Town fan Josh Bartlett, who posts on TWTD as TIB, recently launched Away Days, a football-themed beer company whose ethos is “creating beautiful beer in celebration of the beautiful game”. Away Days actively speaks and works with football fans to create beer for football fans.
Josh, 31, says the the idea came about after watching Town get defeated by Derby last season at home while he and friends were discussing which ex-players they felt could solve the plight the club were presently in.
"Being a fan of Boncho Genchev I soon felt that Boncho was a great name for a pint and began to research the idea of ‘football beers’ and thought there was a gap in the market and should pursue it,” he said.
Away Days uses online forums and surveys to find out what fans like and dislike about beer, where they like to drink, both home and away, and what players they feel deserve a tipple named after them.
With this information, Josh, who is now based in Newark having previously lived in Martlesham, Capel and Needham, then goes away and works with a number of breweries to find and create the perfect beer and branding to meet fans’ needs before delivering it himself in both cask/keg and bottle.
A year and a bit on, hoops (not hops) galore jumped through and Josh has now launched three beers in his starting line-up and is set to have two more out before the end of the year.
Golden Goal is a 4.4 per cent craft lager which meets the needs of those who like lager or those new to the world of craft beer and ale.
Hoppy Robson is a 4.5 per cent citra hop brewed amber ale and was made with the help of Town fans to remember everything great Sir Bobby did for not just ITFC, but for football globally.
Lastly, Boncho, the 4.2 per cent dark ale which is super silky, just like the player himself and is sure to "Quenchev your thirst”.
Why did Josh, who watches the Blues from the Sir Bobby Robson Stand, opt for the spelling without the T, perhaps reigniting a mid-nineties controversy?
"It was one of those things I felt could go either way,” he said. "I remember there was a bit of speculation about its translation when he moved here but I went without the T as it’s a bit clearer and Town fans know immediately who the beer is about when they see those five letters sat on the back of the red and black kit branding I created.”
So far Josh has a number of places selling his beers including Hopsters if you fancy bottles or Bar 29 and The Dove Street Inn in Ipswich or The Angel in Woodbridge.
In the coming weeks Josh also has a number of other pubs lined up for orders but to keep in the loop it is worth following Away Days on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram using @awaydaysbeer or checking their website.
Josh is working with Hopsters to put together an ITFC-themed three-bottle gift pack for Christmas which will include a new beer to feature alongside Hoppy Robson and Boncho.
After this Josh is looking to expand with a beer that can sell to a wider group of fans and is presently speaking with a number of fan groups in the Midlands to get ideas for this.
"Whilst my ambition originally was just to make Boncho into a beer and be able to order a pint of it, I really feel the idea of Away Days has legs and I hope it can grow and become a staple for beer-loving football fans everywhere in the future.
"I can’t thank the TWTDers enough for their feedback on the survey they completed last year and I hope you all enjoy the beer when you get to try it.
"Hopsters now have bottles in stock and The Dove Street Inn and The Angel will be on cask.
"I am planning a tasting session for October 20th before the QPR game in the Arcade Tavern.
"Fans can come along, sit in one of the tasting rooms, try each beer and I’m going to chat with them and talk about the beers and plans for future.
"It’s going to be an event where you need to book ahead so follow the Arcade Tavern and/or Away Days Beer on Facebook for news on it or PM me on TWTD here.”
Also in Josh’s immediate plans is a Create Your Club Beer page on the website: "I’m rolling it out soon but the idea is that local clubs contact me, let me know what sort of beer they want, send me the name for the beer and their club crest and then I create either the pump clip or bottles labels for them.
"I love football and don’t want just the big clubs having all the fun, creating beers for those grassroots clubs is important too.”