BEER WE GO
Dozens queue for beer after brewery gives away 3,500 leftover pints in exchange for donation to NHS
DOZENS queued up at a brewery armed with plastic bottles yesterday - after it vowed to give away 3,500 pints of beer.
The Alnwick Brewery Company in Northumberland was stuck with gallons of left-over ale after pubs were shut by the lockdown.
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But it has since opened its doors to locals who can now walk away with as much as they can carry in exchange for a donation to the NHS.
One desperate punter promised to return with a bathtub.
Care worker Abbiegale Carr, 19, queued up for 15 minutes and walked away with five litres of ale.
She said: "Things are difficult at the moment, which is why this is such a great idea. Things like this really help to lift your spirits."
Mark Scott, 54, who works as a cleaner at Northumberland Council, filled up a plastic bottle with two litres.
He said: "I am missing the pubs, like everyone else, and this is cheering us up."
Meanwhile retired cop Michael Hindmarsh, 70, collected five litres.
He said: "It would have been a tragedy of epic proportions if the ale had been poured down the drain."
Things like this really help to lift your spirits.
Abbiegale Carr
The brewery said it had brewed dozens of casks but had no one to sell it to after the pubs were shut - leaving a massive surplus.
Each cask holds about 70 pints (40 litres).
Brewery sales executive Darren Spencer, 51, said: "On average the cask ale lasts about eight weeks, if you want it to keep nice and fresh.
"All this was brewed just before the lockdown began. We were set up for the Easter period. We had a lot of beer and 250 pubs to supply.
"Giving the beer away for free wasn't that hard a decision when the only other option was to pour it down the drain.
"The money is lost, but we can still make people happy."
The brewery will continue opening every Friday for the giveaways until the beer has run out.
So far they have raised around £450 for the NHS.
It comes as figures published yesterday show pub beer sales collapsed by 40 per cent in March compared to a year ago and will be zero in April.
The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) said some of the nation's 47,000 boozers faced ruin.
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Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA said: "Local pubs are the heart of our communities. They are vital socially, culturally and economically.
"When this crisis is over, the first place many will want to visit with their friends, family and neighbours is their local pub.
"The Government must invest in them now to save them for the future."
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