Twenty-four food producers from across England and Wales are celebrating this week having picked up a prestigious Fine Farm Produce Award from the National Trust, including Westerham Brewery, in Kent.

The awards, now in their fourth year, celebrate the breadth and quality of produce farmed, grown or processed on land owned or managed by the National Trust, including tenant farms, orchards and gardens. 

A total of 37 products – including beer, mushrooms, cheese, lamb, beef and onions – have received the award and will now be able to use the coveted Fine Farm Produce Award logo on their products.  The winning products were chosen from a very high standard of 46 separate entries.

To qualify for judging, products must meet strict criteria of provenance and environmental and animal welfare standards. Then, in order to win a coveted award, each product is subjected to a rigorous taste test by a panel of judges.

Westerham Brewery, based on the National Trust’s Grange Farm in Crockham Hill, near Edenbridge in Kent, was set up in 2004 by Robert Wicks.

He worked with the Trust and farmer Ian Strang to use hops from nearby Scotney Castle, and Little Scotney Pale Ale and Best Bitter were launched in July 2005.

The Little Scotney Best Bitter won last year, so this year it was the turn of the Little Scotney Pale Ale to impress judges. They described it as smooth on the palate and praised its ‘warm amber colour and good hoppy scent.’ 

The brewery is also committed to high environmental standards. “Whilst we use traditional brewing methods, we have modern equipment which allows us to be very water-efficient and use minimal amounts of chemicals,” said Robert.

“We use whole hops at the start of the brewing process for bitterness, at the end for flavour and aroma. Then, during maturation, it is dry hopped – a traditional technique where hops are suspended in the beer for seven days,” he explained.

A proportion of the profits from the Pale Ale and Best Bitter are reinvested back into the hop gardens at Scotney Castle, where a new organic hop area is being developed.

Around 16,000 bottles of the ale are sold every year through Trust properties, Waitrose in the South East, independent retailers and mail order.

Winning the award has huge benefits to the business, according to Robert: “From launch, the Pale Ale and Best Bitter sold one for one in the shops. But since winning an award for the bitter last year its sales have gone up 75 per cent.”

Rob Macklin, the National Trust’s head of agriculture, said:  “The awards are given to only the very best produce from the places looked after by the National Trust.

“More than 80 per cent of the land we care for in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is farmed, and we work closely with many of our tenants in helping them develop high quality products.

“Winning an award means that products have had to pass rigorous tests to ensure they are produced to the highest possible standards.

“Since 2006, over 80 products have received a Fine Farm Produce Award and this year’s winners will join a group of some of the very best producers that the country has to offer.”

This year the panel included Henrietta Green, a food writer, broadcaster and founder of FoodLoversBritain.com, who set the standards for the original Fine Farm Produce Awards, Richard McGeown, a restaurant owner who trained under Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsey and Raymond Blanc, and Rob Macklin, the National Trust’s head of agriculture.

Henrietta Green added: “The standards set by the National Trust for these awards are extremely high. 

“As someone who has pioneered the cause of the small British producer, it is so encouraging to see such fantastic regional British food delivering on quality, distinctiveness, provenance and taste.

“This year we tasted rare-breed pork, hill lamb, grass-fed beef, dried-cured bacon, daisy-fresh crabmeat, single-variety apple juices and blossom honey – to mention a few.”

The National Trust is passionate about using local and seasonal food in its 150 tearooms and cafes.  Many of this year’s Fine Farm Produce Award winners sell their produce either through their own farm shop or direct to customers. 

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Catherine Bearder MEP with Robert Wicks, holding a bottle of Westerham’s award winning William Wilberforce Freedom Ale.

Kent’s Euro MP Catherine Bearder

today blamed Labour’s failure to support local pubs and breweries for the increasing link between alcohol and anti-social behavior.

On Friday 16^th October Catherine visited Westerham Brewery in Kent and discussed many of the problems facing local breweries and pubs with manager Robert Wicks.

Catherine commented:

“Labour’s attempt to tackle binge drinking in the UK is failing. It needs to encourage responsible drinking, and the key to this is working with local pubs and breweries.”

“Much of the anti-social behavior caused by drinking happens when cheap supermarket alcohol is bought and consumed in streets or car parks. If we want safer drinking then we need to stop the sale of pitifully cheap alcohol in supermarkets and encourage people to drink in the responsible environment of their local pub.”

“Kent has some fantastic local breweries producing beers and ales that are known across the country. If people go into their local pub and drink a beer made in Kent then they’re not only helping to create jobs for their neighbours, they’ll be drinking in a more responsible way.”

“When it comes to EU funding, Kentish beer brewers are at a disadvantage compared to their competitors in the wine and spirit industries. We must make European funds fairer so breweries like Westerham are able to compete on a more even footing.”

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Beers of the World magazine recently held its award ceremony for its annual World Beer Awards at the Hurlingham Club in West London.  Lovibonds Brewery based in Henley-on-Thames was awarded Worlds Best Honey Beer for its 7.3% Lovibonds Gold Reserve.

An international panel of judges tasted their way through hundreds of entries from the United Kingdom, Europe, United States, Australia, Japan and beyond to find the winners of each style.  Lovibonds beers were very well received, with Lovibonds Gold Reserve beating two world class breweries, Samuel Adams and Fullers to take the award.  Lovibonds Henley Dark - a 4.8% Smoked Porter was also highly commended (equivalent of Silver medal) in the Smoked Beer category.  These were the only two beers that Lovibonds entered in this year’s awards.

Jeff Rosenmeier and Jason Stevenson from Lovibonds were on hand at the awards ceremony, receiving the award from British beer writer Roger Protz and Sally Toms, editor of Beers of the World magazine.  Upon hearing the news, Jeff, the Founder and Head Brewer at Lovibonds said, ‘It is great to get recognized for our efforts and innovation with these awards.  We could only afford to enter two beers into this year’s competition and we put forward what we thought was our best and we were awarded accordingly.’

When asked why he thought these beers were successful, Jeff said, ‘It’s a matter of offering something different, for instance our Gold Reserve is a bit on the extreme side, where we get over 20% of the fermentable sugar from honey.  This is a creation that the judges were not likely to have tasted before, and I think standing out is the most important thing to being successful in these type of competitions.’

Distribution of the 7.3% Lovibonds Gold Reserve is limited to the Lovibonds Brewery Shop in Henley, on the Lovibonds web-site, Beermerchants.com and a group of Lovibonds local independent customers.  Jeff stated, ‘We are hoping that these awards help us get the word out and allow us to expand production of these beers.’

Innovation doesn’t come cheap however, with 750ml bottles of the Lovibonds Gold Reserve starting at £9.00 a bottle.  Jeff explains, ‘This is a very expensive beer to make, from the honey we used, to the high class packaging to the duty and the time it tied up tank space.  We price all of our beers where they need to be in order to stand a chance as a business.  This is the sort of beer you share with a group a friends prior to a meal or as part of a desert, not something you have a session with.’

Sally Toms editor of Beer of the World, Jeff Rosenmeier Founder and Head Brewer, Lovibonds Brewery and Roger Protz

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Sussex brewer Dark Star is to increase its brewing capacity by 300% after agreeing a move to a new site

The new site is a 16,000 sq foot site in Partridge Green — 11 miles west of its current site near Haywards Heath. Dark Star started brewing beers such as Dark Star Original and American Pale Ale in the cellar of the Evening Star pub in Brighton in 1996.

“This is the biggest investment we’ve made to date and despite the current economic climate it reflects our confidence in the long term development of the real ale market,” said director Paul Reed.

“Our confidence is also boosted by the broad spectrum of people that are discovering real ale from across age and social groups.

“Anyone who thinks they can caricature the cask ale drinker does not understand the market.

“We consider ourselves lucky to be located among some of the best pubs in the country and competing with other great brewers, and for that reason we’ve chosen to stay in the mid Sussex area, or as we prefer to call it, the Heart of Sussex.”

The first brew from the new site is due to be released by the end of October 2009.

Dark Star’s American Pale Ale won gold at the Great British Beer Festival in the Golden Beer category and their coffee beer, Espresso, was crowned the World’s Best Speciality Beer.

Taken from:  http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news.ma/article/84112

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13 August - 12 September 2009
22 Bury St, London, SW1Y 6AL

The The Illustration Cupboard is pleased to announce its summer exhibition with a celebration of the ‘beer from the coast’. Leading artist and illustrator Chris Wormell has produced a vivid and iconic series of hand-printed lino cuts for the extensive advertising campaign of the Suffolk based brewery Adnams. These artworks have been impressively seen from large bill board posters, to the side of taxi cabs and in bars and pubs throughout Britain.

This series is now, for the first time, the subject of a comprehensive exhibition displaying Chris Wormell at his most creative and imaginative, with an array of beachscapes featuring Adnams bottle tops surreally positioned along breakwaters, cliffs, umbrellas and even limpets.

Artwork can be viewed and purchased from our website.

Monday to Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 12pm - 5pm

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Dorking Brewery and Dorking Vineyard get together for a beer festival.

On the weekend of 18^th and 19^th July 2009 Dorking Brewery were proud to be in attendance at the first Beer festival held at Denbies Wine Estate. England’s largest Vineyard situated in Dorking, Surrey.

Featuring 16 local real ales a live jazz band and outside bbq the event was attended by over 1000 people. James May the popular presenter was also in attendance after filming at nearby Box Hill.

Dorking Brewery featured their 2 flagship ales DB Number One a 4.2% bitter - amber coloured with a full fruity hoppy flavour and a long satisfying bitter finish. - Dry Hop Gold a 3.8% heavily hopped ,refreshing golden ale full of citrus flavours.

Dorking Brewery was established in June 2008 by three enthusiastic individuals. It commenced selling to local pubs and clubs in January 2009

Contact Dorking Brewery 01306877988 www.dorkingbrewery.com

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New sign

News from SIBA Pub Associate member

 

New pub sign to be unveiled tomorrow Saturday 11^th July at around 2pm.

As the article here describes, the hand painted pub sign is in decline and being replaced with corporate designs (you only have to look out of the Grove Tavern’s window for an example – no names but has to do with the four signs of the compass … oops!).

As the old Grove Tavern sign, depicting two people in Victorian garb of which I have no information as to any ties with the pub, was showing signs of wear & tear we have commissioned a new one. It has been based on an original sign as per the Whitbread collector’s card pictured on the right.

 All are invited to come and join us in a few jars to celebrate.

 Steve Baxter FBII

Landlord & I.T. Consultant
19 Berkeley Road
Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN1 1YR
01892 526549 / 07767 616039

www.grovetavern.co.uk

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Sir Gerry Robinson, one of the UK’s most respected entrepreneurs is prepared to risk millions of his own money to help troubled businesses. To begin, two breweries pitch to him, but which will he save?

Channel 4, Thu 2 July, 9pm.

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Ascot Ales has just won 4 awards at the 15th Reading Beer Festival, one of the biggest real ale festivals in the country.

‘Anastasia’s Imperial Stout’ 8.0% won GOLD in the Stouts, Porters & Olds Category and also won SILVER in the ‘Overall LocAle of the Festival’.

‘Anastasia’s Exile Stout’ 5.0% won BRONZE in the Stouts, Porters & Olds Category and ‘On The Rails’ 3.8% won BRONZE in the Milds Category.

Ascot Ales is a four barrel micro-brewery based in leafy Surrey. This family run business started brewing in June 2007 and has really gone from strength to strength earning a reputation for creating full of flavour, award-winning ales.

Owner and Head Brewer, Chris Gill decided to brew a special version of their award-winning stout ‘Anastasia’s Exile’ for Reading Beer Festival and some of their favourite pubs. Named after the exiled Russian countess he decided that a true ‘Imperial’ version at a higher strength would be ideal. The resulting ‘Anastasia’s Imperial Stout’ at 8.0% not only wowed the judges but festival goers alike. Chris says ‘It’s certainly a stout to savour - slowly. We had no idea it would win, I just wanted to brew a true imperial strength stout. It even knocked our own ‘exile’ version into bronze after winning gold last year!’

Ascot Ales are fast becoming known as dark beer specialists and this rang true when their ‘On The Rails’ also won Bronze in the Milds category. Originally brewed as the ‘Festival Special’ for last years Ascot Racecourse Beer Festival, it has since become a regular brew by popular demand. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) are promoting Milds throughout the month of May, once an ‘endangered beer style’ it is considered to be a great introduction to the superb world of real ale.

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