AND there was you complaining about the price of a pint in your local. Northern Monk have just launched the UK’s most expensive bottle of beer, selling for £1,000 per 330ml bottle.
There’s more to the beer than its price tag, however. Developed by the Leeds-based indie brewery, with a high profile taproom in the Northern Quarter, the beer was brewed at the summit of Britain’s highest peak, Ben Nevis, making it the highest altitude brew in our history.
A four-strong ‘Monks’ team hiked the peak in gruelling conditions back in August, carrying 90kg of equipment for the 4,000ft climb. The 11 per cent ABV Barrel Aged Imperial Stout is made from ingredients foraged from the mountain itself, including blaeberries and the famous ‘Dew of Ben Nevis’ water.
Once carried down from the mountain, the brew spent two months’ ageing in a whisky barrel, donated by the Ben Nevis Whisky Distillery in Fort William.
The first bottles of the Ben Nevis beer were auctioned off at an event at the Northern Monk Refectory on Tarriff Street on Thursday, November 7, alongside an exclusive screening of a 20-minute documentary of the climb. More than £7,000 was raised on the night ensuring funding for the original project.
As well as the opportunity to own a unique and limited edition product, there is an added incentive for anyone looking to purchase one of only 50 bottles available – all proceeds from the sale will be donated to the For the North Foundation, a grant scheme created by Northern Monk back in September which dedicates all funding to projects that are ‘designed to benefit the North, its people and its communities’.
Northern Monk founder, and one of the Monks tasked with completing the high-altitude brew, Russell Bisset, told us: “This has been a groundbreaking project to be a part of. When we launched the For the North Foundation, our intention was to create pieces of high-impact activity that will raise awareness and encourage donations. To have raised over £7,000 for the Foundation at our very first fundraising event is incredible.
“Since we launched the Foundation mid-September, we’ve received grant applications from so many thoroughly deserving causes. We’ll be announcing the first recipient of our first For the North Foundation grant before the end of November.”
To find out more about the For the North Foundation and learn how to purchase a bottle of the Ben Nevis beer, visit this link.
Northern Monk Refectory MCR, 10 Tariff Street, Manchester, M1 2FF.