Notts County fan and real ale lover, Eric Jackson of Keyworth has earned a place in the histories of beer and football by coming up with a perfect name for the world’s first real ale brewed to celebrate a football league club’s 150th anniversary.

His ‘Pie Eyed 150’, from Castle Rock Brewery, has been brewed and gone on sale at the Meadow Lane ground and at pubs across Nottingham and the East Midlands to help mark the milestone in the history of Notts County, the world’s oldest football league club. As part of his prize, Eric toured the brewery and added hops at a vital stage of the brewing process. As a guest of Notts County, he helped the club’s chairman, Ray Trew, launch the beer before the club’s first home game of 2012.

For Eric, this is his first big competition win. “OK, I’ve had a couple to tenners on the Lottery; but this is beyond my wildest dreams to enter a competition at the club I love and end up naming this beer. All the better as I’ve been a real ale fan since I started drinking; I think it’s good for you,” he said.

As a lad, 61 years ago, Eric travelled to home matches by trolley bus from Giltbrook and he’s been an ardent Notts supporter ever since.

(l-r) Let brewing begin. David McKenna, Notts County’s bar manager; competition winner, Eric Jackson; Castle Rock brewer and Notts fan Garry Gibbens, and Notts County’s CEO, Jim Rodwell.

Pie Eyed 150 is a typical Nottingham session beer, brewed to 3.6 per cent alcohol. The single brew will be split with most going into casks to be sold on hand pumps at real ale pubs and Meadow Lane. A small draught taken first will be reserved for the bottled souvenir range with another 6,000 pints going into bottles to give the Notts County fans all over the world a chance to celebrate their club’s amazing milestone.

Notts CEO Jim Rodwell said he thought the beer was a wonderful idea. “I can’t think of a better way to commemorate our 150th anniversary. It’s a perfect name, just as long as the players don’t get pie-eyed”.

Eric Jackson (left) and Colin Wilde at Meadow Lane as Notts County chairman Ray Trew does the honours to pull the first pint of Pie Eyed 150.

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5grKzYT6iFuO7EbnVQ2H9ovhgJaIw?docId=N0770071325608980040A

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http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/judge-who-swore-retires-from-bench-2978862.html

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120104/world/World-Briefs.40097