Wave the flag for British beer on 15 June

Beer Day Britain is back for a second year.  National Beer Day will take place on June 15^th following a successful launch in 2015.   June 15^th is significant because this is the date that Magna Carta was sealed in 1215. Ale is mentioned in clause 35 of the great charter 'Let there be throughout our kingdom a single measure for wine and a single measure for ale and a single measure for corn’.

The idea of Beer Day Britain is simple – drink beer, ideally in the pub or a brewery taproom and join in the National Cheers to Beer at 7pm. Social media users are asked to post a message using the hashtag #CheersToBeer and help us trend on Twitter as we did in 2015.

Around the nation brewers will be brewing celebratory ales, hosting events in their tap rooms, and giving away free beer. Pubs will be holding special events.  Speciality beer retailers will be offering customers mixed cases of British beer.  Towns will be devising ale trails. Beer drinkers will be drinking.   Will you join in?

I am the instigator of Beer Day Britain and like countless people around the world, amongst my favourite things are beer and pubs. I love pub singing and wish there were more places to go for decent beer and a sing-song.   Singing together is good for mental and physical health and makes us happy.  So does beer! Something as incredible as beer deserves an anthem to I have co-written one with a composer and it is called Cheers to Beer.

For Beer Day Britain I am running a competition for the most enthusiastic rendition of the song during the National Cheers to Beer.  To enter just post a video on social media or You Tube of your friends singing the song and Tweet the link to @BeerDayBritain. The group judged to have sung with the most gusto will win glory and each member of the group a signed copy of my book ‘Beer o’ Clock’.  

You can download as a karaoke backing track, lyrics, vocal score and ringtone through the Beer Day Britain website http://www.beerdaybritain.co.uk.   Listen to a preview of the song here (sung by a group of friends in a pub): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x2ci8wjJks 

So start gargling with your favourite beer, practice your scales and let’s get singing in praise of our national drink. Happy Beer Day Britain.

Cheers to Beer!

Jane Peyton