Ale concern as bees buzz off

The owner of Enville Ales, Will Constantine-Cort, said today he was concerned about the price of honey escalating due to numbers of bees dwindling in Europe and America.

Beekeeper David Mills, from Chaddesley Corbett, near Kidderminster, said he had lost around half his bees and many other keepers had experienced significant losses which could have a serious effect on honey production.

The Enville brewery boss said he was worried about what would happen. Originally the brewery was planning to put up prices but today made the decision to bear the costs themselves. The brewery at Enville, near Stourbridge, was the first to introduce a honey-based beer in recent years.

Mr Constantine-Cort said: "There will be a considerable increase in the cost of honey due to the decline of bees.

"There has already been a shortage of honey and fuel costs have gone up as well. I am worried. I am about to negotiate a deal for the coming year and the increase is bound to be considerable.

"Our brew is unique and we are not going to change the formula. We will have to look at becoming more efficient such as the way we use our power. We are still assessing what to do. However we know we cannot let out customers down."

Originally Mr Constantine-Cort intended to be a full-time bee-keeper. But he stumbled on his great, great aunt's recipe for Beekeepers' Ale dating back to 1850. This prompted him to start making it again and new brewery was set up on a derelict farm in 1992. The honey is sourced from many different places and brewers get through about five tonnes a year.

He said: '"I had to fiddle about with it but eventually we got it right."