Wrexham AFC are aiming for football\u2019s \u201cupper crust\u201d thanks to their new Hollywood owners \u2013 and now they\u2019ve got a pie to match.<\/p>\n
Two of the town\u2019s food and drink industry titans have teamed up to create a steak and Wrexham Lager Pie that will be served up at the Racecourse to tantalise the taste buds of the faithful fans and away supporters on match days.<\/p>\n
The historic brewery is supplying its \u201camber nectar\u201d for the new pie that\u2019s being made by the award-winning Jones Village Bakery just up the road in Minera.<\/p>\n
The packaging is emblazoned with the logos of both companies and a red and white scarf as a nod to the football-mad town where they are both based.<\/p>\n
The bakery, which dates back to 1934, is also proud of its local roots and pie room manager Kerry Wilson said that making the pie was his \u201cdream job\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cOur original steak pie is a brilliant seller. It\u2019s one of the best pies we\u2019ve ever made \u2013 and now we have made it even better.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always use the best ingredients and we\u2019ve adapted the recipe and added some Wrexham Lager to create a rich gravy to enhance the slow-cooked premium Welsh beef. It is incredibly moreish.\u201d<\/p>\n
The brewery is also an important part of Wrexham\u2019s industrial heritage.<\/p>\n
It founded in 1882 by German immigrants Ivan Levinstein and Otto Isler who wanted to recreate the pilsner lager taste that they missed from home.<\/p>\n
It was a major success story and was famously served on the Titanic during its ill-fated maiden voyage when it sank after hitting an iceberg.<\/p>\n
The main brewery was demolished after production was halted at the site in 2000 which many thought it would sink without trace.<\/p>\n
But the Wrexham Lager brand was resurrected in 11 years later after former MP for Clwyd South Martyn Jones, who had previously worked as a microbiologist there, bought the rights for the famous beverage from Carlsberg for \u00a31.<\/p>\n
The connection with the Village Bakery stretches to back to the childhood of Wrexham Lager director Mark Roberts.<\/p>\n
He was raised in Bangor-on-Dee near Wrexham,\u00a0 the same village as the bakery\u2019s managing director Robin Jones and his brother, Christien, the projects director.<\/p>\n
Just like the Jones Village Bakery, the Wrexham Lager is now going from strength to strength, winning a raft of international awards \u2013 including the \u201cultimate accolade\u201d of a gold medal at a top beer festival in Germany.<\/p>\n
Mark Roberts said: \u201cThe Wrexham Lager pie is about bringing two famous local names together to create something extra special.<\/p>\n
\u201cI must take my hat off to the Village Bakery because I\u2019ve tasted the new pie and it\u2019s\u00a0 absolutely brilliant and I am sure it will be hugely popular.<\/p>\n
\u201cWrexham is really in the news for lots of reasons these days, not least because of the Hollywood stardust thanks to the new owners of Wrexham AFC, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, we will see a big resurgence in the town, and possibly city status.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am proud that we are also flying the flag for Wrexham in conjunction with our friends from the Village Bakery.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a sentiment endorsed by Robin Jones who said: \u201cWrexham Lager is iconic and we like to think that the Village Bakery is also synonymous with the town so what we have here is a piece of pie heaven.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea came together while I was having a pint with Mark and chatting about the takeover of Wrexham by Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds and how we might celebrate this incredibly exciting new chapter in the club\u2019s illustrious history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a Wrexham pie in every sense because it\u2019s made by Wrexham people. Kerry in the pie room\u00a0 has been with us for 32 years and he\u2019s a massive Wrexham AFC fan so this is a dream come true for him \u2013 and all the rest of us at the Village Bakery.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great project and we\u2019ve had some great fun doing it and the response we\u2019ve had has been incredibly positive. People can\u2019t get enough of it \u2013 they love the taste, they love the packaging and they love the story.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also very timely because Wrexham is going places at the moment, on the pitch and off the pitch, so we\u2019ve got loads to celebrate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is another reason to make Wrexham great \u2013 in fact,\u00a0 and hopefully attaining city status is not pie in the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n