Keg wines, Boudicca-inspired beer and pork scratching crisps: The best new drinks and snacks for pubs

The humble British boozer is having to fight for custom in today’s competitive hospitality landscape, with sites having to work harder than ever to attract consumers through the door.

 

A pub has to have a unique hook to stand out from the crowd, and offering unusual beers, wines or bar snacks could be the key to keeping punters happy.

 

Therefore, we have rounded up the latest and greatest drink and snack launches for pubs – find new pub menu options below.

 

Wine in kegs for extended freshness

 

The Canned Wine Group is offering its range of Copper Crew organic wines in 20-litre kegs. Venues can draw down more than 26 bottles from a single keg, protecting the wine’s freshness for six weeks and reducing wastage. The organic Italian wine on tap is packed in 20-litre KeyKegs – a lightweight, stackable patented bag-in-keg for extended shelf life. Fiano white wine and Negroamaro red wine are initially available, followed by a Primitivo-based Rosato and lower-alcohol Bianco Spritz, ready for summer trading.

 

Price 20-litre KeyKeg, £185.50

 

Porter inspired by Queen Boudicca

 

Cardiff-based Brains Brewery has launched a new dark beer called Boudicca. The 5% abv porter is inspired by the British warrior queen and made with locally-sourced ingredients to deliver a taste of roasted malts, dark chocolate and caramel with a hint of toffee.

 

Price 30-litre keg, £99

 

Rare Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Chilean wine producer Morandé Wine Group is launching El Cabernet de Ránquil 2020 – a Cabernet Sauvignon wine crafted from 120-year-old vines grown in a family-owned estate in the Ránquil area of the Itata Valley. This previously unexplored terroir offers conditions that are rare in Chile, resulting in a new profile for a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. The small 1.96-hectare ancient vineyard is set on granitic soil with a high presence of quartz, which imparts unique characteristics to the 13% abv wine, which is aged for 16 months in French oak barrels and two years in the bottle.

 

Price £30 per bottle

 

Pork scratching flavoured crisps

 

Crisp producer Made for Drink has joined forces with pork scratching supplier Mr Trotter to create pork scratching flavoured potato crisps. The British hand-cooked crisps can be a savoury sidekick for ales, lager or wine, and come in boxes of 24, with a donation made to English Heritage for every pack purchased.

 

Price 24 x 40g packs, £19.20

 

Crisp lager with broad appeal

 

Yorkshire-based craft brewer Vocation Brewery is bringing its new premium lager, Hilltop, to the on-trade in a keg format, along with branded glassware inspired by the brewery’s hilltop location. The crisp 4.3% abv lager is available in 30-litre and 50-litre kegs.

 

Price 30-litre keg, £96

 

Regenerative rosé

 

Maison Mirabeau has added to its regenerative rosé offering with the launch of One Day. The wine is sourced from organic and regeneratively farmed vineyards in the Côtes de Provence appellation in France, and is the region’s first wine awarded Certified Regenerative by A Greener World (AGW). One Day is a delicate Provence rosé with notes of redcurrants, pomegranate, citrus and fresh herbs, and can be paired with seafood, such as roasted sea bass with Provençal herbs, or a spicy Thai beef salad.

 

Price From £13 per bottle