Hail the new ale!

JW Lees, of Middleton Junction, and Cloudwater Brew Co have teamed up to create the official beer for the city-wide Manchester Beer Week festival (June 10-19).

The beer will help to bridge the gap between the city’s brewing heritage and the growing craft beer movement by combining traditional methods with modern flavours and techniques.

Michael Lees-Jones, head brewer at JW Lees, said: “We love the idea of bridging the gap between nearly two centuries of brewing heritage and the modern craft scene.

“We love the beers brewed by Cloudwater and we can’t wait to see how our ideas and methods come together for this exclusive beer. We’ve already thrown some ideas about over a couple of pints and the seeds have been sown for something very special.”

This will be the first beer brewed by JW Lees in partnership with another brewer in 15 years — the previous beer was the award-winning Manchester Star which was made in collaboration with Brooklyn Best.

The recipe isn’t decided yet but the beer will be brewed at JW Lees’s Greengate Brewery and made available at participating venues across Greater Manchester during the festival.