Beer that helps wildlife now on sale from Aylesbury Vale brewery

A nature charity has teamed up with an Aylesbury Vale brewery for an unlikely partnership - a beer that helps local wildlife.

The Berks, Bucks & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) has partnered with the Vale Brewery on their latest tipple, Brock's Den - named after an old-fashioned word for a badger.

The rural brewery, situated just outside the village of Ludgershall between Aylesbury and Bicester, has pledged to donate 10p from every pint of its new beer to the wildlife trust.

BBOWT corporate relations officer Victoria Bentiba said: "We were so delighted when Vale Brewery suggested this idea.

"Apart from the fact that many staff at BBOWT are extremely partial to a pint, this is also a small, independent business, selling its beer locally in a way that is much more environmentally friendly than a lot of the international produce we consume today.

"We are very proud to be partnering with this conscientious company and we're really grateful for their support.

"What’s more, several BBOWT staff had the pleasure of sampling Brock's Den at the brewery this week and can confirm it is very easy to drink! Of course, we’d also like to remind people to drink responsibly."

The Vale Brewery team describe Brock’s Den as a traditional ruby ale using 100 per cent British ingredients. British Sovereign and East Kent Golding hops give an 'earthy, honey nose', and a blend of pale planet and dark crystal malts with some torrified (roasted) wheat give a malty finish.

The company has brewed 160 nine-gallon casks (about 11,500 pints) and is expecting to sell all of it in the next four weeks, so beer and nature lovers are urged to snap it up while it’s available.

As an added ecological bonus, the beer's pump clip – the logo badge which pubs can attach to their pump at the bar - is also made from recycled cardboard.

Vale Brewery says sustainability is a big part of its ethos 'from grain to glass'.

The company tries to use UK or European-grown hops as often as possible to minimise its carbon footprint, and brews with sustainable, UK-sourced grains.

Once the sugars are extracted, the spent grain is used by a local farmer to feed cattle and even used to feed black soldier fly larvae, which are a sustainable aquaculture feed.

Head of operations Huw Davies said: "I have always been a big believer in nature conservation and protecting our environment.

"We’re very fortunate here at Vale Brewery to be surrounded by wonderful nature - in fact we're just a couple of fields away from BBOWT's Rushbeds Wood nature reserve.

"I’ve seen first hand the positive impacts local wildlife charities can make, and having a BBOWT site up the road is a perfect opportunity for us to give back to the local area."

The company is also minutes away from BBOWT’s newest nature reserve, Ludgershall Meadows, which it successfully acquired after a £330,000 public fundraising appeal last year.

BBOWT will put the money raised from Brock’s Den towards its work managing more than 86 nature reserves across the three counties, running educational events and environmental work with local authorities and landowners.