Spending a lazy summer afternoon in a pub garden may be many people's idea of heaven.

For hay fever sufferers, watery eyes and streaming noses tend to spoil the fun.

But a Sussex brewery believes it may have come up with a remedy.

The 1648 Brewing Company, based in East Hoathly, near Lewes, claims its Bee-Head summer ale can relieve hay fever symptoms.

Bee-Head is made from two varieties of Sussex hops but its special ingredient is honey produced by Sussex bees.

Each pint of ale contains tiny amounts of honey and tinier traces of pollen.

Regular drinkers can apparently build up enough of an immunity to the airborne pollen to reduce the effects of allergic reactions in sufferers.

Bee-Head is un-likely to feature in medical journals.

But brewer David Seabrook and Robert Wallace, the landlord of the King's Head, where the beer is made, say local drinkers swear it helps fend off the worst symptoms of hay fever.

Mr Seabrook, who turned to brewing two years ago after an accident while working as a cabinet maker, said drinkers had testified to the ale's beneficial effects.

He said: "Hay fever sufferers are pretty convinced it helped alleviate their symptoms.

"The effects vary from person to person but after drinking one or two pints every night for a week it almost provides a permanent solution to the problem. It's down to the local ingredients. The small quantities of local pollen help people build up an immunity."

Of the 48 casks of Bee-Head produced this summer all but one have been snapped up and the remaining cask is not expected to be around for much longer.

Some 3,500 pints of the beer have been on tap at about 15 pubs in Sussex and further afield, including London.

Production of Bee-Head at the East Hoathly micro-brewery has been halted to free up capacity for the production of a different ale for a forthcoming festival.

But Mr Seabrook hopes he may be able to squeeze in another brew of Bee-Head at the end of the month. If not, hay fever sufferers will have to wait until next summer, by which time the brewers hope to be producing double the quantity.

Mr Seabrook, 39, said: "It's been one of the more popular beers."

Pharmacist Stuart Smith, of O'Flinn, in Islingword Road, Brighton, said he believed it was possible for honey beer to desensitise a drinker to an allergic reaction and thereby relieve hay fever symptoms.

He said: "Although there is no conclusive medical evidence, some people may well find it helps."

But Mr Smith advised anyone suffering badly from hay fever to go to a pharmacy or a doctor.

Thursday, August 4, 2005