WIN: Pink Slice Beer!
It’s the ultimate Sunderland snack – and now the distinctive taste of pink slices has been bottled.
Like many Mack ems, brewer Josh Atkinson grew upon pink slices, a sweet treat that’s synonymous with Sunderland, and now he’ s combined his love of beer with the snack to create a pink slice beer.
Josh, from Roker, swapped careers as a client relationship manager at a print company to set up his own nano brewery, North Pier Brew Co.
The gamble paid off and he’ s already expanded from a small unit in Durham to utilising the brewing facilities at South C au sey Inn, which has allowed him to increase production.
His pink slice beer has proved a big hit, and sells as fast as he can brew it.
"I was making 250 bottles and they were sold by the next day,” he said.
The Pink Slice beer is brewed with mosaic hops and lactose, with more mosaic and fresh raspberries added for a subtle raspberry finish.
Speaking about the sweet brew, he said: “I’m Sunderland born and bred and I love pink slices. They’re such a nostalgic thing and I knew I had to get them into a beer.
"It took a little bit of trial and error, but the result is a sweet raspberry beer that’ s as close to the cake as you can get. It sells straight away and is definitely my most talked about beer.”
He added :“There’ s so many small bottle shops opening up at the minute and it’s great for independent brewers like me. I have no chance of competing with supermarkets who sell beers from massive breweries, but it’s nice to see so many smaller independent shops opening up and supporting other independents.”
Josh, who named his brewery after Sunderland’s North Pier, added: “I think there’s a lot more interest in a broader range of beers than there once was, people are really interested in the stories behind them and supporting independent businesses.”
We have a six bottles of North Pier Brew Co beers to win, including two Pink Slice beers, two North Pier Pale beers and two Cold Brew Porters.
To be in with a chance, answer this question: Where in Sunderland is the North Pier? ::A: Roker
::B: Seaburn
::C: Whitburn
Email your answer, address and DOB to Katy.Wheeler@jpimedia.co.uk by May 17. You must be 18 to ente. Usual JPI Media competition rules apply.