And what better venue to pull the first cask pint of Trooper than the brew house in which the beer was made. Robinsons brand new multi million pound Visitors Centre was aptly and tastefully kitted out in full Trooper garb. The stylish back bar was stacked with gleaming bottles of this new Premium British Beer, the solid copper bar proudly displayed the striking Trooper pump clip (soon to be seen on bars all over the country), and even the foodstuff was specially created using Trooper ale.

Bruce Dickinson not only attended the Trade Launch, but he also conducted a tour of the Brewery to explain to everyone first-hand the process of exactly how Trooper beer is made… Robinsons Brewery were so impressed with Bruce’s tour they offered him a slot as a Robinsons brewery tour guide (if he ever gets tired of performing to millions of Maiden fans, flying airplanes and fencing).

Robinsons Managing Director Oliver Robinson then gave a short speech about how the Iron Maiden/Robinsons collaboration came about and he presented Bruce with a specially engraved Brewery hand pump, in recognition of Trooper being the Fastest Ever Selling New Robinsons Beer. After much anticipation, Bruce then pulled the first-ever pint of Trooper from the cask in the Brewery bar amid loud applause from the assembled crowd. Everyone then got down to the serious business of tasting the beer for themselves and it was very well received judging by the number of smiling faces and approving comments heard around the room… not to mention the additional number of second, third and fourth pints consumed. In fact Robinsons’ own Head Brewer, Martyn Weeks pronounced it his favourite beer, and renowned beer writer Pete Brown remarked how he found Trooper to be very good indeed and extremely drinkable.

Finally when Bruce was asked to sum up his new ale in one word, he grinned and said ‘Trooperb’!

The unprecedented upfront demand for the beer meant that Robinsons had to brew three times a day, six days a week for the first time ever in the Brewery’s 175 year history to cope with pre-orders in excess of 300,000 pints … and that was before the beer had even been tasted. Robinsons have been overwhelmed by the number of enquiries they’ve had from all over the world (below is a comprehensive list of whereabouts the interest has come from – a staggering 184 countries!)

Trooper is now available to order online throughout most of the EU, and Robinsons are working flat-out to ensure it will be available to the rest of the world as soon as possible. For updates on when Trooper is coming to a pub, bar or supermarket in your town/country keep checking www.ironmaidenbeer.com and follow IronMaidenBeer on Facebook or Twitter.

Worldwide response: (in order of popularity)

All photos: Rick Schofield © 2013 Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd

Visit one of the following Robinsons Pubs on the 9th May and be one of the first in the world to try TROOPER on draught.

1. ALBERT, BOWNESS
QUEENS SQUARE
BOWNESS-ON-WINDERMERE
CUMBRIA
LA23 3BY

2. BLACK HORSE, PRESTON
FRIARGATE
PRESTON
LANCASHIRE
PR1 2EJ

3. BLEEDING WOLF, SCHOLAR GREEN
121 CONGLETON ROAD NORTH
SCHOLAR GREEN KIDSGROVE
STOKE-ON-TRENT
STAFFORDSHIRE
ST7 3BQ

4. BLOSSOMS, HEAVILEY
2 BUXTON ROAD
HEAVILEY
STOCKPORT
CHESHIRE
SK2 6NU

5. BRIDGE END, LLANGOLLEN
ABBEY ROAD
LLANGOLLEN
CLWYD
LL20 8RY

6. BULKELEY ARMS, ANGLESEY
UXBRIDGE SQUARE
MENAI BRIDGE
ANGLESEY
LL59 5DF

7. BULLS HEAD, CASTLETON
CROSS STREET
CASTLETON
HOPE VALLEY
DERBYSHIRE
S33 8WH

8. CANDLESTICK, WHITEHAVEN
22 TANGIER STREET
WHITEHAVEN
CUMBRIA
CA28 7UZ

9. CASTLE, MANCHESTER
66 OLDHAM STREET
MANCHESTER
M4 1LE

10. CRISPIN, GREAT LONGSTONE
MAIN STREET
GREAT LONGSTONE
BAKEWELL
DERBYSHIRE
DE45 1TZ

11. ELLETSON ARMS, PILLING
STAKEPOOL DRIVE
PILLING
PRESTON
LANCASHIRE
PR3 6AH

12. FARMERS ARMS, POYNTON.
90 PARK LANE
POYNTON
STOCKPORT
CHESHIRE
SK12 1RE

13. HEALEY, ROCHDALE
172 SHAWCLOUGH ROAD
ROCHDALE
LANCASHIRE
OL12 6LW

14. HORSE SHOE, HIGH LANE
1 BUXTON ROAD
HIGH LANE
STOCKPORT
CHESHIRE
SK6 8AA

15. LAKE ROAD INN, KESWICK
LAKE ROAD
KESWICK
CUMBRIA
CA12 5DQ

16. LEIGH ARMS, NORTHWICH
WARRINGTON ROAD
LITTLE LEIGH
NORTHWICH
CHESHIRE
CW8 4QT

17. MARKET TAVERN, SANDBACH
THE SQUARE
SANDBACH
CHESHIRE
CW11 1AT

18. MULBERRY, CONWY
CONWY MARINA
MORFA DRIVE
CONWY
GWYNEDD
LL32 8EP

19. NAGS HEAD, MACCLESFIELD
60 WATERS GREEN
MACCLESFIELD
CHESHIRE
SK11 6JT

20. OAKWOOD, GLOSSOP
67 HIGH STREET WEST
GLOSSOP
DERBYSHIRE
SK13 8AZ

21. PIEL CASTLE, ULVERSTON
MARKET STREET
ULVERSTON
CUMBRIA
LA12 7LR

22. PLOUGH, WHITEGATE
BEAUTY BANK
WHITEGATE
NORTHWICH
CHESHIRE
CW8 2BP

23. RED BULL, STOCKPORT
14 MIDDLE HILLGATE
STOCKPORT
CHESHIRE
SK1 3AY

24. RED COW, NANTWICH
51 BEAM STREET
NANTWICH
CHESHIRE
CW5 5NF

25. ROYAL OAK, NEW MILLS
MARKET STREET
NEW MILLS
HIGH PEAK
DERBYSHIRE
SK22 4AA

26. ROYAL OAK, RHODES BANK, OLDHAM
178 UNION STREET
RHODES BANK
OLDHAM
LANCASHIRE
OL1 1EN

27. SWAN WITH TWO NECKS, STOCKPORT
PRINCES STREET
STOCKPORT
CHESHIRE
SK1 1RY

28. WHITE LION, ALVANLEY
MANLEY ROAD
ALVANLEY
FRODSHAM
CHESHIRE
WA6 9DD

29. WHITE SWAN, GT SUTTON
OLD CHESTER ROAD
GREAT SUTTON
WIRRAL
MERSEYSIDE
CH66 3NZ

30. WINDSOR CASTLE, MARPLE BRIDGE
1 GLOSSOP ROAD
MARPLE BRIDGE
STOCKPORT
CHESHIRE
SK6 5EJ

“The success has been due to a combination of factors” explained David Bremner, Robinsons’ Director of Marketing. “Firstly, how involved Bruce Dickinson has been with the development of the beer- it’s basically his recipe, taste profile and ABV and probably the clearest brief our Head Brewer has ever had.  Secondly, the sheer size of Iron Maiden as a band- they have 8.8 million Facebook followers with up to 200,000 talking about them at any one time. Finally, it takes a lot of work at our end- we have a marketing team doing little else but managing expectations and dealing with sales opportunities.  It’s a fine line to build anticipation of a launch without annoying fans who are desperate to drink it.

All of this has meant that Robinsons have secured orders with several export countries including USA – where there is an enormous following – before anyone has even tasted the beer.  David continues, “It’s actually mesmerising to watch the comments come through on Facebook- we have fans asking for it all over the globe, some of which is in languages I couldn’t begin to understand.  We are discussing sales with over 100 countries through our export partners Sovereign and have already presold 300,000 pints. Considering we haven’t let anyone taste it yet this is a promising start.  We are brewing three times a day six days a week for the first time ever in our 175 year history.”

The launch of Trooper ale is following a unique and unusual road David explained, “Normally we design a brand and support to launch to customers at head office level and, if successful, this filters down through BDMs to licensees and then maybe customers by which time the message can be quite diluted unless you have a lot to spend on advertising which most cask brewers don’t.  But with Trooper it is the complete opposite. It is the multitude of fans (plus all the thousands of fans who aren’t on Facebook) who are acting as our relentless sales force and demanding the beer directly from the pubs who then feed the message up through the supply chain and in many cases we ultimately get a “please can we have some beer” call. This is history in the making for Robinsons.”

Robinsons are launching the beer at their new brew house and Visitors Centre on the 9^th May to trade buyers and retailers and simultaneously launching it exclusively in 30 of their pubs. Pre-orders are being taken for Trooper in bottle online via www.ironmaidenbeer.com

Simon, who has just launched a range of ales with the Brewery, handcrafted to be enjoyed with beef, chicken or curry, invited his guests to put his innovative beers to the test, as he cooked and served up a specially created four course menu to showcase his beers. Each course was matched with the relevant beer and Simon talked through the inspiration behind the range and how they were developed.

Commenting on the event Simon said: “The evening was really relaxed and intimate. I’ve done this kind of thing umpteen times before, but it’s a different thing all together when you’re matching beers which I have invested months of my time creating (not to mention all the years I’ve been thinking about it) with your own food ... not many people have the opportunity to do that. I’ve always wanted to produce my own beer and now I have three! I’m loving every minute of it, especially watching the interest spread through pubs and supermarkets.”

The event is the first of two being held at the Robinsons Brewery Visitors Centre with Simon Rimmer.  The second event, ‘A Celebration of Seafood’, takes place on Thursday 23rd May. 

The Visitors Centre will also be host to a range of evening events throughout the year

Oliver Robinson, Managing Director of Robinsons beer division, said: “We’ve had a long-standing relationship with Simon and we’re thrilled to launch a range of beers specifically designed to complement food.

“This event was a fun way to introduce the new range and sample the products, as well as enjoying a fabulous meal.  It’s part of our on-going calendar of events which we will be continuing to add to throughout the year.”

Robinsons Brewery Visitors Centre opened in March 2013 to tell the story of the company’s 175 year history.  Visitors can take a brewery tour and enjoy lunch in the bar.  The Centre also offers state-of-the-art conferencing and training facilities. 

To find out more about the new Robinsons Brewery Visitors Centre, forthcoming events and/or to book a tour visit www.robinsonsvisitorscentre.co.uk or call 0161 612 4100.

The George and Dragon, which also won the Bronze award for Excellence in Customer Service, was among the top restaurants, pubs and food outlets who attended the awards ceremony which was held at Chester Racecourse on the 3rd April.

To find the winners, the public were encouraged to vote for their favourite establishments. Once the votes were counted, mystery diners were sent to the finalists to decide the best in each category.

Licensee Martin Barnes said, “We are delighted with the outcome as we were up against some fierce competition. We have always strived for a pub that we can be proud of so it is great to get this recognition, especially as the result was decided from both our customers and industry feedback.”