THE M.E.N is giving readers of the newspaper the chance to enjoy a bottle – or draught pint – of Holt’s beer absolutely free!

The famous Manchester brewery has just produced a new ale called Pioneer – brewed to celebrate the fact that founder Joseph Holt was named People’s Champion by our readers in the recent ‘Greatest ever Business Leaders’ awards.

The special brew - to thank readers for the honour on its label, is now on sale – and to give you a chance to sample it (or any other Holt’s beer), the brewery has joined with the M.E.N to make this special offer.

All you have to do is cut out the coupon in the newspaper on Friday, October 5, fill it in and present it at any one of over 100 Holt’s pubs across Manchester which are taking part in the promotion.

In return you can have, free of charge:

*A bottle of Pioneer ale

*A bottle of one of Holt’s Champion Ales or

*A pint of Holt’s bitter, mild, Diamond or Crystal Lager

Only one voucher can be used per person, and you must of course be over 18. Photocopies will not be accepted, and the vouchers can be redeemed while stocks last and before October 19.

Click here to find out which pubs are taking part .

Joseph Holt won the ‘People’s Champion’ honour because readers felt he left a great charitable legacy and had a big impact on modern Manchester.

Members of the Holt family have raised millions for Christie Hospital and played a key role in ensuring that the city’s soft water supply comes from the Lake District.

At the outbreak of World War I, Sir Edward Holt snr helped raise funds to buy radium for the Manchester and District Radium Institute, which was later named the Holt Radium Institute in his honour, and years later would merge with the Christie Hospital.

In 1996, when Lady Margaret Holt, Sir Edward Snr’s daughter-in-law died, she left the Christie £7m of her shares. Since then the brewery has continued to support the hospital, even naming a beer in its honour, and in 1999 raising £301,000 to upgrade the outpatients’ department.

The firm was founded in the city centre in 1849 by Joseph Holt and his wife Catherine and remains a family business.

Pioneer is Holt’s first Indian Pale Ale and takes its name from the Pioneer hops used in the brewing process. The beer traces its origins back to the Victorian era, when troops in India were sent casks of beer.

The beer was unavailable in the UK until a ship bound for India sank in Liverpool bay. The insurance company sold the casks as salvage and after turning up in local pubs it became hugely popular in the North West.

Click here to find out which pubs are taking part

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