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Plymouth's Summerskills brews charity porter

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NOW you can have a pint and feel extra good about it – because a Plymouth brewery has created a winter tipple to raise cash for charity.

Pomphlett-based Summerskills has created the 5.1 per cent, rich and dark, November Porter, to get you through the tenebrous pre-Christmas evenings.

It has produced 22 firkins – a firkin contains nine gallons – of the pure, cask-conditioned, dark ale.

And five pence from every pint sold goes to the Chestnut Appeal, which helps men suffering from prostate cancer.

"This is the first time the brewery has produced a porter," said Summerskills' brewer Dan Scott. "I'm a fan of dark beers and a home brewer. It's something I did at home and it seemed to work so we had the recipe and then thought it would be good to do a charity beer too.

"Porter is a very dark brew, usually lightly hopped, with quite a malty taste. The fruit taste comes through rather than the hops. We wanted to produce an explosion of malt and fruit in the mouth."

The November Porter is being sold in various Plymouth watering holes including the Britannia, Mannamead, Bristol Castle, Stannary Court and Masonic Inn – plus in pubs in Dartmouth and Paignton – and was launched at the Nowhere Inn, in Gilwell Street.

Phil Cawse, landlord of the Red Oak Taverns-owned hostelry, said: "We are pleased to sell Summerskills beers and support the Chestnut Appeal."

Summerskills proprietor Norman Lewis said the brewery is a veteran supporter of the Chestnut Appeal, and brewed a special beer, Breakwater Blonde, for the charity's fundraising Breakwater Swim event in August.

"We had the porter idea and the recipe so we spoke to the Chestnut Appeal and they said 'yes please'," he said.

David Squires, Chestnut Appeal event manager, said: "It's good to have a relationship with Summerskills. The Breakwater Blonde was very successful, it sold well, and this ties in well with the Movember campaign, the national campaign for men's health, which we encourage people to take part in.

"We have had a great year, the Breakwater Swim raised about £20,000 alone," he added.

Mr Lewis took over Summerskills in 2012 after being head brewer for seven years.

He said 2015 had been "up and down" in terms of trading.

"June and October were quiet but the other months were brilliant," he said. "Maybe it was the Rugby World Cup, the weather or the economy, I don't know."

Set up in 1983 Summerskills is Plymouth's oldest brewery, and produces about a dozen beers, including one-offs, special Christmas tipples, and supplies JD Wetherspoon pubs UK wide.

Mr Scott said Devon Dew had sold well this year, and added: "Indiana's Bones and Whistlebelly Vengeance have done well recently."

Mr Cawse, landlord of the Nowhere Inn for 13 years, said: "Real ale has saved my life, without it I would have shut down the pub.

"We get good support from CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale), sales are good and we always support micro-breweries.

"We normally have on two bitters, two dark ales and a blonde ale.

"Porter is quite popular and has made a comeback. We just had one on that was 7.2 per cent, a bit strong for us but it went very quickly."


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