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Fourayes Farm and The Nelson Brewery have been taste testing a new Bramley apple ale today as part of Bramley Apple Week 2010. 'Core Commander' is being developed jointly by the two Kent companies, using the farm's finest Kentish Bramley apples and the brewery's facilities at The Historic Dockyard in Chatham.

Now in its final stages of testing, the ale has been brewed to have a light, spring-time flavour, with the Bramley apple's natural tartness complementing the brew, while mellowing it at the same time.

Phil Acock, Managing Director at Fourayes Farm, says: "The Bramley is a highly versatile fruit. We've been working to make the most of its unique attributes by coming up with new recipes and forming new partnerships. Kentish Bramleys can already be found in many desserts, juices and of course cider, so a Bramley ale seemed a natural progression. Developing the brew alongside another Kent company has been ideal."

Piers MacDonald, Owner of The Nelson Brewery, comments: "The Bramley apple has all the right qualities for a light ale. The challenge initially was to see how the combination would work, as this type of Bramley-based ale has not been tried much before, but we're very pleased with the results. The apple takes away the sharpness of the hops that you tend to find in heavier ales and mellows the taste. It is still very much an ale, though, with no similarities to a cider as some people might assume. We're hoping Core Commander will have a broad appeal as something that both male and female ale drinkers will enjoy."

The Bramley brew has been given its nautical name, Core Commander, in keeping with the surroundings where it is being brewed and in honour of Nelson himself, whose flagship The Victory was built at Chatham dockyard. With the final test phase now drawing to a close, the ale is due to be officially launched this spring.