New Antibacterial Beer All The Buzz In The UK

The South Wales-based Bang-On Brewery has teamed up with Cardiff University and released what may be the world’s first ‘antibacterial’ beer. Which given how we’ve been living our life lately is right on time.

Here’s the deal…

Cardiff University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has developed a honey with antibacterial properties similar to New Zealand’s world-famous Manuka honey.

Manuka honey is produced by bees that pollinate the rare Manuka bush – a plant that produces a compound with potent antibacterial properties. Turns out, the New Zealand plant is rich with enzymes that have been found to be effective in combating anything from “healing sore throats and digestive illnesses, to curing Staph infections and gingivitis.”

Enter Cardiff University’s Pharmbees Project.

They sought to find a similar style of honey in Wales by introducing bees to plants with similar antibacterial properties in hopes of creating a sweet antibacterial compound in the UK, with medicinal properties like New Zealand’s prized Manuka honey.

The university project eventually ‘landed on’ a honey in a Wales beekeeper’s garden that according to The Drinks Business, that ‘can kill microorganisms and combat MRSA.”

And that antibacterial honey was used by Bang-On Brewery to craft the world’s first ‘potentially’ antibacterial beer that just went on sale in the United Kingdom today.

Bang-On’s Mêl (that’s Welsh for honey) is a 4% ABV Honey Ale that was also brewed with hops specifically selected for their antibacterial properties.

A share of profits for Mêl Honey Beer will go towards supporting pollinator and wellbeing projects across Wales and that’s a good thing.