In celebration of its 697th anniversary, Oriel College has launched its own “specially-brewed range of beers”.
The beer range was championed by the college’s lodge manager, Samuel Henry. He said: “a number of other Colleges use white label beers to create a ‘College beer’ but I wanted to create something special for the birthday which was uniquely Oriel.”
The label is ‘697’ with the college hoping to continue with ‘698’ and ‘699’ leading up to the 700th birthday.
Oriel has been working with “XT Brewing Company, with our staff participating in the brewing process. The selection of ingredients were chosen by the college to be sustainable, opting for UK-grown wheat and barley,” as Oriel Bar Rep, Alice McKenzie informed Cherwell.
Since the launch event in April, the beer has been a resounding success. The Oriel Bar Rep told Cherwell that “even on regular bar nights, ‘697’ can be seen in people’s hands – it is clearly a crowd favourite”, and that “having tried it myself, I am a fan of the bitter, hoppy taste.”
The beer is clearly more than just a fad.
