Family brews beer for late mum's cancer charity

A family has launched a beer company to raise funds for a cancer charity established in memory of their mum after a jokey pub conversation.

Imogen-Rose Gregory, from Preston, Lancashire, said her family was inspired to brew ale during banter on visit to a pub with her eldest brother and father.

The trio were discussing how to raise money for the Orange Foundation, a charity they set up in memory of Emma Aindow-Gregory, 49, who died in 2022 after living with stage four bowel cancer for more than four years.

Ms Gregory said the family wanted to raise cash "through every day products" and also wanted to prompt a discussion about helping to prevent bowel cancer.

She added: "We didn’t want to rely on the continual goodwill of people making donations or us asking for money, mainly because it didn’t sit well with us."

Instead, the family thought people would be far more likely to buy from a company with a strong social purpose.

“Like most things with us, we began joking around, but then, as we discussed it more, we thought, why not?" Ms Gregory said.

"We started coming up with names for the beers - mostly my brother’s ideas, but they made us laugh, and we wanted something fun and provocative.

They hit on the name Turtle Head Brewing Company - a euphemism for type of bowel movement.

"Yeah, it’s a bit of fun, but it gets people talking, which is important," she said.

The beer is on sale in various pubs and off licences in the North West, and the objective is for Turtle Head Brewing Company to give 50% of its profits to the family charity, The Orange Foundation - which supports people living with cancer.

Ms Gregory's father, Michael, who works in public relations, has worked with breweries in the past and has always had an interest in the brewing trade.

The actual brewing of the beer is sub-contracted to a craft brewery in North Yorkshire, producing several ales with tongue-in-cheek names about bodily functions.

He recalled an interview with a His Majesty's Revenue and Customs official who was vetting their product.

"She asked how we got the names and was very stony-faced, but I could see her colleague's shoulders were shaking and he was dying to laugh out loud."

The beer was only launched recently and the family say they have no idea how many it might sell.

"If it generates thousands of pounds a year, we’ll be happy," said Ms Gregory.

"If it prompts people to check their poo, then job done," she added.

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