THE latest tipple produced by Castle Rock has created a bit of a buzz – as 50,000 bees were enlisted to help in its creation.
Bittern is the latest real ale to have been brewed by the Queens Bridge Road-based firm to support the Notts Wildlife Trust.
And beekeeper Alec Thomson lent a helping hand to the cause by donating 10 kilograms of honey to add to the 4.1 per cent bitter.
And the 63-year-old of Thackeray's Lane, Woodthorpe, only got the opportunity to help out by chance.
He said: "I was at St Ann's allotments for an open day last summer for the Beekeepers' Association and I swapped some of my honey for some jam that someone else had.
"It turns out that she knew someone at Castle Rock and they needed some for this Bittern brew, and I was more than happy to let them use my honey.
"I started with bees five years ago and never could have imagined my honey would end up in beer. It's not a bad tasting pint either," the retired environmental health worker added.
He has 14 hives at allotments in the Gedling area and at the height of summer they contain up to 50,000 bees.
Castle Rock's head brewer Adrian Redgrove said he was pleased with the result of the brew – which is now on sale at pubs across the East Midlands.
He added that putting honey into the recipe gives it a wonderful floral sweetness" and that this "complements the spicy notes of the hops".
Castle Rock has brewed a number of beers to promote the work of the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust since 2001.
Last year's offering was called Honey Bee and raised awareness of the importance of the species.
It was flavoured with honey and Endeavour hops, with Erin McDaid, of the trust saying: "One of the benefits of our relationship with Castle Rock Brewery is that we get to choose the names of their natural selection beers each year and this provides us with a platform to highlight issues and to put key species in the spotlight."
This year's Bittern has been released to coincide with the seasonal arrival of rare bitterns to the trust's Attenborough Nature Reserve.
The beers have also raised more than £120,000 for the Trust since the partnership began 13 years ago.
