IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 44

Dan Dare has lent his name to a wide variety of merchandise over the years, with everything from pyjamas to tooth powder being licenced. However, there has never been a 'Dan Dare' beer until recently when Southport Brewery launched their 'EAGLE'S DARE' bronze bitter. I contacted the brewer, Paul Bardsley to enquire ask about it and he replied: 

"We started making it (using its current recipe) in July 2021 and since then have made an estimated 8000 litres of it.

The original recipe for it was shared with another beer we named 'Ruck & Maul' that we had created in partnership with the local rugby club. However, as the name is owned by Tatton Brewery, we were limited to selling it to the Southport area (with their permission). Using the alternate name of EAGLE'S DARE allowed it to be sold outside of our seaside town.

In July 2021, we made the decision to give Eagle's Dare its own recipe as it is, in my view, the best looking badge we have for our beers.

All our beers are Southport themed. As you well know, the Eagle has links with our town and we're very proud that is does so. There is an Eagle/Dan Dare display in the Atkinson (the local art centre) on the second floor which makes me childishly giddy every time I see it. I only got into it in the 90's when I was but a laddie up in Scotland but my boss (Boss Paul as opposed to Other/Scapegoat Paul who is currently writing this) used to nick the magazine from his older brother when he was a child, back in the 1960s.

The beer itself is a bronze bitter. It has a really powerful and satisfying bitter bite at the start and is followed with a dry, floral palate. It's a 'standard' bitter to our standards, although with considerably more hops than the 'standard bitters' that are touted by chain pubs. It's quickly achieved its own following locally which is really nice to see and makes us feel validated as brewers.

At the moment, it's currently available in cask only. Even worse, it's only available locally to us as we are a small brewery and our range is limited. Best place to find it is either The Waterpudlian in Waterloo/Crosby, or The Guesthouse in Southport. Unfortunately, we have no control as to when it goes on asides from delivering the beer.

We do also offer it in 5 litre (9 pints) cans when we make a batch. Only while stock lasts but it's semi-permanent. If it's out of stock, it's usually only for a couple of weeks before we can make a fresh batch. Available from our online shop or, if you're in Southport, Portland Wines on Portland Street (though you can always come by and get one from us too)".