Even if you’re not interested in Manchester history and the symbols and emblems that are important to our city, you will likely be familiar with the bee as a reference to Manchester.
The worker bee has represented Manchester since the industrial revolution when Manchester became a hive of activity and productivity. It gained popularity as a symbol of unity following the Manchester arena bomb in 2017 and can be found on everything from lampposts to tattoos all over Manchester.
You might not realise that a bee also appears on the “heraldic achievement of Manchester” AKA our coat of arms. This elaborate design features a white stag and a crowned lion holding up a shield that is topped with a globe decorated with bees. So the bee, the stag and the lion are all hugely important emblems of our region. A banner below the shield reads: Concilio Et Libero – which loosely translates from Latin to “wisdom and effort”.
Manchester Union Brewery – Manchester’s first and only dedicated craft lager brewery located in Ardwick – is an independent beer brand that takes our region’s history seriously. If you look closely at one of their cans of beer, you will spot Manchester Union’s very own crest which features a modern mashup of our city’s symbols: a handsome creature that is half bee and half lion.
The team behind Manchester Union lager reckon you need both wisdom and effort to make a quality European style lager here in Manchester so the motto on Manchester’s coat of arms is pretty appropriate for them too. They say this motto is adopted in everything they do and everything they strive to be.
Why are we telling you all this? Because the beer brand has launched a competition to win a piss up in a brewery AKA a party at Manc Union’s tap room for you and 30 of your mates with free beer and food worth £5k. Not only that, but the lucky winner will win beer for a year: that’s 16 cases of 24 beers, equating to just over a beer a day, delivered to your door.
All you have to do to enter the competition is:
1 – Come up with a brilliant name for Manchester Union Lager’s lion/bee hybrid mascot
2 – Go to one of Manchester Union Lager’s stockist bars and buy yourself a pint.
3 – The bartender will give you a temporary tattoo of the lion-bee mascot
4 – Apply the tattoo and upload a picture of it with the hashtag #whatsyername and your chosen name
Manchester Union Lager’s stockists are as follows:
ANCHOR & HOPS / ARCANE / BISTRO MARC / BLINKER BAR / CANE & GRAIN / CARLTON CLUB / CASK ANCOATS / CASK (LIVERPOOL ROAD) / COOPER HALL / DUCIE STREET WAREHOUSE / DUSK TIL PAWN / EDINBURGH CASTLE / EXHIBITION / GREAT NORTH PIE (KAMPUS) / HABAS / HAREWOOD ARMS / HOME / OATS & HONEY / POT KETTLE BLACK / SALE FOOD HALL / STATION HOP / STRETFORD FOOD HALL / TERRACE BAR / TROF / THE BARKING DOG / THE CROOKED MAN / THE MANCUNIAN BAR / THE OLD VIC / THE REFUGE / THE SPINN / WANDERING PALATE / WINE & WALLOP DIDSBURY / WINE & WALLOP PRESTWICH / WITHINGTON PUBLIC HALL / WOOD & CO
The competition is open for two weeks from Thursday 23 March – Thursday 6 April
Tags:
beer Competitions
