In the lead-up to Halloween, Greene King is unveiling a selection of spooky seasonal beers, including a new cask ale collaboration with Nethergate Brewery.
Blood Hound (4.4% ABV) is the brewers’ third collaboration and their “darkest and most daring” yet. It’s a rich and indulgent chocolate blood-orange stout, offering a bold and balanced flavour.
Founded in 1986 by a dedicated group of beer lovers, Nethergate Brewery continues to uphold its commitment to crafting both traditional and exciting brews. Today, their award-winning beers are enjoyed in venues across East Anglia, with strong support from a loyal local community of more than 900 members.
Visitors can experience the brewery’s vibrant taproom in Long Melford, or explore their grade II listed shop and taproom in the historic town of Bury St Edmunds.
Greene King has been brewing cask beer in Bury St Edmunds for more 200 years. Working with other local breweries in the area is a celebration of all that is great about Suffolk and cask beer, it says.
“Blood Hound is a devilishly good brew,” said Ian Carson, head brewer at Nethergate. “We love collaborating with the team at Greene King — their shared passion for cask ale matches ours, making the process both exciting and seamless. We’ve put our hearts into this one — Blood Hound is a truly exceptional beer that we’re proud to put our name to.”
Blood Hound isn’t the only spooky beer on the bar this October, with Old Spooky Hen also making a return. It’s an annual seasonal rebadge of Old Speckled Hen. There will also be Old Ghostly Hen, a rebadge of Old Golden Hen.
Alun Fulcher, technical brewer at Greene King, said: “It had been a pleasure to work with Nethergate on Blood Hound, and it really is something different that many people will enjoy. As we know, stout continues to grow in the market, so Blood Hound is a great addition to the bar this October.
“It’s always great to work with other brewers as you can be creative and find new things as different teams bring different skills and knowledge to a brew. Nethergate are a brilliant team and are as keen as us to really show off what cask can offer.”
• Greene King Brewery has achieved multiple wins once more at the International Beer Challenge. It secured four medals at the global awards, including the top scoring trophy award for the best can design, for Level Head session IPA. The beer was one of 3.5% of entries to secure trophy status for its design.
Prior Life and Hazy Day also secured silver, which was only awarded to 21% of entrants, in the best new launch design category, with Hazy Day also taking a bronze medal for taste in its respective category.
