Brewing For A Cause
A Preston entrepreneur has founded a beer company with a mission to raise both awareness of bowel cancer and vital funds for a charity created in memory of her late mother
Twenty-two-year-old student Imogen-Rose Gregory cultivated the idea of selling beer after a family visit to a pub with her eldest brother and father.
The trio discussed how to raise funds for The Orange Foundation, a charity they set up in memory of Emma Aindow-Gregory, which provides practical support to people living with cancer.
Imogen-Rose said: “As a family, we didn’t want to rely on the continual goodwill of people making donations or us asking for money, mainly because it didn’t sit well with us.
“We wanted to create a way of generating funds for the Foundation through everyday products and we also wanted to get people talking about bowel cancer, as that’s what my mum died from.
“We also saw a worrying trend of a reduction in charitable giving, so we knew we had to think differently, but we also saw that people are far more likely to buy from a company with a strong social purpose.
“Like most things with us, we began joking around, but then, as we discussed it more, we thought, why not? We started coming up with names for the beers – mostly my brother’s ideas, but they made us laugh and we wanted something fun and provocative. So, we hit upon the name of the Turtle Head Brewing Company – yeah, it’s a bit of fun, but it gets people talking, which is important.
“The names of the beers are all slang for types of poo – one of the aims of the brewery is to raise awareness of bowel cancer and it’s a fun, tongue in cheek way of doing it.”
The objective is for Turtle Head Brewing Company to give 50 per cent of its profits to the family charity, The Orange Foundation. Imogen-Rose added: “We’re being realistic about how much we can raise via selling the beer, but if it generates thousands of pounds a year, we’ll be happy. Moreover, if it prompts people to think about checking their poo, then job done.”
Currently brewed in Yorkshire, the Turtle Head Brewing Company offers a core range of gluten-free and vegan-friendly beers and a wheat and gluten-free lager. The beers went on sale at the end of October last year. A new low alcohol beer has been released for the New Year – perfect for those who are fed up of the festive booze but still appreciate a decent beer.
The turtle character and the names of the beers were designed by Imogen’s cousin, Elliot Tawns, in Australia, who has completed a number of commissions for craft breweries in Perth. The colourful labels and pump clips were then finalised by a specialist graphic designer called Paul Wick who has worked with numerous craft beer companies.
Imogen added: “Available to order online, we’re in the early stages of talking to pubs and hotels and a few specialist suppliers to see if they will take our product – hopefully we’ll also be in one or two choice supermarkets later in 2025, so watch this space.”
The beer names and styles are:
• Magic – An American IPA ABV 5.0
• Smooth – An easy-drinking blonde beer ABV 4.3
• Drift Wood – A traditional best bitter ABV 4.2
• Bricklayer – Continental style lager ABV 4.6
• Bricklayer (Gluten and Wheat Free) – A lighter pale lager ABV 5.2
• Ghost – Light pale ale ABV 3.0
• Gorilla’s Finger – Chocolatey porter ABV 5.0
All beers are available via the Turtle Head Brewing Company website.
More information about The Orange Foundation and the services it provides to people living with cancer can be found at: theorange-foundation.org.
turtleheadbrewingcompany.co.uk
