Cheers honey!

Two finalists in last year’s Powys Business Awards have toasted the success of collaboration after a specially brewed honey beer sold out within 10 days.

A conversation between Pam Honeyman from Monty’s Brewery, based at Montgomery, and Scott Davies from Hilltop Honey, Newtown resulted in 30 casks – 2,160 pints - of Hilltop Golden Honey Ale being brewed.

The beer, which had an alcohol content of 3.6%, sold out within 10 days as customers across Mid and North Wales and as far away as Manchester found it to their taste. Hilltop Honey supplied four kilos of honey for the brew.

Such was the success of the trial that both businesses plan to repeat the collaboration to produce a second batch of the honey beer.

“The beer wasn’t overly sweet, but the honey gave it a nice, rounded finish,” said Pam. “It was a nice beer to drink after the excesses of Christmas and we plan to repeat it.

“It was good fun working with another local business. It has promoted Scott’s honey business and it hasn’t done me any harm because the beer sold out really quickly.”

It’s not the first time that Pam has successfully experimented with adding sweet ingredients to beer. She has previously brewed Monty’s Maple, which uses maple syrup, as a popular autumn promotion.

“Being associated with Monty’s Brewery has boosted my brand and the honey flavoured beer was really good,” said Scott. “I would ideally like to see it produced all year round.”

Both Pam and Scott were Powys Business Awards finalists last year – Monty’s Brewery in the business growth and Hilltop Honey in the business start up.

Ceri Stephens, group manager of Newtown-based Mid Wales Manufacturing Group, which organises the Powys Business Awards, is delighted by the successful collaboration.

“This is a good example of a business opportunity created by companies networking at last year’s awards,” she said. “We are now preparing for the launch of the 2013 Powys Business Awards in May and information will be available http://www.powysbusinessawards.co.uk.”/

Scott, 25, launched Hilltop Honey two years ago after a lifelong interest in honey and he has six distributors across the UK and is hoping to clinch a deal to supply a chain of quality stores in North England in April.

It has been an exciting and eventful four years since Pam realised a personal ambition by launching Monty’s Brewery. She now employs three staff, the business has three pubs - The Sportsman in Newtown, Abermule Hotel in Abermule and the Red Lion in Caersws – and subsidiary Quick Keg, which is run by her husband, Russ, wholesales beer, wine and spirits. The businesses employ 21 staff.

Pam has also recently secured her first export order for 65 cases each of Sunshine, Midnight and Moonrise bottled beer, which are going to a customer in Norway. 

Monty’s Brewery was also recently invited by Carlsberg to supply a guest beer to its pubs across the UK for six weeks and sold more than 14,000 pints.

Picture: Pam Honyeman from Monty’s Brewery and Scott Davies from Hilltop Honey toast the success of the honey ale.