2 weeks Ago
A local pub has launched a beer honouring a Game of Thrones actor who happens to be one their regulars. The Hand in Hand in Brighton's Kemp Town has created a Red Welsh Ale called Robin Goch in honour of the actor Iwan Rheon, who is a regular there. Iwan is best known for playing the villainous Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones and Simon Bellamy in Misfits.
Iwan Rheon collaborated with the pub to create a Red Welsh Ale called Robin Goch (Image: Hand in Hand) The new Robin Goch beer is part of the pub's “Art You Can Drink” series. As part of the range, the pub is working with artists from different disciplines to produce a “unique personalised beer in a style of their choice”, with a percentage of the profits going to a charity close to them. The pub created the Toadlicker - a Grapefruit Pale Ale - with conceptual artist David Shrigley in 2022.
This is one of their biggest selling beers and a portion of profits from sales goes to the Fitzherbert Community Hub in Kemp Town which is home to Brighton Table Tennis Club, The Real Junk Food Project and Voices in Exile. The Robin Gooch is described as a deliciously deep ruby red ale (Image: Hand in Hand) The Wiener Dawg - a Vienna Lager - was produced in 2023 with recipe writer, Mob chef and Hot Honey Hero Ben Lippett. A portion of profits from sales of this beer goes to The Trussell Trust.
This year, the pub collaborated with Iwan on a Welsh Red Ale with a portion of profits from sales of this beer going to WWF Cymru. Each launch of each beer is unique. To celebrate the actor’s Welsh heritage, the pub was decorated like a cosy Welsh tavern, with a performance from the Brighton Welsh Male Voice Choir.
The pub was decorated to look like a cosy Welsh tavern (Image: Hand in Hand) Iwan said: “With this project, I'm supporting WWF Cymru who are fighting to restore vital habitats and species “I named this beer Robin Goch as I love birds too, but they need a thriving ecosystem. There’s no second or third take for our planet, we have one chance to get this right and we have to act now. Enjoy this Welsh Red Ale and know that it’s doing its bit for people and the planet.
” Chris Llewellyn from the choir said: "We had a brilliant sing song! Lots of rousing Welsh classics and some with Iwan himself. Calon Lan went down so well we sang it twice. A couple of people were FaceTiming our performance.
" Guests were served Cawl, a hearty Welsh stew and the “deliciously deep ruby red ale”, Robin Goch. The launch reflected Iwan's Welsh heritage (Image: Supplied) A spokesman for the pub said: “One quiet Saturday afternoon in 2022, our great pal and Hand regular, Lewis, brought his childhood friend in for a few drinks. This is when we first met Iwan.
“Lewis and Iwan like a pint, but that afternoon a new drink was created - Shaquila. It’s simple. A pint of our Original Pale Ale, Shaka, with a bit of Tequila in it.
It’s delicious. The cans were designed by Brighton artist, Hello Marine (Image: Hand in Hand) “Needless to say, when we started talking about collaborating on a beer for our Art You Can Drink project, it wasn’t going to be Shaquila in the can. Iwan wanted something that reflected his Welsh roots and did something for his other passion: wildlife and the environment.
“Head Brewer Kate suggested a Welsh Red Ale, Iwan named it Robin Goch (Red Robin) and Hand’s Artist in Residence, HelloMarine created the stunning art.”.
