The ride starts and finishes at Norwich Cathedral and you can enter online here.

Adnams has a team of six riders in this year’s event, including Chris Parker who at the age of 14 rode as a member of the National Junior Squad. Chris had to give up cycling when he was 22 years-old due to a knee injury, but after a long healing process started cycling again last year.

Chris explains, “I’m coming back for more in 2012! I did the 50-mile Norwich ride last year, which wasn’t quite enough for me, so I’m going for the 100-mile route, which I know is relatively flat until you get near Sheringham. The British Heart Foundation Norwich event covers some lovely countryside, with gentle gradients and nice roads.

I’m so pleased to be cycling again after a break of over 10 years. I’ve clocked up 4,000 miles on my bike over the last year, including 127 miles at the Tour of Britain event, and I’m looking forward to this year’s challenge.”

Even if you are not planning on riding this year, come along to Norwich Cathedral on Sunday 27th May to show your support. Members of the Adnams team will be there all day serving a range of fresh beer for thirsty onlookers and happy finishers. Look out for anyone in blue and white spotted cycling tops – that’s our Adnams riders – and please give them a cheer.

For full information on the race, details on how to take part, and to make a donation to the British Heart Foundation, click here.

Head Brewer Fergus Fitzgerald explains, “Diamond Ale is brewed with Pale Ale and Premium Cara malts, with Sovereign hops and locally-sourced honey. It’s a 4.1% abv amber gold beer with a sweet, honeyed, floral aroma. On the palate, it has a slight floral sweetness balanced by biscuity malt and crisp bitterness.”

Adnams Diamond Ale is available in cask in selected outlets, and is also available as 5L mini-casks in store and online.

We’ve also produced a limited edition Diamond Ale celebratory tea-towel to get you in the Jubilee mood whilst you wash up those beer glasses! It’s available online here (£10.99).

Watch brewer Belinda Jennings video about Diamond Ale here:

Ghost Ship was originally conceived as a seasonal brew, but it proved so popular that it was recently made part of our permanent range so it’s now available all year round in cask, mini-casks and bottle. Brewed with pale ale, rye crystal and cara malts, we use citra and a blend of other American hop varieties to create some hauntingly-good citrus flavours.

Ghost Ship takes its inspiration from Adnams’ 600-year-old haunted pub, The Bell in Walberswick, just across the river from Southwold. This stretch of coast has witnessed many ship wrecks over the centuries. Just a few miles south is Dunwich, once a busy, thriving port, but now just a few historical buildings remain. Most of the town has disappeared forever into the sea.

So, why all the Ghostly excitement last night? Adnams Marketing Manager Victoria Savory explains, “Ghost Ship is a fantastic Pale Ale, and we wanted to bring it back in a memorable, creative way, not just follow the norm. It’s great to be able to launch it with a bang and a few haunting screams! The evening has been about celebrating all things Ghost Ship and to say thank you to its loyal fans. With the help of mixologist Tim Blake, we now have a range of delicious Ghost Ship cocktails, too.”

By mysteriously transforming the Adnams Brewery into the haunt of the Ghost Ship we hope to have injected a little fun and intrigue into our deliciously spooky beer.

If you’re in Norwich tonight, Friday 4th May, then keep your eyes open, the Ghost Ship may find you! You can enter our competition to win a case of Ghost Ship here.

You can view a set of images from the evening on Flickr.

Follow us on twitter and retweet #showmetheghostship to be entered into a prize draw to win a case of Ghost Ship. You will also receive a special message from us with a free download.

We will pick one winner each day for two weeks.

To make things easier, just click on this link:

“For a chance to win a case of Ghost Ship, Follow @Adnams & RT #ShowMeTheGhostShip”

Terms and conditions:

• Only one entry per twitter account per day will be entered into the draw
• Winners will be drawn randomly from those that tweeted the hashtag #ShowMeTheGhostShip and followed Adnams on each day
• Closing date midnight on 17th May 2012
• All entrants must be over 18 years of age
• Entrants must be UK residents
• Competition is not open to employees of Adnams or their families
• No cash prize alternative
• All winners will be contacted by direct message by Adnams for their UK delivery address details.
• Winners will be announced on Twitter the following day and listed below

Winners List
Day 1: Ian Price from Suffolk
Day 2: Ashlee Collins from Mid Wales
Day 3: Chris Coolbear from Suffolk
Day 4: Shaun Aldridge from Suffolk

Come along to East Green, which is opposite the Adnams Brewery, for a spectacular surprise. Voices from ‘the other side’ have prophetically suggested that 8.45pm would be a good time for you to arrive, just as it is getting dark. But no later, otherwise your ship may have sailed…

Sharpen your senses and cleanse your palate for a Ghostly event. What you personally will witness, we cannot tell, but we promise you will have never seen anything like it before (or have you?).

The only things we might have changed, had it been in our power to do so, would have been the amount of accompanying hype and inflated prices.

Robert Parker recently poured a little more fuel on the fire of excesses when he claimed in February’s Wine Advocate: “The problem is (in defence of awarding inflated points) that 2009 is the greatest vintage I have tasted in Bordeaux. I am willing to say it loudly, and stake my reputation on it”.

We’ve just shipped a selection of ‘Junior’ Clarets which caught my attention back in the spring of 2010. Adnams has long ‘banged the drum’ for the minor châteaux in greater vintages, and our selection, I believe, are some of the best value examples.

We’ve put together a Bordeaux 2009 ‘taster’ case (£125) so that you can try this great vintage. You save £15. Find out more here.

For the complete list of 2009 ‘junior’ Bordeaux wines, click here, and you can also listen to Rob Chase, Adnams’ Fine Wine Buyer, talk about the 2009 vintage in the latest edition of The Adnams Podcast.

Listen to the podcast here:

Subscribe in iTunes

The following comments were made at today’s AGM:

Adnams cautioned in its 2011 accounts that economic uncertainty seems greater now than at any recent time. So far in 2012 we have seen no notable shocks and though market conditions have not been easy we have been able to make reasonable progress in most of our activities.

Despite the government continuing to penalise the beer and pub industry by imposing yet more above inflation duty increases, our own beer volumes have held up reasonably well so far this year. Our sales of bottles, cans and mini casks for the take home market were strong last year and have continued to perform well. Sales of beer to pubs through direct delivery and through national distribution channels have held their own and we are holding our beer prices for the fourth consecutive year. We have been pleased with new distribution deals including distribution of our 2.7% alcohol beer, Sole Star, within the national trade.

Our own pub estate has continued to trade reasonably well. We are contemplating a small number of disposals.

The shop retail business showed strong like-for-like turnover growth in 2011, though trade in the new shops built less quickly than we had hoped. The retail market remains tough this year, but we have continued to grow our top line. We are concentrating on improving the performance of each outlet, with a particular emphasis on our new shops. We plan to open a new Cellar & Kitchen store in Norwich in the near future.

Our hotels business had a tough second half to 2011 and lower occupancy levels have continued to be a feature of early 2012. We are concentrating on ensuring that our cost base is appropriate and on marketing the excellent newly refurbished rooms at the Crown.

We remain cautious about the outlook for 2012, but our long-term focus will not change and we are delighted that this focus has recently been recognised by our winning The Queen’s Award for Enterprise, for Sustainable Development.

You can view slides of today’s presentation here.

The show runs for two days (Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th) and promises to be another superb event with an array of outdoor and indoor activities.

We’ll have a range of cask beer available including Southwold Bitter, Broadside and Explorer as well as our new low abv beer, Adnams Sole Star (2.7% abv) and our new permanent beer, Ghost Ship.

Show-goers will also get the opportunity to taste this year’s Limoncello lemon liqueur made in the heart of Southwold at Adnams Copper House Distillery. We’ll have a range of bottled beer, wines, spirits and Adnams merchandise for you to buy and take home, too.

Find us in the Food Hall, which is by the King George Gate, Avenue H 7.
You can buy tickets online where you can also find out more about the Show’s main attractions and programme. If you’ve got a smartphone, download the Show app, which contains a map of the showground, a handy day planner and even the latest information on the weather!

Beer has been brewed continuously on the site of Adnams Brewery for over 650 years, but Adnams as we know and love it today began with the arrival of brothers George and Ernest Adnams in 1872. Throughout the years, Adnams has seen huge advances in brewing technology, but the brewery team have kept some of the more interesting and well-designed pieces of laboratory and brewing equipment, as well as some more quirky artefacts.

It’s interesting to see how our bottle labels, pump clips and advertising designs have evolved over the years, too.

Emma Hibbert, Adnams Corporate Affairs Manager, has spent many hours putting the exhibits together, “We’re lucky here at Adnams to have a large collection of historical items. Most were kept in a cellar of the brewery, untouched for many years, and quite a few items have been sent to our pubs and stores across the country. However, when we created the new Adnams Cellar & Kitchen in Victoria Street in 2008, we had space to add in a small museum. Customers really wanted to see more, however, so with the Brewery and Distillery tours proving so popular, it was the perfect moment to move the exhibits out of the store and create a larger museum.”

The museum is available to all visitors on Adnams Brewery and / or Distillery Tours, and you can view some images on Flickr.

Tom, who is from Southwold, picked up his prizes at the game against Birmingham City last week.

His plethora of prizes included a place in next season’s squad photo (better get extra-fit for that one, Tom), a match-worn shirt from Jimmy Bullard, a case of Adnams Fizz and a stay at an Adnams’ Hotel.

Jack Ainsley and Adnams’ John Lynsdale were on hand to present Tom with his prizes.

Thank you to all supporters for participating in this year’s Adnams Early Birds Rewards competition.