Press release -
Iron Maiden’s Trooper beer a big hit with Virgin Trains’ customers
Virgin Trains has partnered with Iron Maiden and Stockport-based brewery Robinsons to offer their customers one of the most unique beers around.
The multiple award-winning Trooper beer, which takes its name from the classic Iron Maiden song of the same name, is now available to purchase onboard all Virgin Trains services for the duration of the band’s sold out ‘Legacy of the Beast’ UK tour, which began in Newcastle last night, before heading to Belfast (2nd Aug), Aberdeen (4th Aug), Manchester (6th Aug), Birmingham (7th Aug) and London (10th and 11th Aug).
Handcrafted by Robinsons, a 180-year-old family run brewery a stone’s throw from Stockport station, the beer has sold well over 20 million pints worldwide since it was launched back in 2013. Band vocalist Bruce Dickinson, a keen real ale enthusiast, was instrumental in the creation of Trooper, a 4.7% golden ale made with a unique blend of Bobek, Goldings and Cascade hops.
To celebrate the launch Bruce a qualified airline pilot, travelled up from London to Stockport in the cab of a Virgin Trains Pendolino, before heading on to the band’s show in Newcastle.
Bruce Dickinson said, “I’m delighted that our fans will be able to share a Trooper or two together whilst travelling to and from Iron Maiden shows around the UK this summer."
Virgin Trains is committed to working with local suppliers to offer the very best of British produce, with a number of ‘guest’ items on sale at the onboard shops throughout the coming months .
“Based on the first week’s sales, Trooper is proving a big hit with customers,” explained Julie Harper, Food and Beverage Manager at Virgin Trains. “With the recent hot weather, it’s perfect for sipping at 125mph!”
Fans who share a selfie and tag #TrooperOnTheTrain whilst enjoying a drink onboard will also be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets and First Class rail travel to the bands’ forthcoming show at the O2 Arena in London on Friday August 10th.
David Bremner, Director of Marketing at Robinsons Brewery, added, “It’s fantastic that Virgin Trains have chosen to stock Trooper. Our brewery is within sight of Stockport train station and I’m sure that both Iron Maiden fans and beer drinkers in general will be excited that our fantastic beer is available on board.
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About Virgin Trains
Stagecoach and Virgin are working in partnership to operate the West Coast inter-city route under the Virgin Trains brand, revolutionising travel on one of the UK’s key rail arteries.
The network connects some of the nation’s most iconic destinations including Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and London.
Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. Customers consistently rate Virgin Trains ahead of other long-distance rail franchise operators in the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) commissioned by industry watchdog, Transport Focus.
Virgin Trains has a proud record of challenging the status quo - from introducing tilting Pendolino trains, to a pioneering automated delay repay scheme, introducing the industry-leading onboard entertainment streaming service, BEAM, and becoming the first franchised rail operator to offer m-Tickets for all ticket types.
Virgin Trains operated the East Coast route between March 1, 2015 and June 24, 2018. In that time, we invested £75m to create a more personalised travel experience, including over £40m in the existing fleet. Customers have benefitted from 48 additional services between Edinburgh and London every week, and an extra 22 Saturday services between Leeds and London – a total of 1.74 million additional seats since May 2015.
Working together, the partnership railway of the public and private sectors has published a long-term plan, called In Partnership for Britain’s Prosperity, to change and improve Britain’s railway. The plan will secure almost £85bn of additional economic benefits to the country whilst enabling further investment and improvement, and contains four commitments which will see rail companies: strengthen our economic contribution to the country; improve customers’ satisfaction; boost the communities we serve; and, create more and better jobs in rail. For more information go to Britain Runs on Rail.
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About Robinsons Brewery
Based in Stockport since 1838, Robinsonsis one of the UK’s oldest and most respected independent family brewers owning 260 pubs across the North West. Robinsons also houses one of the most advanced breweries in the UK. It’s from here that generations of creativity and experience is applied to craft new varieties and exciting flavour choices that leads to award-winning beers. Combining heritage brews such as Old Tom (first brewed in 1899) and Unicorn (legendary since 1896) with innovative young ales like Dizzy Blonde, Wizard and TROOPER (created with Iron Maiden) is what differentiates Robinsons… forward-thinking with an adherence to the very best traditions. It’s a winning formula which has earned Robinsons worldwide recognition for almost 180 years.
