Press Pack 31st October - 16th November 2014

Press Information Lucy Self / George Wales [email protected] / [email protected] 020 7436 1111

Nicholson’s launches Autumn Beer Festival and new Hop Circle app

From October 31st – November 16th, Nicholson’s across and the UK will be launching an Autumn Beer Festival, showcasing a range of dark beers, perfect for supping as the temperature drops and the nights begin to draw in.

The festival will feature a rotating range of 13 exciting ales from some of the UK’s best brewers, including Red Squirrel’s London Porter, Itchen Valley’s Dark Solstice and Wild Beer Co.’s Scarlet Fever, as well as a trio of specialist beers created through an experimental “Whose Beer Is It Anyway?” brewing process.

Charged with concocting a trio of “improvised brews”, the head brewers from Purity, Brains and Adnam’s drew from three pots, World Cup style, to determine the characteristics of their beers. The pots were marked “Style”, “ABV Range” and “Hop Region”, with each brewery set to unveil their unique creations at the beginning of the festival.

Beer enthusiasts will be able to sample the improvised brews as individual pints or in a tasting stick of 1/3 pint glasses, with drinkers encouraged to choose their favourite via an online vote at www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/alelibrary. The winning beer will then be announced at the end of the festival, before being re-brewed and made available for the rest of the winter.

Meanwhile, the group is also launching a new Hop Circle app on October 24th, offering customers the chance to enjoy a selection of rewards and benefits for their loyalty. One of the app’s star features is the Ale Trail, guiding users through five London tours of notable Nicholson’s pubs, with a 25%-off-discount the reward for completing each trail.

Free to download on both iOS and Android phones, the app will also allow users to find their nearest Nicholson’s , browse a collection of tasting notes in the Ale Library, and automatically receive further offers and promotions throughout the year.

www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk Twitter - @Nicholsonspubs Facebook - www.facebook.com/nicholsonspubs

To RSVP to the London launch event at , Kingly Street, 6 – 8.30pm on Wednesday 29th October, or for more information or images, please contact George Wales at Roche Communications on 0207 436 1111 or email [email protected] Notes To Editors

- Founded in 1873, Nicholson’s currently operates 78 pubs in the UK, with locations in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. - “Whose Beer Is It Anyway?” beers have been devised by head brewers Fergus Fitzgerald (Adnam’s), Bill Dobson (Brains) and Florent Vialan (Purity). - Full range of festival beers is as follows:

Red Squirrel, London Porter – 5.0%; Itchen Valley, Dark Solstice – 5.0%; Elland, 1872 Porter – 6.5%; Otley, Saison Obscura – 5.5%; Long Man, Old Man – 4.3%; Saltaire, American Nut Brown – 4.7%; GYB, Cropton Blackout – 5.0%; Hilden, Irish Stout – 4.3%; Purity, Saddleblack – 5.1%; Elgoods, Black Dog Mild – 3.6%; Wild Beer Co., Scarlet Fever – 4.8%; Inveralmond, Pundie – 5.0%; St. Austell, Nicholson’s Porter – 5.0%

Nicholson’s operates the following pubs in London:

The , 18 Argyll Street, W1F 7TP; 020 7734 6117; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theargyllarmsoxfordcircuslondon The Bear & Staff, 10-12 Bear Street, WC2H 7AX; 020 7321 0814; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thebearandstaffleicestersquarelondon The Blackfriar, 174 Queen Victoria Street, EC4V 4EG; 020 7236 5474; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theblackfriarblackfriarslondon The Cambridge, 93 Charing Cross Rd, WC2H 0DP; 020 7494 0338; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thecambridgecambridgecircuslondon The Clachan, 34 Kingly Street, W1B 5QH; 020 7494 0834; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theclachankinglystreetlondon The Clarence, 4 Dover Street, W1S 4LB; 020 7491 3607; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theclarencemayfairlondon The Coal Hole, 91-92 Strand, WC2R 0DW; 020 7379 9883; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thecoalholestrandlondon The Crown, 64 , W1F 9TP; 020 7287 8420; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thecrownbrewerstreetlondon Dutch Cafe Bar, 11 Macclesfield Street, W1D 5BW; 020 7437 2494; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/dehemsdutchcafebarsoholondon The Dog & Duck, 18 Bateman Street, W1D 3AJ; 020 7494 0697; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thedogandducksoholondon Doggett's Coat & Badge, 1 Blackfriars Bridge, SE1 9UD; 020 7633 9081; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/doggettscoatandbadgesouthbanklondon The Elephant & Castle, 40 Holland Street, W8 4LT; 020 7937 6382; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theelephantandcastlekensingtonlondon The Falcon, 2 St. Johns Hill, Clapham Junction, SW11 1RU; 020 7228 2076; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thefalconclaphamjunctionlondon The Feathers, 18-20 Broadway, SW1H 0BH; 020 7227 0921; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thefeatherswestminsterlondon The Globe, 83 Moorgate, EC2M 6SA; 020 7374 2915; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theglobemoorgatelondon The Henry Addington, 22-28 Mackenzie Walk, E14 4PH; 020 7719 1114; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thehenryaddingtoncanarywharflondon The Hoop & Grapes, 47 Aldgate High Street, EC3N 1AL; 020 7481 4583; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thehoopandgrapesaldgatelondon The Horniman At Hays, Unit 26 Hays Galleria, Battle Bridge Lane, SE1 2HD; 020 7407 1991; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thehornimanathayslondonbridge The King's Head, 10 Stafford Street, W1S 4RX; 020 7493 0337; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thekingsheadmayfairlondon The Lord Aberconway, 72 Old Broad Street, EC2M 1QT; 020 7929 1743; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thelordaberconwayliverpoolstreetlondon The Magpie, 12 New Street, EC2M 4TP; 020 7929 3889; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/themagpiebishopsgatelondon , 2 Rathbone Street, W1T 1NR; 020 7580 7836; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/themarquisofgranbyrathbonestreetlondon The Marquis Of Granby, 41 Romney Street, SW1P 3RF; 020 7227 0941; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/themarquisofgranbywestminsterlondon The Mudlark, Montague Close, SE1 9DA; 020 7403 7364; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/themudlarklondonbridge The Old Bell Tavern, 95 Fleet Street, EC4Y 1DH; 020 7583 0216; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theoldbelltavernfleetstreetlondon The Old Thameside Inn, Pickfords Wharf, Clink Street, SE1 9DG; 020 7403 4243; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theoldthamesideinnlondonbridge The Pontefract Castle, 71 Wigmore Street, W1U 1QA; 020 7935 8034; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thepontefractcastlewigmorestreetlondon The Porcupine, 48 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0BS, 020 7379 9855; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theporcupineleicestersquarelondon The Princess Of Wales, 27 Villiers Street, WC2N 6ND, 020 7484 0748; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theprincessofwalescharingcrosslondon The Ship, 11 Talbot Court, EC3V 0BP; 020 7929 3903; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theshiptalbotcourtlondon The Sir Christopher Hatton, 4 Leather Lane, EC1N 7RA; 020 7404 9436; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thesirchristopherhattonhattongardenlondon The St. George’s Tavern, 14 Belgrave Road, SW1V 1QD; 020 7630 1116; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thestgeorgestavernvictorialondon The Sugar Loaf, 65 Cannon Street, EC4N 5AA; 020 7248 8928; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thesugarloafcannonstreet The Swan, 46 Hammersmith Broadway, W6 0DZ; 020 8748 1043; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theswanhammersmithlondon The Three Greyhounds, 25 , W1D 5DD; 020 7494 0953; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thethreegreyhoundssoholondon The Tottenham, 6 Oxford Street, W1D 1AN; 020 7636 8324; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thetottenhamoxfordstreetlondon The Walrus & The Carpenter, 45 Monument Street, EC3R 8BU; 020 7621 1647; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thewalrusandthecarpentermonumentlondon The Wellington, 351 Strand, WC2R 0HS; 0207 836 2789; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thewellingtonstrandlondon The White Horse, 16 Newburgh Street, W1F 7RY; 0207 494 9748; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thewhitehorsecarnabystreetlondon The White Lion, 24 James Street, WC2E 8NS; 0207 240 1064; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thewhitelioncoventgardenlondon The White Swan, 14 New Row, Covent Garden, WC2N 4LF; 020 3077 1129; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thewhiteswanlondon Williamson's Tavern, 1 Groveland Court, EC4M 9EH; 020 7248 5750; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/williamsonstaverngrovelandcourtlondon The Woodins Shades, 212 Bishopsgate, EC2M 4PT; 020 7247 4324; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thewoodinsshadesbishopsgatelondon Ye Olde Watling, 29 Watling Street, EC4M 9BR; 0207 248 8935; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/yeoldewatlingwatlingstreetlondon The York, 82 Islington High Street, N1 8EQ; 020 7713 1835; www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theyorkislingtonlondon