Rick Stein is the latest high-profile celebrity chef to put his name, and culinary skills, towards the creation of a British bottled beer.

The chef has joined forces with Sharp's Brewery in Cornwall to produce Chalky's Bite, a bottle-conditioned aged beer named after Stein's dog Chalky in honour of his patience

during the development sessions.

The 6.8% abv beer is

made using Cornish malted

barley, wheat, whole hops, Sharp's unique yeast strain and wild Cornish fennel. "Rick wanted to develop the relationship between beer and food so he came to us to create a beer that would link up well with fish," said director Joe Keohane. "He came up with Chalky's Bite as a beer to complement mussels, using ingredients sourced from the local area."

While celebrity chefs have often used beer in their cooking and have been increasingly working to link beer with certain foods, few have got involved in the

creation of the beer itself.

In August last year, TV

presenter and real food campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall linked up with brewer Hall & Woodhouse to produce Stinger Ale under its Badger ale brand.

Like Stinger, which is produced using organic nettles from the Dorset-based River Cottage estate, Chalky's Bite makes use of the widely available wild Cornish

fennel. Production of the classic aged beer may be limited by the development process rather than the

supply of local ingredients, according to Keohane, because it has a four-month production time.

The beer, which will be priced between £1.89 and £2.20, will be available for sale this weekend and it will initially be sold through Stein's Cornish restaurant and select beer outlets in the region. The brewer is also in talks with Waitrose.

"I think it is great for Sharp's that Rick Stein has got involved because he is a highly recognisable figure and doesn't tend to get involved in any third-party products," said Keohane. "We have a good relationship with him. His shops and restaurants have sold only our beers for a number of years."

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