Shepherds Neame

As part of my birthday holiday in Kent we had a tour and tasting at Shepherd Neame brewery in  Faversham. It's the oldest brewery in Britain, founded in 1698, and has been located in the heart of Faversham for over 300 years.

Shepherd Neame is actually the combination of two owners. In the mid 1700s the brewery was passed through marriage to the Shepherd family and remained with them for four generations.

In 1864 after many business partnerships Shepherd brewery was joined by a local hop farmer Percy Beale Neame and the name Shepherd Neame created.

Today the company remains a family run business with fifth generation Jonathan Neame its Chief Executive. His work is focused on the brewery, he is often seen around the site and at the 300+ pubs owned by the brewery.

Our beer experience began in the bar although sadly the pumps were not working due a maintenance issue so our beer was bottled. We already enjoy Spitfire and Bishop's Finger so we were looking forward to discovering Shepherd Neame's other beers.

As we were touring a working brewery we were all required to wear hi-vis jackets. Our tour guides was the 'Shepherdess' in a bright yellow jacket and everyone on the tour was her 'flock' in orange. 

Before the tour began she asked for someone to be the 'Drover' and be at the back to ensure no-one was left behind. As I'm slow, and it was my birthday, I volunteered and received a green hi-vis. Apparently there has never been a volunteer for this role before, I don't know why I quite enjoyed being called 'Mrs Drover' and being instructed on door closing and light off switching.

Our tour started in The Strert which is the centre of the brewery both in location and activity. Everything happened here, ingredients in, beer out, workers in the yard and business visitors. You can see the score marks on the wall from the carts being pulled close for the wasted malt drops.

There were buildings both sides of the street with the brewing taking place mainly on the left side as you look down the hill through the arch to the gates, this is in the direction  of the river.

Before going up to the brewing areas we visited the boiler room down below. It must have been very hot working in there.

Our visit moved inside and upwards, Mrs Drover making sure the outer door was closed. I was surprised by two things, the age of some equipment and how everything was in one space. 

We've visited quite a few breweries and although it's the same process it's always good to see the different equipment especially the older pieces. Shepherd Neame also had some shiny new equipment, the cathedral of vats was amazing.

Back in The Street we moved under the arches to discover a beautiful clock and sign. This would have greeted you as you came through the gates and up The Street, a very impressive entrance.

Unlike many beers these days Shepherd Neame does not 'Burtonise' its water. There is a well providing pure water that has passed through the chalk of the Kent North Downs, this ancient water source is used in the Shepherd Neame brewery.

After visiting the brewery and its buildings we crossed The Street into The Old Brewery Store  which is now a huge hospitality area which hosts many events including weddings. The entrance has an amazing collection of Shepherd Neame vehicles, my favourite was the Maroon Austin 7 that has been restored and back at the brewery after being in a private collection for many years. It was originally registered in Faversham in 1923.

The walls in the tasting room were full of pub signs, there were so many some with quite unusual names.

And so to our tasting, no better time than when it's your birthday. Our six drinks were already poured and presented on a wooden engraved board with a tasting sheet alongside - the drinks were: 

Singha - Shepherd Neame brew the popular Thailand lager here in the UK. It was smooth and light with an abv of 5%

Hürlimann - a Swiss lager first brewed in 1968. It's a Helles lager with caramel flavours.

Orchard View - this was a cider made for Shepherd Neame in Somerset from Falstaff apples. It was a sweet fruity still cider with a abv of 5%

Late Red - quite a happy ale made from Challenger hops this had quite a light finish.

Bishops Finger - named after a historic finger shaped signpost on Kent's Pilgrim Way. It was first brewed in 1958 to mark the end of malt rationing after World War II

Iron Wharf - a dark stout named after the wharf in Faversham Creek. It had a malty bitter flavour and was my favourite of the tasting.

We had a great time at Shepherd Neame brewery in the lovely town of Faversham. After our tour we settled in The Sun Inn where I enjoyed my favourite of the tastings before a great fish and chip birthday dinner.

What a great way to celebrate becoming 61, thank you to my super Hubby and fellow beer taster! 

Our Kent Holiday

What a way to celebrate turning 61 .. I'm still not sure how that happened as although I have years of amazing memories and my body reminds me most days I don't really feel I've reached my 60s.

I love holidays, no surprise there, and so we went away, this time to Kent visiting many places some of which I have written about separately such as Canterbury 

Our holiday began with a few days in Faversham with a visit to National Trust Knole House on the way. My actual birthday fell on our full day there with a great visit to Shepherds Neame brewery and a fab meal at The Sun Inn.

My special day started with cards and pressies and a pancake, blueberry & yougurt breakfast in bed (thanks to a bit of Aldi shopping the night before). Thank you to all my lovely family and friends, I felt very spoilt but this filled my heart in such a special way - my life's names!

Our hotel was at short walk into Faversham, with the sun shining it was a nice stroll past some very nice houses, a definite look of London especially the red brick terraces.

Our holiday wouldn't be right without adding another Wetherspoon pub to our visited list, currently 93 out of over 800. And there it was The Leading Light named after Henry Wreight the 19th century mayor of Faversham and a main benefactor of the town.

The beautiful Art Deco building was originally Faversham Co-operative Society shop. The Society was founded in 1887 by local gunpowder factory workers and the building remained a shop until 1997 when it was opened as a Wetherspoon pub.

The interior was amazing, one of the reasons we visit J D Wetherspoon pubs is an appreciation of old buildings being restored and reused, of course we also appreciate the food and drinks on offer, this time a great coffee!

Faversham was lovely in style and age with over 400 listed building reflecting its maritime history. There was certainly some overseas influence with some Dutch gables, the Old Pharmacy door was amazing and it was great to find a Queen Victoria postbox.

After our Shepherd Neame tour and tasting we settled in at The Sun Inn enjoying a glass of Iron Wharf stout followed by delicious fish and chips and a super bottle of Gris de Grille from Carcassonne, perfect birthday wine.

After a lovely birthday in Faversham our Kent holiday continued with a week at Parkdean Romney Sands in a gold caravan. Our son and girlfriend stayed for one night followed by us all enjoying A Little Trip to France over the weekend and them then returning home, extended birthday treat for me.

Our time in Kent had been very enjoyable so far if busy so it was quite nice to settle into our holiday home with the Romney Hyde and Dymchurch Railway running by throughout the day and the sea just across the road from the park's main entrance. The weather was mixed with some dramatic skies, a good reason to stay in with a fish supper and my birthday bottle of Picpoul de Pinet from our son.

As well as our trip to Canterbury we also ventured out to Folkestone on the bus. An hour's journey on a double decker bus with the front upstairs seats giving views of the south Kent coast all for £3 each, what a bargain.

Folkestone also had evidence of overseas influences in its buildings, it has been a major trading port for centuries. It was a popular Victorian holiday resort and a major cross-channel ferry port, today it has a creative hub, a lively historic harbour and many food specialists. Folkestone has its own mermaid,  a life size bronze created by Cornelia Parker in 2011 for Folkestone Triennial that sits peacefully looking out to sea.

The Samuel Peto, previously a 19th century Baptist Church, was our lunch stop, another great building reinvented by JD Wetherspoon. Sir Samuel Peto was an English engineer who helped develop and build over 750 miles of railway track in England during the mid 1800s.

The location of the caravan park was good if you like remote pebble beaches. Dungerness, a vast remote area of shingle beach, is not far away and is the terminal for the railway. We had a lovely drive round the stark but beautifil area, it was a huge surprise to find this chap in his own world oblivious to the people and cars around him.

Not far away but not really accessible Hubby discovered the Sound Mirrors. Made of concrete these pre World War II Listening Ears were built in the late 1920s and were an experiment to detect enemy aircraft by deflecting the engine sound onto microphones. Although they could detect planes up to 20 miles away by the time the war started radar had been invented and the Sound Mirrors were never used.

I had a super birthday and holiday in Kent with such a variety of places visited and experiences enjoyed. My birthday celebrations ended a week later as Hubby and I travelled to Leicester to watch Tigers v Saracens rugby followed by The 745 Game, played by ex-players in aid of MBD. A superb end to a superb birthday.