Strangers’ Bar as part of a scheme run by the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group and the Society of Independent Brewers, to which Fixed Wheel Brewery belongs.
Scott added, "the support of local people in our community has helped our little business to grow and having our beer served in the houses of parliament has been a real milestone, we hope to continue to grow and brew great beers and provide more jobs for people in our area."
Picture: Cllr Ruth Buttery, Cllr Joe Roberts, Scott Povey, James Morris MP, Paul Williams, Jonathan Elliot and Cllr Simon Phipps on the Terrace of the Houses of Parliament.
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Notes to editor:
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The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) was founded in 1980 to represent the UK’s smaller, independent breweries. Today it has more than 700 brewer members, on whose behalf it lobbies at Westminster and in Europe. SIBA campaigned for the ‘penny in the pint’ reduction in beer duty introduced in the 2013 Budget – the first cut 1959.
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The All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group organises meetings, receptions, briefings and other activities for around 400 supportive MPs and Peers. Its purpose is to promote understanding amongst Parliamentarians of the UK beer and pubs industries. The Group is supported by around 70 individual brewing and pub companies and by SIBA. An officially registered all-party parliamentary group, the Group is one of the largest industry groups at Westminster.
The Group’s formal objectives are to promote the wholesomeness and enjoyment of beer and the unique role of the pub in United Kingdom society, to increase understanding of the social, cultural and historic role of brewing and pubs in the United Kingdom and their value to tourism, to broaden recognition of the contribution of brewing and pubs to employment and to the United Kingdom's economy, to promote understanding of the social responsibility exercised by the brewing and pub industries, to support the United Kingdom's brewing industry world-wide and to promote a positive future for beer and the pub.