CO-OP TRULY IRRESISTIBLE ALE TRIUMPHS AT QUALITY FOOD & DRINK AWARDS
The Co-op's Truly Irresistible Gold Miner Bottle-Conditioned Ale from the Freeminer Brewery* has been awarded a top accolade at the Quality Food & Drink Awards 2003.
The Truly Irresistible Gold Miner Ale won a coveted 'Q' Award in the beers and ciders category in the prestigious competition, organised by Checkout magazine and Independent Retail News. Judges were highly impressed by the ale's unique taste and appearance. The Q Awards have been running for nearly a quarter of a century,
The ale is one of 11 products launched under the Co-op Truly Irresistible label earlier this year to encourage shoppers to re-appraise the supermarket 's image and to persuade customers to try more of its quality own-brand range.
Each of the products has a unique story, twist or angle, making them innovative and different. The CAMRA-approved ale was brewed exclusively for the Co-op by the Freeminer Brewery, based in the Royal Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
Three other Truly Irresistible products - "Rothbury Red" Rinded Red Leicester Cheese from Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses, Preston, The Smithfield Sausage with Cracked Black Pepper created by Martin Heap and Salmon Tarte created by Patrick Salvadori, were runners-up at the prestigious awards.
Co-op Fair Trade Dark Chocolate and Co-op Underworld Shiraz Viognier also scooped runners-up places.
The awards were selected from over 500 entries of own brand and branded food and drink products from across the UK grocery sector.
Susan Bromley, Co-op brand marketing development manager, said: "It is a real privilege and achievement to win this award and to be a runner-up in a number of the other highly competitive categories. We are delighted that so many of our Truly Irresistible products received special recognition in this prestigious competition reinforcing our belief in the quality of the products we are developing for our customers."
The Co-op's Mike Veitch, category marketing manager for beers, wines and spirits, added: "We have been excited about Gold Miner Ale and for it to receive such a top accolade just goes to prove the excellent quality of the product."
Don Burgess from the Freeminer Brewery said: "It has been a pleasure developing Gold Miner for the Co-op and I am delighted that our hard work has been acknowledged at the Q Awards."
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Co-op Gold Miner Ale is available in 2,500 Co-op stores and can also be ordered via
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Note to editors:
Co-op Truly Irresistible Gold Miner Bottle-Conditioned Ale - 500ml 5.0% AbV- £1.79 -this bottle-conditioned ale is made using a single variety of hop, the "First Gold", which produces beer with a well-balanced bitterness combined with fruity, slightly spicy, orange and citrus notes.
Gold Miner Ale is made with water from natural sources under the Royal Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, and is pale gold in colour with intense, refreshing hop flavours and a comforting soft maltiness. The malted barley is grown in the Cotswolds and on Salisbury Plain and handcrafted in Britain' s oldest working floor maltings situated in Warminster.
The ale carries an innovative peel-back reverse label, which tells the customer the story of the product and the brewery.
Freeminer Brewery, an award-winning micro-brewery, is based in the Royal Forest of Dean and named after local miners who have held the right, by Royal decree, to mine anywhere in the forest without hindrance.
The brewery has the simple aim of brewing the best real ales using the best ingredients. It has received international recognition and won the CAMRA "Champion Beer of Britain" in two categories for its bottled and speciality beers and several top awards at the annual "Beauty of Hops" awards for its use of new British hop varieties.