New beer created for Up Helly Aa festival

REVELLERS taking part in tomorrow’s Up-Helly-Aa fire festival on Shetland are being urged to celebrate with a new ale specially crafted for the event - and brewed in neighbouring Orkney.

The new “Norseman Pale Ale”, created by the Orkney Brewery for leading Shetland wholesale firm J W Gray and Co, will be on sale for the first time tomorrow at the islands’ main festival in Lerwick.

Stevie Grant, 53, a tug skipper and the new Guizer Jarl, will lead a squad of 59 men and 11 children through the streets of the islands’ capital for the traditional burning of the Viking longship at the town’s harbour.

A spokesman for the Orkney Brewery said the new Norseman Pale Ale had been “specially crafted” at the Stromness-based brewery for for its northern neighbours. He said: “It is light on the palate and will particularly appeal to lager drinkers, as well as lovers of traditional, high-quality real ales.”

Norman Sinclair, managing director of the Orkney Brewery’s parent company, Sinclair Breweries Ltd, said: “We were delighted when JW.Gray and Co approached us with the idea of producing an ale specially for the Shetland market. We wanted to craft an ale that was refreshing and drinkable, with a distinctive Shetland identity, and we’re very proud of the result.”