Unveiled as the latest addition to Greene King’s nationwide Fresh Cask Releases calendar, the easy drinking pale ale is available for customers to order, ahead of the beer’s launch this May. Not only does Pave the Way taste good, it does good, with 50% of Big Hug’s profits going to Only A Pavement Away via the work For Good Scheme. The donations will be used to support the charity in its mission to help people facing homelessness, veterans and prison leavers find stability through employment, with roles in the hospitality industry. 

Matt Williams, Big Hug Brewing founder hopes that the new partnership with Greene King will help raise the profile of the charity even further, not only amongst the trade, but also with consumers, while bringing in funds for Only A Pavement Away. Also available in keg and can, and listed with retailers including Co-op Local in Sussex, Pave the Way was initially created in late 2019 to help drive donations for Only A Pavement Away after Matt had reached out to the charity earlier that year.

Matt Williams, said “It’s amazing to be collaborating with Greene King on the launch of Pave The Way into its guest cask programme. As a small, single person operator, to be able to achieve something of this scale and work with one of the largest and most established brewers in the country to get our beer out there and support such an amazing charity is phenomenal. Since it first dropped in keg and cans in 2019, Pave The Way has been one of our most consistent, best performing beers. Not only because it’s a beer that is mellow, easy drinking and a little more traditional in its flavour profile but also because it’s a beer people really buy into. They want to drink it not only because it’s a great beer but because they feel like they can do their little bit to help and in recognition of the important work undertaken by Only A Pavement Away.

“This will be the largest on-trade distribution the beer has ever received, available to almost 4,000 pubs if they want it. It’s perfect for the start of summer and supports such an incredible charity so please help us to help them - try a pint when you see it on the bar. Our aim is to try and raise £20,000 for the charity this year through sales of the beer and Greene King will be a massive part of that so I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone at Greene King involved in this and hopefully we can all raise a glass to helping those less fortunate, pave a way to a brighter future”

Jack Palmer, Head Brewer at Greene King, said: “It has been an honour to work with the Big Hug Brewing team and Matt to raise further awareness for such an important cause. At Greene King, we have been working with Only Pavement Away for a number of years now through our social mobility scheme, Releasing Potential, and it’s great to be able to support the charity in a different way.

The Pave The Way ale has been a welcome addition to our Fresh Cask Releases calendar and as the warmer temperatures start to show this beer will be the perfect refreshing choice for customers, so definitely one to have on the bar.”

Greg Mangham, CEO and Founder of Only A Pavement Away said, “When I first Matt Williams in 2019 we discussed Winter Warmth and how we could grow the concept. Four years later and he’s produced a quality beer and donates a high % of the profits to us. It’s Matt’s values and continued support that has and will help Only A Pavement Grow to be a leading national charity.” 

Only A Pavement Away is the charity that supports people facing homelessness, veterans and prison leavers to find stability through employment in the hospitality industry. It currently connects an average of 3 people per week into stable, purposeful employment, and has placed over 300 members in total into meaningful employment to date. It is the long-term goal of the charity to increase this over the next 5 years and place 5,000 people into hospitality roles over this timeframe.