Gloucester Brewery is releasing a brand-new beer to celebrate Gloucester Rugby's 150th anniversary this August 2023.
Commemorating 150 years since the Cherry and Whites were founded, its new beer is called 1873 — an IPA with a tropical fruit flavour profile.
The blend of Ekuanot, Strata and Galaxy hops with a pale malt base means the bold hop flavours with notes of peach and passionfruit really shine through. It also includes a touch of wheat and oat for a smooth and rounded mouthfeel.
Players, including fan favourite Jamel Ford Robinson and internationally capped prop forward Afolabi Fasogbon, have given it their seal of approval, having taste tested and provided feedback before the beer's official release to the public.
Gloucester Brewery, which is based at Gloucester Docks, has a long-standing relationship with Gloucester Rugby Club and has supplied beer and gin to Kingsholm for several years. Signed shirts, pictures of players and head coach George Skivington adorn the walls at its recently expanded dockside bar and venue, Warehouse 4.
This new brew isn't the only celebratory beer it has made for Gloucester Rugby either, having created the limited-edition English Pale Ale, By George, to honour Skivington when he joined the club in August 2020.
Gloucester Brewery Group's managing director, Geoff Smith, said: 'The two most notable things about Gloucester are its rugby team and its cathedral, so what better way to celebrate than a beer to mark the 150th anniversary with a backdrop of the cathedral prominent in the branding.'
Rugby fans can try 1873 on draught now at Gloucester Brewery's Tank bar and Warehouse 4, both of which will be showing the Rugby World Cup 2023 live games throughout September and October, providing an ideal opportunity to test out a pint or two.
It'll be on tap at Kingsholm in time for the first game of the season and at local rugby clubs and pubs across Gloucester in the next few weeks.
It's also available to buy in both cans and kegs at the Gloucester Brewery shop and at retailers supplied by Craft Drink Co.
