Cheers, to eco-friendly ale

3:10pm Friday 5th September 2008

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REGULARS at a village pub are showing their green side . . . by drinking large quantities of an eco-friendly beer.

The Bulls Head on Manchester Road, Astley is one of the first in the country to serve the carbon-neutral cask ale, East Green, on tap.

The guest ale has been developed by Suffolk brewers Adnams with the help of East Anglia university's carbon reduction team.

It is made at Adnams's new Southwold brewery which has an energy recovery system that recycles all the steam created during the brewing process, and uses 90 per cent of it to heat the following brew.

It is made of high-yielding barley which subsequently minimises carbon dioxide emissions, while aphid-resistant hops are used to significantly cut the use of pesticides.

Ember Inns, which owns the Bulls Head, is the first pub group in the country to stock East Green.

It was first launched in bottle form, and is now become available on draught in pubs.

Adnams managing director Andy Wood said: "We have always passionately believed in doing things right, and East Green is the latest example of our efforts to reduce our environmental impact, with every stage in its development designed to minimise our carbon emissions as far as possible."

Adnams sales director Rob Flanagan says reaction to the beer generally has been `fantastic' with consumer demand exceeding all expectations.

He said: "It has undoubtedly been our most successful beer launch to date, and the draught version is even more environmentally efficient because it is packed in casks rather than bottles.

"We know that there is a growing demand for ethical products and we believe that our commitment to reducing our environmental impact and in particular East Green, is exactly what our customers are looking for."