King ‘drowns sorrows’ with pint and brewery tour after World Cup heartbreak
England lost to Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday evening.
The King “drowned a few sorrows” after England’s dramatic World Cup exit with a pint he pulled with the Queen as they toured a brewery.
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Charles sipped an amber ale made by Hall & Woodhouse Badger Brewery the day after England captain Harry Kane and his teammates lost their semi-final match 2-1 to Argentina.
Aided by Camilla the King poured a pint of Fursty Ferret, a best seller with the family-owned brewery based in the town of Blandford near Poole in Dorset.
Before tasting the 3.4% popular ale the King said with a wry smile: “Maybe it’s a good day to drown a few sorrows.”
The country is reeling the day after the last-gasp defeat for England manager Thomas Tuchel’s players with many fans likely to be nursing post-match hangovers despite the loss.
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Charles and Camilla were taken on their tour of the brewery, which celebrates its 250th anniversary next year, meeting brewing and chef apprentices, and watched as the trainee cooks competed in a Master Chef-style competition.
Founded in 1777 by Charles Hall, a Dorset farmer who began brewing beer from his excess grain, today the company produces more than nine million pints of beer every year, employs more than 1,500 people, and runs around 140 pubs across the south of England.
At one point the King chatted to Paul Barnett, the brewery’s finance director, about the impact of the World Cup on the business, which has predominantly food-led pubs which do not have screens or show the football.
Mr Barnett told the King: “I’m quite relieved we’re out of the football because we don’t make so much money.”