WHAT has become a Castle Players tradition took place last week when the drama group raised a glass ahead of their summer production.
Members of the Barnard Castle-based actors turned up to Mithril Ales, Aldbrough St John, wearing costumes from their latest play, Alice in Wonderland.
The theatre company has a special ale made by the micro-brewery to accompany its summer performance in the grounds of The Bowes Museum. It holds a competition for people to come up with a name that is both witty and a reference to this year’s play.
The winning name for this year’s brew was judged to be “Hop with her Head” . But unlike other years, the winner had no difficulty in finding the tucked-away micro-brewery – Peter Montgomery lives just across the road from brewer Peter Fenwick
Mr Montgomery often helps Mr Fenwick keep the site tidy but on this occasion, just for once, he got to assist with the main job of brewing by adding the hops to the mash,
Asked about Hop with Her Head, Mr Fenwick said: “It’s a quaffable, deep golden beer. The malt and hops are well-balanced giving a sweet taste and a zesty, citrus hop finish. Perhaps we can quote from elsewhere in Alice and just say ‘drink me’.”
The performance of Alice in Wonderland by the Castle Players is on from July 10 to July 13 with tickets via The Witham. For full information see castleplayers.co.uk
