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Award-winning Harrogate-based craft beer brewery Rooster’s has joined forces with the Comedians Playing Fantasy Premier League podcast to become a sponsor for the 2022/23 season, with the aim of increasing the profile and awareness of the independent, family-owned brewery, its onsite Taproom and award-winning, vegan friendly beers.

The podcast loosely follows a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) of 30 of Britain’s most famous comedians, including: Josh Widdicombe, Alan Davies, Rob Beckett, Richard Osman, Iain Stirling and Russell Howard, intertwined with observations of Jon, Matt and their guests’ lives.

As one reviewer summed it up “it’s 10% FPL, 90% nonsense”.

Speaking of the partnership, Tom Fozard, Rooster’s Commercial Director said: “I’ve been a huge fan of both Jon and Matt’s comedy for a very long time and the CPFPL podcast instantly became a ‘must listen’ for me when it launched last year.

"I’m delighted with the association Rooster’s has been able to create by becoming a sponsor of the podcast and the opportunity it gives us in helping more people hear about our beers.”

Plans are also underway for a live recording of the podcast to take place later in the year at Rooster’s Taproom in Harrogate, a venue that already hosts a monthly comedy night (Really Funny Comedy) and has attracted comedians such as Maisie Adam, Josh Pugh and Brennan Reece to join host Micky P Kerr in the coming months.

White Rose: Rooster’s annual charity beer

Independent Harrogate brewery Rooster's has been brewing its annual White Rose charity beer since 2011.

Launched on Yorkshire Day on August 1, this year, with every sip of this refreshing pale, real ale drinkers will be supporting Harrogate District Foodbank, which aims to end food shortage in the Harrogate district.

In total, in conjunction with this year’s batch, White Rose will have raised more than £10,000 for a variety of local charities.

Pleased to be supporting a small, independent charity for the 12th year running, Tom Fozard, Rooster’s Commercial Director, said: "We’re delighted that the funds raised from this year’s brew of White Rose will be helping to raise funds for Harrogate District Foodbank.

"The beer will be available on the bar at our Taproom in Harrogate and is also being delivered to various pubs within the Harrogate area, throughout Yorkshire, and beyond."

10p for every pint of White Rose sold will be donated directly to Harrogate District Foodbank.

Visit the charity’s website at www.roosters.co.uk to find out how you can support them further, with regular updates on items needed, as well as further information on how to help.

About Rooster’s Brewing Company

Rooster’s Brewing Co. has always been an independent, family-run brewery, focussed on creating quality new world pale ales, with an emphasis on flavour and aroma.

The Taproom, situated in Hornbeam Park, Harrogate, is open 6 days a week, offering street food and of course, great beer brewed onsite.

Next year, 2023, will see Rooster’s celebrating its 30th birthday.

But it was first established in 1993 by the pioneering brewer Sean Franklin, who developed a new style of beer that had, up to that point, never been tried in the UK before. At a time when most breweries were taking flavour out, Sean was trying to put more in, using imported flavourful hops from the west coast of America.

His pioneering and innovative approach began to turn heads, with Rooster’s flavour-packed beers standing out in a sea of brown beer - with its flagship pale ale, Yankee, leading the way. The awards began to pour in, with Rooster’s beers winning gold medals at the biggest and most renowned international and national beer awards.

Having won pretty much everything there was to win, in 2011 Sean decided to retire and chose to sell the brewery to Ian Fozard and his sons, Tom and Oliver, in a move that ensured Rooster’s would remain a family-owned brewery.

Ian has had an affinity with beer for over forty years, having been an active member of CAMRA since the 1970s and the founder of Market Town Taverns, which grew into a portfolio of 15 bars and pubs across Yorkshire.

Oliver, who has been brewing professionally since 2000, became the head brewer at Rooster’s, and Tom, also an active brewer, became the company’s commercial director. Oliver was awarded Brewer of the Year in December 2020 by the British Guild of Beer Writers.

In 2018, it became clear that Rooster’s was rapidly outgrowing its site in Knaresborough and in 2019 the decision was made to invest in a new state-of-the-art brewery and taproom.

Finding the right location, that offered Rooster’s the opportunity to become part of the fabric of the local community wasn’t easy, but the team were delighted when the perfect space became available at Hornbeam Park in Harrogate.

Over the course of 2019 and the early part of January 2020, the company created a bespoke, state-of-the-art facility that it now calls home, in a move that saw it return to the town where Rooster’s was first started some 27 years earlier.

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