A brewer has hired more than a million worker BEES to help brew – HONEY beer.
Hannah Rhodes, 30, uses honey from scores of hives scattered around the capital to brew Hiver – a blonde beer already proving popular with top restaurants and retailers.
Despite only launching her unique beer last September, Hannah’s potent 5 per cent brew is available nationwide.
She has already managed to shift more than 150,000 bottles, through online sales and top retailers such as Selfridges and Ocado.
Hannah’s beer is also stocked in top chef Tom Kerridge’s two Michelin-starred pub The Hand and Flowers, as well as The Dorchester and Heston Blumenthal’s Hinds Head.
Hannah said: “I’ve always been interested in beer and brewing, but a couple of years ago I became interested in urban beekeeping.
“I decided to give it a go and combine my two hobbies, and the result was Hiver. We started production last September, and we’ve gone from strength to strength.
“Because 20 per cent of our brewing mixture is honey, rather than adding honey at the end, we produce a blonde, almost lager-type beer, which isn’t too sweet at all.
“Also, adding honey at the start makes it a bit stronger, and easier to drink.”
Hannah’s unique beer scooped Ocado’s prestigious ‘Britain’s Next Top Supplier 2014’ award – beating stiff competition from more than 400 other entrants.
TV chef Tom Kerridge said: “I was really impressed by Hannah’s innovation, enthusiasm and knowledge of an industry she has a massive amount of passion for.
“The entire Hiver product, from taste to packaging, has been carefully crafted.
“She’s doing something different, she’s doing it well and she loves doing it.”
Hannah, who has a hive on the roof of her south east London home, jokingly refers to herself as ‘London’s biggest employer’ because she buys honey from beekeepers scattered all over the capital.
Hiver, which is brewed outside the city at Hepworth and Co Brewers in Horsham, West Sussex, is available from a variety of retailers, priced around #2.75 per bottle.
