Stroud Brewery offers FREE beer to local gardeners

Sorry beer fans, these pints are just for wildlife! Stroud Brewery is letting Gloucestershire gardeners have its leftover beer slops to stave off perennial slug attacks.

By Maya Horwood | Published Wednesday 12 April 2023

Stroud Brewery is offering leftover liquids to gardeners after recent experiments by the Wild Stroud group showed the garden pest has a penchant for a pint.

Stroud Brewery and local volunteer group Wild Stroud have teamed up to offer gardeners an organic alternative to pesticides, after an experiment proved the brewery's organic slops are the most attractive lure to slugs.

Wild Stroud — a community group helping people to garden with wildlife in mind — investigated which types of ale were the most effective liquids in beer traps.

The RHS and the Pesticide Action Network recommend using beer traps – glasses or containers such as yoghurt pots sunk into the soil and filled with beer – as a non-chemical way of reducing slug damage in the garden.

Wild Stroud discovered that, out of all three beers used in the experiment, Stroud Brewery's organic Bright Beer was the most popular with garden slugs.

Slops is the term given to a liquid that has been ‘pulled through’ the pipes to get rid of any previous beer during a barrel change. It is often thrown away as waste, with each barrel producing up to three buckets.

Greg Pilley, founder of Stroud Brewery, said: 'When I set up the brewery, I was determined to brew beer organically so we could make our contribution to restoring and protecting wildlife.

'Organic farming is the most effective form of regenerative agriculture for doing that, and now with this project we can help gardeners look after wildlife, too.

'We’d just love to see everyone being wildlife friendly. Though eventually, we’d like to see gardeners tolerate slugs in their garden.'

The organically-produced slug trap solution will be available from the tap room at Stroud Brewery from Friday 14 April 2023. Alternatively, gardeners can fill their own containers on Castle Street in the town centre.

Anyone wanting to use the brewery's slops must register first on Wild Stroud’s website and takers are encouraged to give a small donation to the voluntary group.

The beer slops and slugs project will run to the end of July 2023. After which, most seedlings will have grown into plants, meaning slug control will be at a minimum.