Cheshire Wildlife Trust joins up with brewery to launch beer

The Trust has teamed up Merlins Micro Brewery for a 4 per cent amber ale made using English malts and hops and will be sold in bottles and on draught, co-branded as Merlin’s Micro Brewery and Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

As part of the production process a competition was run to select a name for the new beer and Kathryn Pilling became the lucky winner when her suggested name ‘Squiffy Duck’ was chosen. She will soon be visiting the brewery based in Arclid, east Cheshire, for a tour and to collect her prize of a polo shirt, hoodie and a case of the beer.

"We’d like to thank the team at Merlins Micro Brewery for developing this new beer in support of our work," said Sam Salisbury, corporate partnerships manager at the Trust.

"We’re always looking for new opportunities for local companies and people to support wildlife and we’re excited to announce the launch of this beer.

The family-run micro-brewery has been brewing craft ale for eight years.

"Since 2010, they have won ten awards, including several wins at the Champion Beer of Cheshire annual competition.

“We loved the name Squiffy Duck and it is already proving a real hit with our venues,” said Sue Peart from Merlins Micro Brewery. “Our brewery has always strived to be as environmentally-friendly as possible.

"We only use renewable energy, and have on-site reed beds to return waste water to the earth. We are proud to now go one step further and show our support for Cheshire Wildlife Trust.”

The new amber ale will be available for sale throughout the county and has even been chosen to be stocked by Marlpool Brewery in Nottingham and can be found at the Cholmondeley Arms near Malpas and all around the county.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust manages around 40 nature reserves and inspires thousands of people to get close to wildlife every year and 15 per cent of each sale by Merlins Micro Brewery will support Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s conservation work.