I had first talked to Jim about supplying some beer to the Independent Salford Beer Festival (ISBF) in 2022, when Brid’s Cross was still just a twinkle in my eye. The subject came up again in 2023, when I had just started brewing. Unfortunately, I still wasn’t in a position to be able to organise my brew schedule to get the beer brewed in time.

Fast forward to September 2024 and Jim happened to mention that he wanted some red ale for ISBF 9. I told him that I’d got some CaraRed malt in stock and the deal was sealed.

As Jim had commissioned the beer, I gave him the honour of naming it – so I’m not responsible for the historical pun.

For those who aren’t so hot on their Anglo-Saxon history, Aethelred the Unready was king of the English from 978 – 1013 and then again from 1014-1016, making his reign the longest of any Anglo-Saxon king. In fact he was only around 10 years old when he first became king.

One of his sons, Edward the Confessor, later became king in 1042 before losing the crown to William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.