South West brewery Butcombe has launched its own flavour of crisps. The company’s new steak and Butcombe ale pie crisps will be available in its pubs and inns around the UK from March 1.
Butcombe worked in partnership with The British Snack Company to develop the crisps, with its chefs and brewers trialling various flavour combinations and profiles before settling on steak and ale – using gluten-free Butcombe Gold Ale as the hero ingredient.
The crisps are made with real ale which is freeze dried to create a concentrated, powdered form of the beer. This is then combined with other ingredients to create the flavour. Butcombe worked on the flavouring process in partnership with seasonings business Taste Connection in Gloucestershire’s Wotton-under-Edge.
Alice Bowyer, director of food at Butcombe’s parent company Liberation Group, said: “This was a fantastic project to work on, who wouldn’t love creating their very own crisp flavour? We are already well known for our innovative bar snacks and award-winning beer so it was only a matter of time before the two collided.”
The potatoes used to make the crisps are grown on a farm near Colchester, in Essex, where they are also cooked. They are sliced, fried by hand, then covered in the seasoning.
Thomas Lock, founder of The British Snack Co, added: “As a brand that was born in pubs, we are absolutely delighted to be partnered with Butcombe and were very excited to be asked to help develop this unique Steak & Ale Pie flavour crisp made with real Butcombe Ale. The first thing I did after we first produced them was sit down and enjoy them with a pint of Butcombe Original – I’m happy to confirm they are a match made in heaven.”
Butcombe’s steak and Butcombe ale pie crisps are gluten free.
