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Local beer at heart of the Green Dale

An award-winning local microbrewer has brewed an eco-friendly ale in support of the proposed Eastgate Renewable Energy Village in Weardale.

Simon Gillespie has created ‘Eastgate Green Dale’, is a golden hued beer brewed with all natural ingredients. The beer is the first real ale to be pulled in the Cross Keys pub in Eastgate.

Simon says: “When I heard about the plans for Eastgate Renewable Energy Village at Eastgate I thought it was a fantastic idea that would really give Weardale a lift and I wanted to show my support. As I try to make our entire brewing process as eco-friendly as possible, I couldn’t think of a better way than to brew them a specialised ‘green’ beer!”

As part of the environmentally-conscious process, the brewery has installed a heat exchanger to recycle all the heat used in the brewing of the ale. Even the leftover ingredients are not wasted - the spent grains of malt are donated to a local beef farmer in Gainford as fodder for his cattle, and the expended hops are used as fertiliser at the nearby leek allotments.

The Weardale Task Force - made up of representatives from Wear Valley District Council, Durham County Council, One NorthEast and Lafarge Cement UK - is the driving force behind the proposed Renewable Energy Village.

John Topliss of One NorthEast and spokesperson on behalf of the Weardale Task Force said: “Simon’s support for Eastgate is very welcome and tastes wonderful! Wear Valley Brewery is just one of a growing number of local businesses to recognise the benefits the project would bring.”

For more information about the Eastgate Renewable Energy Village, visit www.weardale-works.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .