The Bishop’s Tipple
Divine refreshment in Sainsbury’s beer aisles

The Bishop’s Tipple (6.5% abv), one of the West Country’s classic strong ales, is being re-launched in bottle and will be Sainsbury’s Beer of the Month from mid August.

Gibbs Mew ceased brewing this popular strong beer in 1998 when they closed their brewery in Salisbury. Last winter Wadworth of Devizes took up the chalice and brought the brewing of The Bishop’s Tipple back home to Wiltshire. The draught made a welcome comeback to pubs in November 2004, and now it is available in bottle.

Fred West, Sales Director of Wadworth comments:

“The Bishop’s Tipple has been a legend amongst ale drinkers since it was first brewed in 1973 to celebrate the inauguration of George Reindorp as Bishop of Salisbury. It always was deceptively drinkable for a higher strength beer, tasting both complex and delicate at the same time; now our head brewer, Trevor Holmes, has spiced it up a little to make it even more lusciously aromatic - a crisp, turbo-hopped brew with wonderful citrus flavours, a real beer to savour.”

Wadworth Bishop’s Tipple is a pale gold beer, brewed from low colour Optic barley with a small proportion of cane sugar added to give it a smooth, easy drinking palate. The beer was fermented at low temperature with a special yeast, carefully chosen to avoid the fruity ester flavours often associated with higher alcohol beers.

The two hops used are the classic low acidity Saaz variety from Bohemia, a vital ingredient in many Czech lagers and renowned for its delicate peppery bitterness; and an equal portion by bitterness strength of Styrian Goldings hops, which contribute a smooth, rich bitterness underpinned by a spicy citrus finish. One third of the hop grist is reserved for a late infusion, so as to extract and enhance the aromatic hop oils in the brew.

Bottled Bishop’s Tipple and Wadworth 6X are distributed in Britain by Refresh UK.

For further information or photography, please contact Katherine Robbins
at R&R Teamwork on 020 7384 1333 or Rupert@randr.co.uk