In Chapter 10 of Brew Britannia we wrote about the craze in the mid-1990s for interesting one-off seasonals.
Some were single-hopped, others were spiced and/or infused with fruit beers. This beauty from Flowers (Whitbread) launched in 1995 is typical.
As luck would have it, what appears to be the original press release is lurking in the depths of the internet:
COLONEL PEPPER’S LEMON ALE — AN UNUSUALLY REFRESHING COMBINATION!
Whitbread has revived the use of one of brewing’s oldest ingredients, black pepper and added a relatively new one into British beer making, lemon, with the launch of Colonel Pepper’s Lemon Ale – the ideal thirst-quenching pint for those long, balmy summer days!
Colonel Pepper’s (5.0% ABV) is a wonderfully refreshing beer, unusually light and golden in colour for an ale, with a spicy aroma – the lemon peel and ground black pepper added into the brew give it a clean and fresh ‘tingle’ for the drinker’s palate.