Something’s brewing to raise cancer awareness

A brewer from Hellesdon is helping to raise awareness of male cancer with the creation of three new ales for December and January.

Moon Gazer’s It’s On the Ball beers have become a bit of a tradition in January. It’s a quieter time for pubs so the beers are sold at a special price – and they aim to create a bit of added interest and get young men talking about testicular cancer.

BEER BOOST: David Holliday with the pump clips for the charity beers.

This year is special as it marks the 10th anniversary of It’s On The Ball, so there are three all new recipes:

• Get Checking 3.9% ABV amber ale – an easy drinking fruity best bitter.
• Keep Checking 3.4% ABV golden ale – a light citrus pale ale.
• Time to Check 3.9% abv dark ale – very light hop and complex malts.

The beers will be available in Norfolk and Suffolk pubs just after Christmas and throughout January, and will be supported with beer mats and some fundraising posters.

Moon Gazer’s David Holliday, from Hellesdon, said: “The hope is that the first beer prompts young men to get checking themselves, while the second beer will emphasise the importance of regular checking and to keep checking. The third beer highlights that’s there is always Time to Check.

“A monthly self-check will lead to early diagnosis and significantly increase the chances of survival and indeed the chance to have a full and normal life after treatment, including the ability to have children.

“Pubs are enormously important in their communities and the work that they do for charities, particularly small local charities who often struggle to find platforms for their message to be heard.

“Both the charity and ourselves are incredibly grateful for the support and helping us spread the message – which quite literally saves lives.”

David is also preparing for his next Beer Push event, which will take place in October next year. He will be pushing a barrel around the same 50km route around Norwich for seven days covering 350km (210 miles) in a week. It will be the equivalent of seven ultra marathons.

In October last year David pushed a 75kg barrel of beer for the equivalent of seven marathons in seven consecutive days.

For more information about the work of It’s on The Ball visit https://itsontheball.org/

For more about David’s Beer Push, go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ BeerPushIOTB