For a microbrewery with a distinctive dragon logo, there couldn’t be a more apt ale to mark Great Orme Brewery’s latest milestone.
Red Dragon from Great Orme has become the 1,000th batch to leave the brewery in Glan Conwy.
It marks more than seven years of steady growth for owner Jonathan Hughes.
He said: “It’s been a lot of hard work but we’ve grown from just being me on my own to employing four people.
“When we started we were producing one or two batches a week and now we make five batches on a considerably larger scale.
“Things are moving forward and we are continuing to see growth so this is a great milestone for us.”
Red Dragon, a relatively new beer has been developed by brewer Richard Slater, is already proving very popular.
Like all beers produced by Great Orme, it is brewed to traditional methods, using natural ingredients.
The summer has seen strong sales for Great Orme Brewery’s ales and its premium lager 1085, which is named after the height of Wales’ highest peak.
As well as being good news for the brewery, strong sales also mean more funds for NACOA, a charity that offers help and support to the children of alcoholics.
Great Orme donate 1p per pint sold to the charity, in a move that has been backed by brewing industry body SIBA.
Jonathan said: “British beer making is in a renaissance, with more small producers offering a wealth of amazing real ales and true regional diversity.
“We are very proud to be a small part of that diversity.
“However, I do believe that if we, as a sector, are to be socially responsible then we must acknowledge the potential negative aspects of alcohol and take steps to address it.
“This is our way of doing that.”
The idea for the 1p for NACOA donation came from the penny reduction in duty announced in the chancellor’s spring budget.
Great Orme, with SIBA’s backing, is calling on other micro-brewers to join them in the appeal.
Latest Tweets