Queer Brewing and Joe Lycett launch pale ale for Pride

The brewery’s founder Lily Waite-Marsden is ‘delighted’ to have the comedian on board, with his pledge to amplify LGBTQ+ causes mirroring the business’ mission.

The UK’s first trans-owned brewery has teamed up with comedian Joe Lycett to launch a beer to toast the fourth year of his community Pride project.

Rainbow Juice is a 4.7% single-hopped Luminosa pale ale with “lots of tropical and peachy-mango-lemonade notes, and a soft, juicy body,” according to the London-based producer Queer Brewing.

Speaking to the drinks business, the brewery’s founder Lily Waite-Marsden, said: “The brief was something ‘nice and drinkable’, and we’ve been brewing our own beer in-house for six months, so we wanted to continue in the vein of the hoppy beers we’ve been producing.”

The beer was released to support Lycett’s Queen’s Heath Pride project, started by the TV presenter in 2021 in response to a anti-LGBTQ+ protests in King’s Heath Birmingham.

The event is run together with Lycett’s local pub, The Juke.

Pints with a purpose

Queer Brewing has worked with Queens Heath Pride for four years, but the new release is its first official collaboration with the Late Night Lycett host, whose painting features on the beer’s artwork. 

Lycett said: “I was delighted to help with the artwork for this delicious juicy pale in support of Not A Phase and Queens Heath Pride from my second favourite brewery – the first being whoever brews Skol.”

Waite-Marsden had been a fan of Lycett’s artwork for years. “It’s so unique and he’s so talented, so when he suggested this year that we use one of his paintings, we absolutely jumped at the chance,” she said.

In 2025, the future of the UK’s community-led Pride parades is uncertain, as organisers grapple with declining funding and escalating costs.

More than 85 Pride organisations have seen a reduction in corporate sponsorships or partnerships – key sources of funding – according to a questionnaire by the UK Pride Organisers Network. 

Several celebrations have been cancelled or delayed, while others are reducing their scale or introducing ticket fees for events that were previously free.

‘Vital days in the calendar’

On the importance of grassroots Pride events, Waite-Marsden told db: “Community Prides are vital days in the calendar for people across our community and across the country. 

“Often the people who go to local Pride events can’t, for whatever reason, go to Pride in London or Manchester, and having something that represents them, and is run by people from their own community, is really meaningful.”

Each year, Queer Brewing receives a high volume of sponsorship requests. However, as a small business, it doesn’t have the financial capacity to support them all.

But the team are “very happy” to back Queens Heath Pride, and look forward to extending that support to other community events in the future.

50p of each Rainbow Juice can will be donated to the event, with a further 10p going to the brewing company’s quarterly rotating charity, which is currently Not A Phase.

Making a meaningful impact

Farhad Divecha, CEO of OUT Loud Group, advised businesses to approach LGBTQ+ partnerships with genuine intent rather than purely commercial motives.

Speaking to db, he said: “When drink brands want to partner with Pride organizations, to make it purposeful and authentic, they need to start by answering the question, ‘why do we want to do this?’

“The ‘why’ is your purpose, and if that is nothing beyond monetary reasons, then, chances are, you’re doing it wrong.” 

To make meaningful contributions to LGBTQ+ groups, Divecha stressed the importance of engaging with local communities. “If you go out there, talk to people that you want to support, understand where that support is needed, then you can help with that,” he advised.

That support can take many forms, from offering safe spaces and hosting inclusive events, to supporting trans individuals with makeup sessions or launching LGBTQ+ sports leagues.

“It doesn’t have to be expensive or flashy,” he added. “What matters is taking the time to understand and support your community in ways that are actually useful.”

Shared ethos

As a stand against homophobia, TV presenter Lycett rebranded Kings Heath as ‘Queens Heath’ in 2021, before setting out to host the world’s smallest Pride march, which inspired his 2022 stand-up show, More, More, More! How Do You Lycett? How Do You Lycett?

Waite-Marsden continued: “We’re delighted to have Joe officially on board for this year’s beer, as the whole team are big fans of his varied work and the amazing grassroots community spirit he’s fostered in creating Queens Heath Pride. 

“The dedication to creating a space for the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate, demonstrate, and protest, as well as the ethos of expression and representation it exemplifies, mirror and resonate strongly the values Queer Brewing was founded on and the purpose of what we do.”

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