JOSEPH HOLT are celebrating being the only brewers to win the special ‘Heart of the Community’ award three times in a row, by producing a special edition fund-raising beer.
This category at the British Beer and Pub Association Awards recognises a brewery’s commitment to community and charity work, and to mark this triple achievement, Holt’s have now produced a ‘celebration ale’ – made using a combination of UK and US hops, with 20p from each pint going to The Christie.
It’s all part of an ongoing charity initiative from the traditional family brewery and its 127-pub estate. Last year sponsored mountain climbing and sky diving raised £140,000 for Maggie’s Manchester – one of a chain of centres which offers free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer.
This year’s designated charity is The Christie, a specialist cancer centre which has links with Maggie`s as the centre is in the grounds of the hospital.
“We wanted to brew a celebration ale which not only would mark our success at the awards but, more significantly, would give something back to the community,” said Jane Kershaw, sixth generation of a family business brewing since the mid-19th century.
The Christie and Joseph Holt have a particularly special relationship, which has just celebrated its 100th anniversary.
In 1914, Sir Edward Holt, great grandfather of the present-day chief exec Richard Kershaw, launched an appeal to raise £20,000 (equivalent to £2.5 million in today’s money) to help set up the Holt Radium Institute. This later merged with The Christie Hospital in 1933 to form The Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute, forerunner of the present day leading international cancer centre.