HOPS which will be used for a one-off ale by a Leominster-based brewery have been given a very special blessing.

The Leominster Priory ministry team visited Swan Brewery to bless the Jester hops – after a good 'sniff' –which were going into the Green Swan ale.

With the Herefordshire hop harvest in full swing, the hops were taken from field to copper to fermentation in just three hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds.

Green Swan ale, known as a green hop beer, is a one-off brew which is 4.1% strength, a pale golden in colour, and showcases the grapefruit and blackcurrant notes that Jester imparts.

The ale will be served from the stroke of 12noon on Friday, (September 29) at Swan Brewery on the Leominster Enterprise Park.

Free sample tasters will be given, and visitors are invited to bring their own containers to take away some Green Swan.

Head brewer Jimmy Swan will also be at the Bateman Arms in Shobdon between 5pm and 8pm on Saturday, September 30 for tasting and 'merriment'.