Welcome to Birds & Beer Extra. A cynical ploy to gain more bandwith for photos and to try to not dissuade people interested in Norfolk birding from giving up reading a load of irrelevant stuff.

If you have arrived here directly, I'd advise checking out my main blog http://jamesbirdsandbeer.blogspot.com/. If you intended to come here, wow, thanks!



Beers named after Birds


Beers (mostly real ales) featuring British birds (inc Cat E!)


Swans
Double Swan – Elgoods Brewery
Some of the proceeds are donated to the WWT Welney, a major site for wintering Whooper and Bewick’s Swans.

White Swan  - Thames Side Brewery (picture depicts a Mute Swan)
Black Swan  - Thames Side Brewery 
Black Swan – Vale Brewing Company

Geese
Sawley Tempted – Bowland Brewery
The label gets extra points for showing a drunken Canada Goose!
Skeins Retreat - Great Newsome Brewery
Label features a flying Canada Goose
Egyptian Goose  - Thames Side Brewery 

Ducks
Mallard Mild  - Thames Side Brewery 
Goldeneye Pale Ale – Black Isle Brewery

Eider Dark Beer – From the Notebook/Allendale Brewery
One of a series of seabird beers, with royalties going to the Marine Conservation Trust.

Pintail - Moongazer (note that although this beer shares its name with a duck, it is actually named for an old folk name for a Hare)

Grebes & Divers
Great Crested Grebe - Castle Rock Brewery

Herons
Best Bittern – Wagtail Brewery

Once Bittern - Woodfordes
Egret Ale – Castle Rock Brewery
Have Your Cake and Egret - Magpie Brewery
Heron Ale - Thames Side Brewery
Gone Fishing ESB – Green Jack Brewery
A picture of a Grey Heron on the label.


Birds of Prey
Cairngorm Gold – Cairngorm Brewery
Golden Eagle on the label.

Goldwing – Sainsbury’s/Wychwood
Picture of a Golden Eagle on the label. Part of a range of bird-themed beers brewed for Sainsbury's by Wychwood (no longer brewed).
Red Kite – Sainsburys/Wychwood
Part of a range of bird-themed beers brewed for Sainsbury's by Wychwood (no longer brewed).
Red Kite – Black Isle Brewery
No picture on the label.
Red Kite – Vale Brewing Company
Honey Buzzard Premium Ale – Cotleigh Brewery
Hen Harrier – Bowland Brewery
Sky Dancer – Bowland Brewery
Another Bowland beer with a Hen Harrier on the label.
Harrier – Cotleigh Brewery
Male Hen Harrier on the label.
Buzzard Dark Ale – Cotleigh Brewery
Golden Seahawk – Cotleigh Brewery
An alternative name for Osprey
Rutland Osprey - Grainstore
Osprey Strong Ale – Cotleigh Brewery

Peregrine Porter – Cotleigh Brewery
Kestrel lager – whole range

Gamebirds
Pheasant Plucker – Bowland Brewery
Cheeky Pheasant - George Wright Brewing Company
Golden Pheasant – Old Chimneys Brewery, Market Weston
Pickled Partridge – Badger Brewery
Partridge Best Bitter - Dark Star Brewing Company
Caillie – Cairngorm Brewery
Features a Capercaillie on the label.

Black Grouse Oaked Porter – Allendale Brewery

White Lady – Cairngorm brewery
Features a Ptarmigan on the label.


Rails etc
Corncrake Ale – Orkney Brewery
Money to the RSPB for every bottle sold.

Waders
Famous Grus – Wagtail Brewery for Pensthorpe
I.e. Grus grus (Common Crane). Brewed for Pensthorpe, who are part of the Great Crane Project.

Bitter Old Bustard – JoC’s Brewery
Oystercatcher Ale – Brancaster Brewery

Oystercatcher Stout – Brimstage Brewery
Extra kudos for the label, which is an Oystercatcher drinking from a glass of stout.
Avocet Ale – Exeter Brewery
Golden Plover Golden Ale – Allendale Brewery
Lapwing – Bowman Ales
A seasonal beer, brewed for March.
Peewit Ale – Wagtail Brewery for Pensthorpe

Peewit – Marston Moor Brewery
Knot Just Another IPA – JoC’s Brewery
Sandpiper Ale – Brimstage Brewery
Despite the name, the bird on the label is a Curlew.
Curlew’s Return – Allandale Brew Co.

Curlew’s Call – Wensleydale Brewery
Redshank – Old Chimneys Brewery
Greenshank – Old Chimneys Brewery
No longer being brewed.

Gulls & Terns
Kittiwake Golden Ale – From the Notebook/Allendale Brewery
One of a series of seabird beers, with royalties going to the Marine Conservation Trust.
Arctic Tern IPA – From the Notebook/Allendale Brewery
One of a series of seabird beers, with royalties going to the Marine Conservation Trust.
Roseate Tern Blush IPA – From the Notebook/Allendale Brewery
Little Tern Pale Ale – From the Notebook/Allendale Brewery

Auks
Puffin Best Bitter – From the Notebook/Allendale Brewery
One of a series of seabird beers, with royalties going to the Marine Conservation Trust.


Owls
Midnight Mild – Magpie Brewery
Has a photo of a Tawny Owl on the label
Tawny Owl Bitter – Cotleigh Brewery
Barn Owl Premium Ale – Cotleigh Brewery

Old Hushwing - Fox Brewery
An old name for the Barn Owl. Brewed to celebrate 40 years of the Hawk and Owl Trust.

Snowy Single Malt – Cotleigh Brewery
Snowy Owl on the label.
Long-eared Owl – Cotleigh Brewery

Corvids
Scary Crow – Bowland Brewery
Crow Valley Bitter - Cwmbran Brewery

London Porter - Sainsbury's/Shepherd Neame
A picture of a Raven on the label.

Raven Ale – Orkney Brewery

Wild Raven Ale - Thornbridge Brewery
Raven Stout – Magpie Brewery
Magpie Brewery – Nottingham (most beers feature a different Magpie image)
Angry Bird – Magpie Brewery
Hoppily Ever After – Magpie Brewery
Thieving Rogue – Magpie Brewery
First Gold – Magpie Brewery
Dark Secret – Magpie Brewery
Flyer – Magpie Brewery
Magpie Best – Magpie Brewery
JPA – Magpie Brewery
Has a picture of a Jay on the label
Cornish Chough brewery
Serpentine – Cornish Chough brewery
Picture of a Chough on the label
Fire Raven – Cornish Chough brewery
Picture of a Chough on the label

Other passerines
Starling - Green Jack
Waxwing - Green Jack
Yaffle - Castle Rock Brewery
 Ring-necked Parakeet - featured on the labels/pump clips of Bexley Brewery ales, such as Golden Acre:


Kingfisher Ale - Wagtail Brewery for Pensthorpe

Wagtail brewery - range of beers
Wagtail English Bitter – Allendale Brewery
Photo of a Grey Wagtail on the pump clip
Swallow IPA – Craigmill Brewery
Summer Swallow Ale - Batemans Brewery
Wandering Wheatear - Great Newsome Brewery
Rockin' Robin - Staffordshire Brewery
A Christmas beer.

Stout Robin - Jo C's Brewery




















Bramble Stout
Picture of a Blackbird on the label.

Warbler – Bowman Ales
This beer features a Dartford Warbler on the pump clip, and a donation is made to the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust for each pint sold.
Old Winter Warbler – Archers Brewery
Another Dartford Warbler beer.
Firecrest - Sainsbury's/Wychwood
Part of a range of bird-themed beers brewed for Sainsbury's by Wychwood (no longer brewed).
Firecrest – Old Chimneys Brewery
Goldcrest – Old Chimneys Brewery
No longer brewed.
Yellowhammer IPA – Black Isle Brewery
No picture on the label

Bullfinch brewery - London
Goldfinch brewery - Dorchester
Finches Gold - Great Newsome Brewery (not currently brewed)

International birds featured on British beers
Albatross Ale – Cotleigh Brewery
Nutracker Mild – Cotleigh Brewery
Norfolk Kiwi – JoC’s Brewery

7 comments:

  1. accidentally stumbled on this site... not sure how, but my homebrew and love of birds and my desire to visit the Norfolk this January somehow lead me here. I think I will name by next batch "Reedling" as that is my nemesis bird.

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  2. Good luck with your search, Titchwell or Strumpshaw are good places to look for them!

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  3. Hi can you tell me why the beer is named after birds is it donating money to animal charities?

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  4. Hi, sorry for not replying sooner, I have only just noticed your comment. In general I suspect there are two main reasons. One is where an organisation or reserve asks a company to brew them a beer, for example the Hawk & Owl Trust had a beer brewed to celebrate an anniversary. What is probably more common is where a local brewery names a beer after a local bird (for example in Norfolk Woodfordes doing "Best Bittern") and donating a small amount per pint sold. It's extra cash for the charity, but also increases sales of the beer from wildlife-loving people who see it as an easy way to help the charity.

    'From The Notebook' have gone one step further and give royalties on all their beers - seabird themed ones to the Marine Conservation Society and butterfly & moths ones to Butterfly Conservation.

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  6. Thanks a lot for this enormous list, which will be very useful to a Finnish friend who is trying to collect beers named after birds -- for which the Finnish is olutbissebongaus.

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  7. Later: I'm told that a better word for this activity is lintubissebongaus, literally 'bird beer watching'.

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