Iron Maiden’s vocalist and ale aficionado Bruce Dickinson’s most recent collaboration with Robinsons’ Brewery has produced a unique 4.1% ABV golden ale called ‘Light Brigade’.
Developed together with Head Brewer, Martyn Weeks and available now for pre-order in the UK, ‘Light Brigade’ not only tastes great, but also supports Help for Heroes, the charity that provides help for the British Armed Forces community whose lives are affected by their service.
Five pence of every bottle, and six pence of every pint purchased will be donated to support the many servicemen and women who live with complex wounds and injuries – both physical and mental. Funds raised will go towards Help For Heroes important work of providing help for Armed Forces veterans and their families, whose lives are affected by their service, delivering courses and activities to support their physical and emotional rehabilitation.
Dickinson said: “We are very proud to have been asked to get involved. I have been an instructor on several of British Airways’ flight simulator ‘Flying Heroes’ days for Help For Heroes veterans, so I know the charity and the work that they do well. Light Brigade is our interpretation of a golden ale that maintains the elements of strength and character that are the essence of Trooper but at a more sessionable level. In fact, the two beers complement each other very well.”
Help for Heroes first met with Robinsons in the summer of 2017 to explore the possibility of launching a beer, an idea that both Robinsons and Iron Maiden were immediately enthusiastic for.
Indeed, Iron Maiden’s support is no surprise given their well-known interest in military history. An interest which has influenced not only their music, but their brewing collaboration with Robinsons, with their first beer TROOPER being named after the Iron Maiden classic “The Trooper”. A song based on the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854.
The Charge of the Light Brigade is a notorious moment in British military history when Lord Cardigan led a catastrophic frontal assault of British light cavalry against Russian forces during the Crimean War. With ‘Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them’, as Lord Tennyson’s famous poem recorded, The ‘noble 600′ reached their objective under withering direct fire suffering high casualties which forced an immediate retreat.
After the initial approach by Help for Heroes, Bruce and Martyn joined forces to produce Light Brigade, a new session beer with all the powerful flavours you’d expect from Trooper. This new beer was put through its paces with a final tasting and approval taking place at Help for Heroes’ Tedworth House Recovery Centre in Wiltshire last Autumn.
In keeping with the Trooper brand, the new beer features Iron Maiden’s iconic mascot Eddie on horse back in one of the uniforms of the Light Brigade on the bottle’s label.
Beth Miles, director of marketing and fundraising at Help For Heroes: “We are thrilled that Bruce Dickinson has developed a new beer for us under the Trooper brand with Robinsons. We are sure that Light Brigade will have a very popular appeal and raise significant funds, enabling Help For Heroes to empower more veterans to reach their potential and regain their purpose. This is the beginning of a partnership which we hope will see Trooper fans and Robinsons customers join The Force for Good campaign to support the thousands whose lives have been affected by their service.”
Martyn Weeks commented: “Bruce and I were recently invited to visit Help For Heroes in Wiltshire, where we had a tour of the incredible recovery facilities there and met some of the veterans. We were both hugely impressed with the work they are doing and launching a new beer in support of this charity is, we believe, a great way to raise money and awareness for this very worthy cause. Robinsons will also be supporting the charity through fundraising in our pub estate.”
Light Brigade is available to pre-order now on-line from Robinsons brewery for delivery from 1st February.
In addition to the opportunity to be one of the first in the world to taste the new beer 2 weeks ahead of anyone else, pre-orders of one case will receive an official Light Brigade sticker. Orders of two or more cases will receive an exclusive bottle opener. All pre-orders will also receive a Help for Heroes pin badge.
Light Brigade will be stocked in UK supermarkets nationwide and selected pubs from 19th February onwards. Unlike other limited edition Trooper beers, Light Brigade will also be available on a long-term basis.
