INDEPENDENCE

 

 

We are delighted to announce our new collaborative beer with The Crown at Bray and Autistic Ian. Independence is 4% IPA vigorously hopped with Chinook and Cascade, giving the beer a pleasant, flowery and spicy, citrus-like aroma and bursting with zesty fruity flavours. 

 

What makes "Independence" truly unique is the design of its artwork. The pump clip and bottle label will be based on a bespoke artwork crafted by talented now Global artist Autistic Ian. Originally from Buckinghamshire, Ian was born with bags of artistic talent, but also a severe stammer and high-functioning autism. He defied all odds and worked his way from art-director to Executive Creative Director of Europe at one of the world’s leading advertising agencies. Unfortunately, after many years struggling with his condition and mental health he was finally overwhelmed and in 2012, Ian suffered a mental breakdown and as a result lost his job and his home. After years of struggle and even sleeping rough, Ian inadvertently created a sketch which he reckoned resembled the Michelin starred chef, Tom Kerridge. Ian sent his sketch to Tom's wife Beth who loved it and shared Ian's work. This was to be the beginning of Autistic Ian the artist, whose work has gone on to receive acclaim and recognition from a host of A-list chefs and restaurateurs worldwide. 

 

Ian's sculpture is proudly displayed in our taproom. “I created this piece, born from the earlier part of my journey. Its graffiti based and is built around the iconic and very graphic shape of the Statue of Liberty, with its core freedom and independence message. The street art element portrays earlier hardships, and I wanted it to be dynamic and hard hitting. There's even a multi-layer pattern of my Instagram face pic, created from a photo when I was just 5 years old with an 'Ian' tag included.” Autistic Ian. 

 

We’re delighted to also be working with James and his team at The Crown in Bray. The Crown is a historic 16th Century pub which offers a delightful blend of classic and simple, yet perfectly executed, traditional pub food alongside a diverse and crowd-pleasing range of drinks. The original idea for this collaboration came from a discussion with James & Laura at The Crown for a beer to compliment their ‘Pork Pie Off’ event for British Pie Week. A prize at the Pork Pie Off was one of Ian’s sculptures and after hearing Ian's story the idea evolved to be a full collaboration with Ian commissioned for the artwork. We proudly display Ian's sculpture in our taproom, which is becoming a real talking point when people visit us.  

 

Laura & James kindly arrange for us to meet Ian and hearing his remarkable story first hand was truly amazing. It reminded us of just how easy it can be for people with autism to get overwhelmed and to lose their support structure. We wanted to help spread the word of Ian's story and to help others that struggle with autism, therefore, 5p from each pint sold will be donated to a charity supporting Autistic individuals in the UK, helping to raise awareness and offer support for those living with autism. 

 

Autism, a condition close to our hearts here at Windsor & Eton Brewery, is a lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world. More than one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and there are around 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK. By buying Independence you will be helping our autism charity continue to not only offer support for people with autism but to also help with running specialist schools, campaigning for improved rights or training companies on being more autism-friendly, they are dedicated to transforming lives and changing attitudes. 

 

The beer will be available from April.  

If you would like to stock Independence, please get in touch with our sales team - sales@webrew.co.uk 

For media enquiries please contact our Head of Trade, Paul O'Connell - paul.oconnell@webrew.co.uk