As the nation celebrates Freedom Day, craft shandy brand Shandy Shack also has something to drink to: City Pub Group is today launching Shandy Shack on draught across multiple sites in its portfolio. The hop-packed IPA Shandy (2.8%) and crisply-refreshing  Elderflower Lager Top (2.5%) will be poured on tap across 11 sites in the South of England and Wales from 19 July to the end of September. The drinks are described on the Shandy Shack website as tasting 'like summers on the village green' and 'like chilling on a sun-drenched bench' respectively.

The 11 sites that will trial the shandies for the rest of the summer are situated across London, Brighton, Cambridge, Cardiff, Norwich and Southampton, and include popular haunts like Aragon House on Parsons Green, The Lighthouse in Battersea and the Pontcanna Inn in Cardiff. Each site will have one product on draught, with cans sold in the fridges behind the bar in the alternative style. Both shandies are vegan, gluten-free, and lower-calorie, and the brand has been at the forefront of accelerating the moderation trend after a successful trial in Sainsbury's in winter 2020 and widespread media coverage in mainstream press over the last few months. 

Broadly speaking, it is the proliferation of higher-quality choices from brands dedicated to lowering alcohol content that is successfully breaking through the historic compromise of the category. Drinkers have been sinking a variety of delicious alternatives at a range of lower ABVs at home over the past year, and now health conscious consumers can do so in the pub. Shandy Shack's exponential growth over the last six months is a reflection of emerging brands looking to create experiences specifically around lower-alcohol drinks.

The refreshing new ready-to-drink shandy was founded in 2018 by former management consultant Ed Stapleton, and NHS doctors Tom Stevens and Fred Gleadowe. Shandy Shack started life as a pop-up bar serving craft shandies at festivals. The pandemic made them pivot their business to a direct-to-consumer retail model and rapid growth saw them come to the attention of the Future Brands buying team at Sainsbury's. Having successfully completed a Taste of the Future trial with the grocer, they are now permanently listed in 51 stores, and are next hoping to take the on-trade by storm with increasing wholesale distribution behind them.

Ed Stapleton, Co-Founder of Shandy Shack, says, "We're thrilled to secure our first multi-site on-trade draught listing with the esteemed City Pub Group. They have a reputation for supporting some of the most innovative brands and businesses in their amazing venues, so seeing Shandy Shack on their taps will represent more flattering validation of our revival of the humble shandy! We can't wait for a whole new group of drinkers to taste our vegan, gluten-free craft shandies as they look for more varied and exciting ways to cut down their weekly units. Roll on the summer of shandy!”

Rupert Clark, Managing Director of City Pub Group, comments, “At City Pub Group, we pride ourselves on reacting to market trends by serving exciting new brands, such as Shandy Shack, to our customers. We're delighted to be working with the team this summer and are excited to see the results of the trial.”

City Pub Group Trial Sites:

London:

• Aragon House Garden Bar, Parsons Green
• The Roundhouse, Wandsworth
• The Lighthouse, Battersea
• The Three Crowns, Old Street

Brighton:

• Brighton Beach Club

Cambridge: 

• The Waterman
• The Old Bicycle Shop
• Old Ticket Office

Cardiff:

• The Pontcanna Inn

Norwich:

• The Georgian Townhouse

Southampton: 

• London Road Brew House 

Notes to Editors:

About Shandy Shack

Oxford-based Shandy Shack was founded as a pop-up bar in summer 2018 by three friends (two of whom are qualified NHS doctors) who fell in love with the humble shandy. During the pandemic, they had to pivot their craft shandy business, which was heavily focussed on events, and started selling bottles and cans and delivering door-to-door to people locally in Oxfordshire. Word quickly spread, and their success led to a trial on the Taste of the Future bay with Sainsbury's. Towards the end of the trial, the team landed a permanent listing with the grocer along with a six-figure investment from a trio of angel investors, which has subsequently allowed them to continue expanding through 2021. Shandy Shack is now available in bars throughout the country, including on draught. Aiming to remain at the forefront of the 'moderation' and no/low alcohol trend, the team are invested in exciting new products to land at the end of 2021. 

Visit Shandy Shack's website (www.shandyshack.co.uk) or follow Shandy Shack on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/shandy.shack/) for more news.

For more information, please contact PR Manager Jo Baird on joanne@joannebaird.com or on +44 7814 267 444.

About The City Pub Group

If you are looking for individual pubs with great character, fantastic beer, delicious food and excellent service – look no further than The City Pub Group.

The City Pub Group started life back in late 2011, and now has a growing portfolio of forty-five great pubs across the southern half of England and Wales, with more in the pipeline.The City Pub Group prides themselves in employing only the top people and running the best pubs in the cities and market towns. Obsessive about beer, passionate about food, each pub has a charming, relaxed ambience and friendly, enthusiastic service.