Southwold brewer and distiller Adnams has teamed up with more than a dozen other breweries and suppliers to produce a limited edition beer for this weekend’s Great Get Together - a celebration of the late Jo Cox MP’s belief in shared values.
A year on from the murder of the MP for Batley and Spen, the Jo Cox Foundation has joined with hundreds of partners across the country to organise what is expected to be the biggest co-ordinated series of neighbourhood celebrations since the street parties for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
The Great Get Together, from June 16 to 18, aims to bring people together with their neighbours to share food and drink and celebrate all that they hold in common.
The idea for the beer came from James Grugeon, an old friend of Jo Cox’s husband, Brendan, who runs a social enterprise beer company The Good Beer Co.
With Brendan’s agreement, James then contacted Adnams head brewer, Fergus Fitzgerald who in turn talked to other breweries.
Fergus said: “I regularly meet up with a group of head brewers to discuss problems, help each other out and of course share a beer. When James asked about us brewing a beer for the Great Get Together I approached the Head Brewers Group to see if they were interested in collaborating on it. It seemed fitting that this beer should be born out of people working together and sharing knowledge and ideas.”
So, in keeping with the ideals of the event, Great Get Together Pale Ale has been produced as a collective effort which, besides Adnams and The Good Beer Co, has involved Arkells, Cliff Quay, Elgoods, Fullers, Harviestoun, Joseph Holts, Joules, J W Lees, Marstons, Palmers, St Austell, Theakstons, Thornbridge and Woodfordes.
The project has also been supported by Simpsons Malt which donated the malt for the beer, Charles Faram, which donated the hops, OI, which donating the glass for the bottles, Darleys Labels, which is covering the costs of labels and Colourscan, which is donating the pump clips for the cask version of the beer.
Profits from Great Get Together Pale Ale will go to the Jo Cox Foundation, supporting its work to bring together communities across the UK in the spirit of Jo’s words that: “we have far more in common than that which divides us.”
James Grugeon said: “When Brendan Cox first said he loved the idea of a beer, I thought we’d be working with just one company. Then I called Fergus at Adnams and he brought another 14 breweries on board and five suppliers who’ve donated the ingredients, the bottles, the labels and more.
“The number of organisations that have collaborated to brew this beautiful beer is just fantastic. It’s testament to how much support there is for the Great Get Together and we hope it helps everyone to celebrate and help raise funds for the Jo Cox Foundation at the same time.”
For more information about The Great Get Together and a full list of where you can buy Great Get Together Pale Ale visit www.greatgettogether.org/beer/. Find out more about the Jo Cox Foundation at www.jocoxfoundation.org/.
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