'I took a beer mat of one of my favourite Shropshire pints all the way to Area 51 - here’s why’

A Shropshire ale lover and UFO fan, decided to take a beer mat from a local brewery all the way to Area 51 in Nevada - the famed UFO hotspot.

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Phil Ackerley, from Admaston, says his daughter Amie runs the Royal Oak “Tiddly” pub in Ellerdine with her partner Pete Preston, so he is a fan of their local pint, Area 51.

The beer, a pale ale, is so named because it is 5.1% proof, and is brewed by Pete’s family, who own Rowton Brewery and run a number of pubs in the area.

Phil said: “One of the beers they brew, which is a regular, is named Area 51, it is called this as it’s brewed at 5.1% but also with a link to the meteorite that landed in Rowton in 1876, although common rumour is because of the strength of the beer, you often cannot remember things, almost as if you’ve been abducted!”

The Rowton Meteorite landed in the area on Thursday, 20th April 1876. It is the only iron meteorite known to have fallen in England.

Phil, who used to serve with the RAF, said back in May, to celebrate his wife’s 50th birthday, the pair went on holiday to the USA, and Area 51 was among their must-see sites - and Phil decided to take a souvenir with him - a Rowton Area 51 beer mat.

Phil said: “One place I’ve always wanted to see is Area 51.”

He said the US Airforce base has long been associated with UFOs. The intense secrecy surrounding the base has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and many ‘Ufologists’ believe the government secretly has alien technology on the site.

Phil said: “You can’t get close. The closest you can get is the front and back gates.

“I drove to each of these locations and took a couple of photos of the gates with the Area 51 beer clip and Rowton beer mat.

“The photos are probably not the best as I was quite scared I might get shot.

“We then went to a ‘town’ on the outskirts of Groom lake called Rachael, Here we went to the Little A’le’Inn.

“After speaking to the owner about our trip and the Rowton story she was honoured to take the Area 51 beer pump clip and she has displayed it on her bar, where it is now!”