Maggie’s Centre Nottingham, which provides practical support for cancer patients received over £2,000 after two local breweries auctioned off their beers for the charity.
Nottingham’s biggest brewery Castle Rock and one-man operation, Emperor’s Brewery based in Leicestershire, organised a unique fundraising campaign to celebrate the release of the final edition of their collab beer, Storming the Emperor’s Castle.
First brewed back in 2019, Storming the Emperor’s Castle was a 12.5% double mashed imperial stout. While plenty of the beer was enjoyed by enthusiasts up and down the country there and then, the rest was set aside for aging. Fast forward three years and the beer has been released in five different iterations, including beers aged in bourbon barrels, French Antillean Rhum barrels, and with top end ingredients like Tahitian vanilla pods, cacao nibs and whole cherries.
With the launch of their final beer, The Original – 3 year aged, the breweries organised an online raffle with 100% of the money raised going to Maggie’s Nottingham. £850 was raised by over 70 supporters, and six people went home with an exclusive case including one of each of the beers.
For those not willing to leave it to chance, the last case of beer was saved for auction. Taking place at the Embankment on Trent Bridge, the evening comprised of a four-course taster menu served up with beers and tales from Castle Rock, Emperor’s, and Bang the Elephant. Included in the auction was the first beer ever brewed by Damian Doherty (of Emperor’s Brewery) – a humble bottle of homebrew that went for £100. The star of the show though was a chance to participate in a brew day with all three breweries next year.
Jessica Collins, Castle Rock’s marketing manager, commented:
“We’re chuffed to have topped the £2,000 mark and it was a really fun way to raise the money, with the fans of the beer at the heart of it all. We visited Maggie’s recently and their knowledge and compassion shone through at every turn. It’s touching to see something like this come together from scratch and we’re so thankful for everyone’s generosity and support in making it such a success.”
Centre Fundraising Manager at Maggie’s, Elizabeth Sudbury, added:
“Thank you to everyone at Castle Rock and their customers for raising this money which will help us be there for even more people with cancer and their families. One in two people will develop cancer in their lifetime, so the need for cancer support has never been greater.”
Posted on 23 November 2022
