News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Enterprising entrepreneur Nancy Warner has turned her favourite booze into a booming business by launching the world’s first jam made purely from beer.

Nancy came up with the ground-breaking idea after running out of fruit with which to make jams and jellies for her fledgling preserves company run from her own kitchen.

Realising she had cupboards full of beer, she set about experimenting with turning the boozy brew into jelly, a clear jam made only with liquid.

The beer jelly was such a hit that Nancy, a qualified architect, soon outgrew her house and moved into a commercial kitchen - and she now churns out 3,000 jars a week.

The jellies come in eight flavours including ale, IPA, oatmeal stout and porter and contain only beer, sugar and pectin, a citrus fruit extract used as a gelling agent.

Each 450ml jar contains around 225ml of beer but the alcohol is removed during the cooking process.

(Image: NancyWarner/BNPS)

Nancy says her crazy creations go brilliantly with cheeses but are also great as a glaze for meat and vegetables.

Nancy and her husband Walter, from Stowe in Vermont, USA, are now looking to launch their Potlicker Kitchen beer jelly range in the UK early next year.

A jar is expected to cost around £4.50.

As well as using beer, Nancy also makes jellies in a range of wacky flavours including wine, coffee, apple pie and carrot cake.

Nancy, 34, said: “I’m actually an archaeologist by trade and spent close to 10 years working in south eastern US archaeology before my husband Walter and I moved to Vermont.

“I could not find archaeology work so I developed a food blog hobby to keep me busy. The blog lead to a canning addiction, the canning addiction turned into a small business.

“I had bills to pay and lots of jam on the shelf so Walter packed me up and sent me to the farmers market.

“I started making beer jelly simply because I ran out of fruit.

“It was a long winter in Vermont, I was addicted to canning and canned through all the fruit in my house so I turned to my cabinets where I had plenty of beer and wine.

“When I started making beer jelly I had never heard of jelly made just with beer but I knew of jelly made just with wine, which actually goes back hundreds of years.

(Image: NancyWarner/BNPS)

“I set about making a jelly with all beer, no fruit. I have made all of my own recipes and can find no record of anyone else make a pure beer jelly before I did.

“I make beer jelly much the way I would make fruit jelly, but instead of kid juice (like fruit juice), I use adult juice.

“Each jar of jelly is approximately half full of beer or wine, but, for better or worse, the jelly is non alcoholic.

“The alcohol is removed during cooking and by dilution of sugar.

“There are only three ingredients - beer, cane sugar and citrus pectin. Because there is no added fruit or flavours, it tastes like a sweet version of the beer it is made with.

“You can actually taste the hop and malt characteristics of each flavour of jelly.

“We pair it with cheese but also use them to glaze meats and veggies - think things like Apricot Ale glazed ham, Black IPA chicken wings, Burgundy Anise cookies and Spiced Wine baked brie.

“The feedback is wonderful and sometimes overwhelming.

“I never dreamed I would be running a business and hiring employees just to make my jams and jellies.

“I thought beer jelly was awesome and as it turns out I was not the only one.

“We have gone from making a few dozen jars a week at home to making at least 3,000 jars a week in our commercial kitchen.”