Master Brewer - Spring 2008

M A S T E R

BREWER Spring 2008

Spring into Summer: Celebrate your Local

www.shepherdneame.co.uk

Welcome

Interim results Interim results Highlights of the company’s half-year results for the six months ended 29 December 2007 included: • Turnover up 3.7% to £52.4m • Operating profit up 0.7% to £5.7m • Profit before tax down 2.3% to £4.7m

This issue of Master Brewer celebrates the great British pub – the home of responsible drinking.

We are also celebrating being named Regional Brewer of the Year at The Publican Awards 2008. I would like to extend my thanks to everyone involved in the company; our customers, staff and licensees all deserve to share in our success.

Our licensees have also been enjoying accolades, courtesy of the Shepherd Neame Pub Awards. Our winners run exemplary flagships for the industry; welcoming pubs with individuality, run by people with originality and vigour.

As you will read in this issue, there is no doubt the brewing and pub industries are continuing to face significant challenges. A challenging sales environment, rising costs and increasing political and legislative intervention are turning the screw.

But we are ready to fight. Brewers, pub companies, licensees and customers will galvanise their efforts and show that pubs and beer should not be taken advantage of. They are of huge benefit to the UK’s economy and identity. A pint in the pub is a core part of our culture.

The trade has worked hard to get its house in order, taking a lead on responsible retailing and community co-operation. The onus now is on reminding people of the role pubs play in society, not just as a place to eat, drink and socialise, but as a provider of the many services that are otherwise lost to communities.

Pubs are a vibrant part of society, constantly changing with the times. If you want to support your local pub, turn to page 8 to find out how to voice your opinion.

Jonathan Neame Chief Executive Shepherd Neame

This has been an extremely challenging period in the beer and pub sector because of the combination of increased input costs and softer consumer demand.

Many of the company’s on trade customers have suffered a downturn in trade through a combination of weak consumer confidence, the smoking ban and the wet weather in the summer of 2007. Trade during the winter months has been more challenging than previously expected.

Shepherd Neame has continued to invest in developing the quality and profile of its pub estate including substantial work to outside areas following the smoking ban. Up to the end of December, we had acquired three freehold pubs for £2.9m which will be tenanted and, more recently, bought the prestigious George Hotel in Cranbrook which will be operated as a managed house.

Like for like sales in the total managed estate were down 1.7%, although in London they were up by 6.3%. Total food sales were up by 7.3% and total accommodation sales improved by 11.2%.

The company continued to make good progress with Asahi and has opened a number of new accounts with significant national multiple outlet customers.

Our principal ale brands, Spitfire and Bishops Finger, have also performed well.

The modernisation of the brewery is ongoing and the company commissioned a new cask racking plant and a new palletiser/de-palletiser, which will increase bottling capacity. There has also been investment in state of the art technology to reduce energy consumption in the brewery.

Jonathan Neame, Chief Executive of Shepherd Neame, said: “Shepherd Neame has delivered a solid and resilient performance over the past six months against a challenging background of subdued consumer spending, significant pressure on input costs, impact from the smoking ban and a wet summer during 2007.

“We believe the current difficult trading conditions will persist throughout 2008 but we are investing in the business for the long term and are confident that the quality and profile of our pubs and brands will enable the company to continue to outperform the market.”

Shepherd Neame is

regional brewer of the year 2008 Shepherd Neame has been named Regional Brewer of the Year at the pub industry’s annual awards.

Organised by trade newspaper The Publican, 19 categories recognise the very best of the UK’s pub trade.

Shepherd Neame reached the finals of four further categories: Pub Company of the Year (Tenanted 200+ outlets), Pub Company of the Year (Managed 20-99 outlets), Proud of Pubs for The Railway Hotel, Faversham and Bar Person of the Year for Jo Squires at the Railway Hotel Faversham.

Judges praised the company’s ability to adapt to changes in the market and its commitment to staff training. They also noted Shepherd Neame’s involvement with responsible drinking initiatives, its investment in energy efficient technology and proactive approached to tackling the challenges presented by the smoking ban.

Above - L-R: Host Justin Lee Collins, Shepherd Neame’s production and distribution director Ian Dixon, Shepherd Neame chief executive Jonathan Neame, Chris Hawkins managing director of category sponsor Buzztime and host Alan Carr.

Left: Jo Squires at The Railway Hotel, Faversham, Bar Person of the Year finalist

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L-R: Rosie Ellis, Chris and Melanie Maclean at The Railway Hotel, Faversham, finalist in the Proud of Pubs category

Chief executive Jonathan Neame and production and distribution director Ian Dixon were presented with the Regional Brewer of the Year Award by comedians Alan Carr and Justin Lee Collins.

Speaking after the awards ceremony, Jonathan Neame said: “This award is a significant accolade for everyone at Shepherd Neame, which recognises high achievement across the business. We have taken a lead on a number of industry issues to develop a more responsible and civilised drinking culture.”

He continued: “We brew great products in a sustainable and responsible manner and run great pubs that provide a welcoming, safe and individual environment.”

Cheers! Here’s to the

Great British Pub

Pubs have been at the heart of communities for centuries and they have endured thanks to their ability to change with the times.

In this issue, Master Brewer investigates how, despite enjoying a unique heritage, pubs are very much part of society’s future.

Safe.

Social.

Sensible.

Frank Furedi is an internationally renowned Professor of Sociology at Kent University. He is the author of numerous books on the development of society and Master Brewer has invited him to assess the future for the traditional British pub.

No one wants to put up with alcohol driven anti-social behaviour. But too often we overlook the fact that this problem occurs when the consumption of alcohol occurs in circumstances that are not influenced by community expectations and conventions.

People abuse alcohol when they drink on their own, at home or in groups outdoors in a chaotic, unsupervised setting.

Binge drinking rarely occurs during a family Frank Furedi meal, a social occasion or a night out in the pub.

That is why it is important that drinking is integrated into the way we conduct our life at home and in the community. It also means that children should be encouraged to learn that drinking alcohol is a dimension of their family and wider social experience that they can enjoy if they behave responsibly.

The British pub has always served an important role in the life of communities. For many people their ‘local’ represents an important focus for sociable behaviour. Although not quite a family, the ‘regulars’ share intimacies and provide one other with an important network of support.

Regulars may take their drinking seriously but they do so in an environment that has clear informal rules about what is and what is not acceptable behaviour. In such circumstances there is an expectation that people consume their beverage in a convivial and sociable context.

All the rituals of the pub – from the buying of rounds to the wellrehearsed pleasantries with which people greet one another – help create a situation where drinking takes place in accordance with taken-forgranted customs.

The informal enforcement of such customs ensures that the consumption of alcohol is sensibly regulated by people who matter the most – those who you will see tomorrow and next week - family members, friends and other regulars. And, as last resort, there is the publican, who has every interest in ensuring that their clients’ drinking and boisterous behaviour does not get out of hand.

There was a time when some people regarded the idea of a ‘family pub’ as a contradiction in terms.

However, at a time when underage and binge drinking represents a disturbing challenge to communities, we need to consider how we can influence the younger generations to learn to drink alcohol in a sensible and responsible manner.

‘‘

The publican... has every interest in ensuring that their clients’ drinking and boisterous behaviour does not get out of hand

’’

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A well-run pub has the potential for creating a community setting where young people gradually come to learn about ‘grown-up’ attitudes to drinking.

In such a setting people do not drink for its own sake or in order to get drunk. Their drinking occurs in the context of developing relationships and exchanging pleasantries. It is not simply the drink but also the sense of belonging that livens up the atmosphere. And it is not just the beer but the human contact that often makes a pub a special place.

Is this an idealised depiction of a pub? Perhaps. But the potential for the pub to provide a focus for community life is not a myth. We should do our best to ensure that this potential becomes realised.

Leading the way for

responsible drinking There has been a shift in public perception and the media has recognised that binge drinking is not caused by pubs.

It is people who pre-fuel (drinking to excess before they go out) that are the root cause of the problem. Pubs are at the heart of the solution; they provide a safe, welcoming place where drinking takes place in a controlled environment thanks to the watchful eye of the licensee.

A well-run pub is, in fact, the home of responsible drinking as consumption is limited by a licensee who knows when a customer has had enough. The new licensing act ensures it is in all licensees’ interests to keep their pubs in order.

Shepherd Neame is at the forefront of responsible drinking initiatives that have brought together councils, the police and the health service with alcohol producers and retailers at the local level. Pioneering projects such as ‘Safe. Social.

Sensible.’ in Kent and Medway are helping to ensure there is a cohesive strategy for dealing with the irresponsible minority that threatens the enjoyment of the majority.

Clare Hewitt (right) works in the brewery’s visitor centre. She helps young people learn more about acting responsibly with alcohol by taking them on tours of the brewery and holding question and answer sessions.

Clare says: “The first thing to say is ‘You’ve got to remain realistic about alcohol.’ It will play a part in most people’s lives, normally starting in their teenage years. What we hope is that people will enjoy it responsibly.

“Research shows 86% of people arrive at pubs, clubs and bars already having drunk alcohol and it’s my job to talk to people who are at the age when they will first start to encounter alcohol and to help them learn what they need to know to make the right choices in their approach to drinking.

“We offer brewery visits to schools and youth groups. It gives people an opportunity to find out the truth about responsible drinking, how beer is made and industry. It can also help with their business studies, science or leisure qualifications and careers.”

Clare has recently been featured in Oi! Magazine (pictured), a title aimed at young people in the county, where she gave advice and information on responsible drinking.

Shepherd Neame was also among the first UK breweries to team up with the British Institute of Innkeeping for a project where schools can invite experts, including landlords of local pubs, to help teach responsible drinking. David Little from The Anchor and Chris Maclean at the Railway Hotel are already involved, working with schools across East Kent.

What are

you drinking?

Around 30% of the British public visit a pub at least once a week, yet there remains a great deal of misinformation regarding alcohol. Did you know?

British people pay more duty on their beer than any other nation in the EU. As a result of tax on beer rocketing more than 27% in the last decade, beer consumption has dropped by 11%, to its lowest level since the Great Depression. Meanwhile tax on hard liquor, such as vodka, has risen just 3% since 1997 and consumption has risen by 20%.

Cider consumption over the same period has risen 30% and wine consumption 46%. As a consequence, alcohol consumption is believed to be growing, but...

Far from being the binge drinking capital of Europe, the UK is actually 15th in the world rankings of alcohol-consuming nations and people are drinking less each year: alcohol consumption dropped by 2% in 2005, followed by 3% in 2006.

It is not just the amount people are drinking that is in the spotlight, it is what they are drinking. Ten years ago wine was usually from the ‘Old World’ and around 9 to 11%abv. The current trend for ‘New World’ wine has resulted in 12 to 14% becoming the norm.

The introduction of the new Licensing Act caused media hysteria but the fears expressed ahead of its introduction have proved unfounded. The idea of the UK being awash with round-the-clock drinking in pubs is another myth. Of the 200,000 alcohol licences in the UK only 5,100 premises have 24 hour licences and just 460 are pubs or clubs. Since the introduction of the Act, alcohol related disorder has decreased.

There is no universal ruling on what constitutes a unit of alcohol across Europe, let alone the world. A UK male can consume an average of 160 grams of alcohol (21 UK units) per week; in Portugal that figure would be 294 grams for the same period.

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Do Your Duty Beer has been hit hard by successive Budgets over the past decade, but brewers expecting a reprieve were sorely disappointed this year and as Jonathan Neame tells Master Brewer, it is pub customers who are being treated most unfairly of all.

A Budget putting 4p on a pint sends a stark message to customers and licensees alike. In reality, the total rise in duty amounts to 9% over the next four years, not 6%. Furthermore, the Chancellor will continue to rise at 2% above inflation per year. This comes at a time when the amount of beer being consumed in Britain is shrinking while brewing costs spiral. The industry needs support, its benefits need to be recognised, celebrated and, most of all, encouraged. So where is the logic behind a blanket hike in duty on all forms of alcohol?

Is it to combat binge drinking?

No, by the government’s own admission that was not the aim. Everybody close to this debate believes that targeted

measures, education and enforcement, and local partnerships between police, the health service and alcohol providers provide the answer rather than taxation.

A Sunday Times / YouGov poll revealed that 85% of the population agree and say higher alcohol taxes will not curb binge drinking.

So was the Budget aimed at raising revenue? Yes, absolutely, but academic studies have shown that increasing taxation discourages production and consumption, and in fact, less revenue will be raised, not more. To make matters worse, this Budget will become smugglers’ charter if it results in the return of the ‘booze-cruise’ culture of the 1990s.

The Treasury is scrabbling to find £1.5billion over the next few years and labours under the misapprehension it can be siphoned off ordinary people in the pub.

This duty hike penalises hard working people and hits already stretched family budgets at the worst possible time. Politicians should be supporting such people while attempting to eradicate the appalling behaviour of drunken hooligans.

Instead, it is ducking the challenge and it will alienate the responsible majority.

So, what happens next? We dust ourselves down and get up for the next fight. The industry fights to be valued for what it is: owner of some of the UK’s finest architecture; guardian of some of the world’s most distinctive regional food and drink; a tourism magnet; employer of 900,000 people; and, in stark financial terms, a £40billion contribution to the economy.

The hike in duty is a political decision that affects everyone who enjoys a night out responsibly. If you enjoy a drink or meal out, are involved in sport or societies your local pub or use the myriad of services now offered by pubs, now is the time to act. Get behind Great British Pubs. The French Government would not dare inflict such constraints on their wine industry!

The Germany Government do not punish their brewers in this way!

If you are concerned at the way British pubs are being treated, write to: Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP Chancellor of the Exchequer HM Treasury 1 Horse Guards Road LONDON SW1A 2HQ Or email: ministers@hm-treasury.gsi.gov.uk

Pub games – the great, good and downright weird games at your local One of the greatest social aspects of going to the pub is taking part in games and pastimes.

Master Brewer celebrates four of the best and Kent’s historic role in their evolution.

Bar billiards Similar to billiards but economical on space, bar billiards involves the accumulation of points by striking balls into holes without knocking down skittles placed tantalisingly in the target area.

An adaptation of bagatelle, “Billiard Russe” was spotted by Englishman David Gill being played in Belgium in the early 1930s. He persuaded English manufacturer Jelkes to make some tables and the first was installed in a Shepherd Neame pub, the Rose and Crown, Elham, in 1933. The first league was created in Oxford in 1936 and leagues sprang up in Reading, Canterbury and High Wycombe.

Shove Ha’penny Shoffe-grote (using Edward IV groats) was being played in Kentish taverns as early as the 15th Century but the game we know today came into being around 1840. The shove ha’penny board is made of slate or wood and connoisseurs demand an absolutely flat and even surface. A number of parallel lines run horizontally across the board creating “beds” into which the ha’pennies must be “shoved” by hand. The object of the game is simply to “shove” three ha’pennies into each of the beds.

Darts

It’s thought this forerunner of cricket was invented by Kentish monks.

The game is played between two teams of up to eight players and involves using a rubber ball and a "trap", which is a low wooden box, with a see-saw mechanism. Shepherd Neame’s Ye Olde Beverlie pub in Canterbury has records of bat and trap being played in the mid-1700s and it was popular with agricultural workers until falling into decline in the early years of the 20th century. In an attempt to revive it, Bill Humphries conceived and founded the Canterbury and District Bat and Trap League in 1921. He spent that summer writing the rules, establishing a standard size for pitches and equipment, and persuading publicans to prepare their grounds for an inaugural season in 1922.

The sport - and the Canterbury and District Bat and Trap League - are still going strong: although there were probably no more than 70 players in 1922 (all of whom were in Canterbury), it is certain that the number playing in the various Kent Leagues exceeds 4,000 today.

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A pub game for hundreds of years, darts is thought to be rooted in archery, with small “crossbow bolts” thrown at a ringed target. Different versions of the game evolved as the popularity of darts spread across the country. Diverse boards have been identified in Kent, Yorkshire, Burton, Grimsby, Manchester, Lincoln and Norfolk, each using different values, sizes and numbers of beds, and varying diameters and sequences of numbers.

It’s said that Henry VIII liked a game and Anne Boleyn gave him an ornate board as a gift. In the middle of the 19th century, dartboards appeared as a fairground attraction, some using a form of blowpipe.

Bat and Trap

Helping our

HEROES The brewery has created a special edition beer – Help for Heroes Spitfire Ale to raise money for Help for Heroes, a new national charity which aids members of the armed forces who return wounded from tours of duty.

Help for Heroes Spitfire Ale can be purchased in selected branches of Majestic Wine Warehouses, Booths, Nisa and Makro, with all the brewery’s profits going to the charity.

The brewery is also teaming up with pub operator Enterprise Inns to sell cask-conditioned Spitfire Premium Kentish Ale over their bars, with 10p a pint going towards Help for Heroes.

“All of us at Help for Heroes welcome this tremendous initiative by Shepherd Neame and thank them for coming up with such a swift and bold idea that will go down so well with our Armed Forces; as will the beer!”

Help for Heroes has also organised the Great British Hero Ride. They are asking people to get on their bikes and ride from all corners of the UK to meet on Blackheath Common at 11am on 1st June 2008 and then in a parade (a ‘pelaton’) which will ride through London to the Cenotaph via Horse Guards Parade.

Hero patron Andy Stockton and Corporal Derek McCulloch Royal Military School of Engineering

The charity hopes to raise enough money to build a new gym and swimming pool at the Defence Medical Services Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court, Epsom, Surrey, which helps service personnel to recover from injuries and to rebuild their lives.

The beer was sent as a Christmas gift to personnel returning from Afghanistan and Iraq and those being treated at Headley Court.

Help for Heroes Spitfire Ale can be purchased in selected branches of Majestic Wine Warehouses, Booths, Nisa and Makro.

Bryn Parry, the charity’s appeal chairman and former Royal Green Jacket, said: “What is Help for Heroes all about? It’s about the blokes. It’s about Derri, a rugby player who has lost both his legs, it’s about Carl whose jaw is wired up so he has been drinking through a straw. It’s about Richard who was handed a mobile phone as he lay on the stretcher so he could say goodbye to his wife. It is about Ben, it’s about Steven and Andy and Mark, it’s about them all. They are just blokes but they are our blokes; they are our heroes. We want to help our heroes.

Lend your support - visit www.helpforheroes.org.uk

Bishops Finger

50 years

go ng strong

It’s a distinctive beer with a distinctive name – and this year Bishops Finger celebrates its golden jubilee.

Although it didn’t come along until 1958, when Elvis was topping the charts with Jailhouse Rock and the London Planetarium first opened, the beer had its origins in the privations suffered by the people of Kent following World War II. During the war, malt had been strictly rationed. With morale in mind, the Government’s message to brewers was to stretch resources as far as they would go – making sure there was plenty of beer to go round even if it lacked strength.

Les Wood, who succeeded Gordon Ely as head brewer and retired in 1992, said: “If ever there was a master brewer it was Gordon. His recipe for Bishops Finger, which relies so strongly on Goldings hops grown on our doorstep, is quintessentially East Kent and has stood the test of time.

It remains a classic.”

Company president Robert Neame had joined the company in 1956 and was soon in charge of the free trade and advertising. Bishops Finger was one of his first forays into branding.

He said: “What attracted us to ‘Bishops Finger’ was its uniquely Kentish associations. Found only in Kent, the fingerposts were sited along the Pilgrims Way to show the way to Canterbury.”

A special beer from a special place Bishops Finger holds the rare distinction of being granted Protective Geographic Indication by the European Union, a classification “open to products which must be produced or processed or prepared within the geographical area and have a reputation, features or certain qualities attributable to that area.” PGI, an accolade shared with other famous international specialities such as Parma Ham and Gorgonzola cheese means it’s the only beer in Britain entitled to be known as a Kentish Strong Ale. Foods best teamed with Bishops Finger – a characteristically hoppy 5.4% abv. ale – range from game and strong cheeses to crumbled meringue with fresh strawberries. Dishes not easily matched with wine, such as artichokes, asparagus and chocolate are also ideal with a glass of Bishops Finger.

Look out for a special 50th anniversary Bishops Finger gift pack which will be available in the autumn!

The Bishops Finger Charter Bishops Finger is the only English beer to have its own Charter, which decrees that the ale must be brewed only on Fridays by the Head Brewer and that it must be tasted on a weekly basis by a member of the Board of Directors. The ale can only be brewed using chalk-filtered mineral water drawn from the brewery’s artesian well, winter pearl malting barley and East Kent Goldings hops, grown within a 30-mile radius.

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President Robert Neame said: “In the war we had to malt tail barley to have enough brewing material.

But beer was regarded as an essential part of everyone’s wellbeing.”

Brewers continued to work with very limited resources through the austerity years of the late 1940s and early 1950s as Britain struggled to rebuild its economy.

Rationing finally ended in the mid-1950s.

In 1957, the board of directors gave head brewer Gordon Ely (right) the go-ahead to produce Shepherd Neame’s first strong ale for nearly 20 years, his brief, to create a celebration ale to give Kent’s beer-lovers a good pint of what they’d been missing.

Jonathan Neame and Chris Gouldson, manager of Shepherd Neame Pub of the Year, the Old Doctor Butlers Head (left)

L-R: Dot Parson, Terry Parson and Paul Dronfield from Coca Cola

Pub Awards Manager Chris Gouldson and his team at the Old Doctor Butlers Head in Mason’s Road, Moorgate, scooped the top prize in the 2008 Shepherd Neame Pub Awards, organised annually to recognise and reward excellence in innkeeping.

The Granville Manager, Gabrielle Harris and chef, Jim Shave

The City pub was crowned Shepherd Neame Pub of the Year following a highly successful year.

Shepherd Neame chief executive Jonathan Neame praised Chris and his team for boosting food and drink sales.

A family who have been in the pub business for almost 50 years were honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award. Vic Gardiner, licensee of The Hampton, Western Esplanade, Herne Bay, took on the pub on 1 November 1978 and is retiring, after almost 30 years of service.

One of three generations of Gardiners in the pub trade, Vic’s father ran another Shepherd Neame pub, The Railway Telegraph, Forest Hill, from 1955 to 1980 and Vic’s son has been front-of-house, running The Hampton alongside him, for the last four years.

Another family recognised at the awards were brothers Phil and Steve Harris, licensees of The Sportsman, Seasalter, who received a special award in recognition of their achievement in winning a Michelin Star (see page 19).

Their sister, Gabrielle Harris, licensee of The Granville, Lower Hardres, Canterbury, also scooped the Pub Restaurant of the Year award.

Below: L-R - Terry Hanifan, Chris Hanifan and Martin Smith from Guinness

Below: L-R - Glenice Dowsett, Peter Dowsett and Steve Cassells from Bulmers

L-R: Fiona Harris, Mark Harris and Keith Isaacs from Patriarche

2008

Left: Eva Korzeniowska and Chris Parr from BOC Gases

Below: Hazel Smith and Vic Gardiner

Above: Julie McNally and Paul Clarke from KFF Above: L-R - Melanie Maclean, Chris Maclean and Steve Cassells

Above: L-R - Phil Harris, Gabrielle Harris and Steve Harris

Above: Joy Taylor and Kevin Taylor

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Jonathan Neame, Tracey Watson, Caroline McFarland from Arrochar Associates and Marc Watson

Sun Lik plans Olympian effort in 2008 With the Beijing Olympics upon us, Sun Lik Beer is set to be the drink of choice in 2008 as more consumers join the trend for all things Chinese.

First brewed in Hong Kong in 1890, Sun Lik, brewed under licence at Faversham by Shepherd Neame, makes a fitting companion for the world’s largest sporting event.

As China opens up to the world, we are learning more about the nation’s food, drink, culture and customs.

Pan-Asian bars and restaurants are reaping the benefits of a wave of interest of all things Oriental, as consumers look to try something new.

Sun Lik Beer is delicious on its own but also makes a great partner for Thai fishcakes, king prawns or Asian curries.

The Year of the Earth Rat is a busy one for Sun Lik, as the beer continues to support an Anglo Chinese P1 powerboat team. Sun Lik Beer is the headline sponsor of the Ocean Dragon racing team in the Powerboat P1 World Championship – the maritime equivalent of Formula One racing. But once the curtain rises on Beijing 2008, even more sports fans will be looking for products with an Oriental flavour.

Brand manager Oliver Scott said: “The number eight has connotations of wealth and success in Chinese culture, which is why the Beijing Olympics will begin at eight minutes and eight seconds past eight on August 8, the eighth day of the eighth month.

Sun Lik, already the UK’s number one draught Chinese lager and like the number eight, Sun Lik becomes synonymous with success.”

Ales hailed by international experts Two ales from Shepherd Neame were honoured in the European Star Award 2007, announced at the BRAU Beviale trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany.

Whitstable Bay Organic Ale won a bronze medal in the English-Style Ale category and Master Brew Kentish Ale won bronze in the English-Style Best Bitter category in a blind tasting of hundreds of beers from all over the world.

The jury of 54 brewing experts from 12 nations convened at Brauakademie Doemens, in Gräfelfing, Germany, in October, to taste 575 beers from 28 countries in the competition, now in its fourth year.

Organisers said the European Beer Star Award was established “to honour special and authentic beers with a character of their own, beers that stand out in taste and quality.”

Meanwhile Goldings Summer Hop Ale was voted best Summer Pale Ale in the World Beer Awards run by Beers of the World, the international consumer beer magazine.

Spitfire wins export award Spitfire Premium Kentish Ale was crowned the EU Protected Food Name Exporter of the Year at the Food from Britain Export Awards 2007.

Spitfire has Protected Geographical Indication status, a guarantee of provenance and heritage enjoyed by distinctive regional products such as Parma Ham, Cheddar Cheese and Champagne.

The award is given in recognition of Shepherd Neame’s outstanding commitment towards protecting the unique character, reputation and heritage of its products abroad.

Export manager Nick Harding receives the award

Six Nations – One Spitfire

John Adams, Chief Executive of Food from Britain, said: “This award is a real indication of how well recognised and respected Britain’s food heritage has become internationally. To successfully achieve EU Protected Food Name Status is a real achievement and then to win this award shows real commitment.

Shepherd Neame is very deserving of this award and results show the benefit that developing international sales can have on overall business performance.”

Rugby-themed ads from Spitfire Premium Ale’s acclaimed Bottle of Britain campaign have been run throughout the RBS Six Nations 2008.

The ad campaign started with a 48-page branded supplement in the Evening Standard, followed by a series of ads on the sports pages throughout the competition.

Battle of Britain hero bid for ‘Fourth Plinth’ Spitfire Ale is supporting a new campaign that claims have the solution over what to do with the empty ‘fourth plinth’ at Trafalgar Square.

Speaking at the campaign’s launch, he said: “Trafalgar Square commemorates Nelson, who defended England in her hour of need. Yet, amazingly, there is no public memorial to Sir Keith Park. It is hard to imagine that the Fourth Plinth could serve a greater purpose than commemorating a man who did so much for this country.“ The campaign is encouraging visitors to its website, www.sirkeithpark.com, to sign an online petition calling for the memorial.

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Historians, politicians and former military officers are calling for a permanent memorial to Battle of Britain hero Sir Keith Park, who orchestrated the decisive engagement.

Among the big names supporting the project are London mayoral candidate Boris Johnson MP, Tony Benn and broadcaster Sir Patrick Moore.

Sir Keith, a New Zealander, played a crucial role in winning the Battle of Britain. Speaking shortly after the war

Lord Tedder, Marshal of the Royal Air Force, said of Park: “If any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I do not believe it is realised how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgement and his skill, did to save, not only this country, but the world.”

Originally built in 1841, the plinth was not given a permanent monument due to a lack of funding at the time.

However, a recent project to use the plinth as temporary host to modern artworks has been dogged with controversy and Kiwi businessman and historian Terry Smith has stepped in to call for a fitting honour for his compatriot.

Brewery Draymen Steve Jessup (kneeling) and Chris Gibbens, topping up the new Volvo Euro V’s SCR system

Shepherd Neame is the first company in the UK to purchase state-of-the-art Euro V Volvo trucks, equipped with a new generation of diesel engines with lower fuel consumption and extremely low emissions.

Euro V Drays drive up environmental standards The drays are not just compliant with London’s new Low Emission Zone (LEZ), which came into force on February 4, but also meet high environmental standards which will not be required until 2012.

In addition to having highly efficient combustion, the Euro V drays have a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system which turns harmful nitrogen oxide gases into harmless nitrogen and

water vapour, achieving emission levels way in advance of current legislation.

Production and distribution director Ian Dixon says: “We are the only HGV fleet in the UK to have these vehicles which are a new generation of diesel engines. We are proud to be not just adhering to the latest standards but exceeding them many years ahead of the game.”

Visitor centre success The brewery has been voted one of the best tourist attractions in the South East after it was named runner-up in the Small Visitor Attraction of the Year category at the Tourism ExSEllence Awards.

Visitor centre manager Graham Hukins and tour guide Clare Hewitt received the award from TV presenter Jenny Powell at a Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony at the Wentworth Club, Surrey.

Tourism South East is Britain’s largest regional tourism association, covering nine counties. The category was open to any attraction in the region that welcomes fewer than 50,000 visitors a year and the Shepherd Neame Visitor Centre was the only attraction in Kent to make the shortlist.

Taverners learn

the art of brewing Two beer enthusiasts outbid the opposition in a charity auction to secure the ale-lover’s day of a lifetime.

Mark Plant and Dave Marshall bought the Brewer for a Day experience in a Young Lords Taverners evening at one of our London pubs, the Old Doctor Butler’s Head

Mark and Dave learning the ropes in the keg plant

Brewers David Holmes and Chris Gregson took them on a tour of Faversham pubs before treating them to dinner at The Anchor, with plenty of chat on the subject of brewing.

The following morning, their guests were up at 6am to mash in, eat a brewer’s breakfast, and have a hands-on experience of making beer.

Their 24 hours as brewers concluded with a Master of Beer course, courtesy of Ian Barsby, and lunch.

News

Top of the hops 10 interesting facts about hops • The Latin name for the hop is ‘Humulus lupulus’ or wolf of the woods.

Preserving the heritage of hop-growing Shepherd Neame has put aside an acre of land at Queen Court Farm to house part of the National Hop Collection of historic varieties of hops, some more than a century old, creating a new attraction for the public.

This summer, work will begin to erect stringing and a viewing platform with a walkway around the hop growing area. A visit to the collection could be built into brewery tours as early as next summer.

Britain’s collection of historic hops, previously held at Wye College, is now in the care of renowned hop farmer Tony Redsell at China Farm, Harbledown.

He said: “We are putting in three plants of each of 100 or more varieties from the historic collection, hops that have been used in this country and around the world for many years.

“Some varieties will reach the top of the wire this summer. Our staff will spray them once every 10 days during the growing season but they will not be harvested during the first year.”

Production and distribution director Ian Dixon said: “This is not about commercial hop-growing, more about preserving varieties valued by breeders over the years for their strong natural attributes, such as flavour and character. Queen Court Farm will be a place where the public can see these hops growing in situ and, where possible, we hope to use these hops in the occasional brew.”

Beer writer Roger Protz said that hops were “the grapes of brewing” and that English hops were unlike hops grown in any other country, with their own unique aromas and flavours.

He said: “They do far more than give essential bitterness to beer. They also add superb piney, spicy, peppery and fruity characteristics to our national drink. It is essential that all English hop varieties are saved not only for the future but as an essential part of the history of brewing in Britain.”

• Hops are used as a ‘herb’ or as flavouring.

• The hop is essential in the bittering, preservation and flavouring of beer.

• Only the females bear the hop cones required in the brewing process.

• The parts that form the cone are known as petals.

• ‘Bines’ are the hop plant laden with the all important cones.

• The plants are perennials, produced from cuttings, and can be expected to be productive for 10 to 20 years or more.

• The UK hop harvesting season is traditionally in the month of September.

• Drying of the hop cones takes place in a kiln or oast house, which is a familiar sight in the landscape of Kent and Sussex.

• Hops are one of Nature’s natural antibiotics, are rich in antioxidants and have been used through the centuries as a traditional medicine.

First Gold

Propagated in Kent in 1875 by Richard Fuggle. Widely used in traditional English ales and frequently used alongside Goldings, for which it forms a perfect base. Excellent in every style of ale, the Fuggle brings particular sensuality to porters and stouts. Often used as a dry hop so as to bring together flavours and provide character.

KEY FLAVOURS: earthy and grassy.

First Gold is one of England’s revolutionary new dwarf hop varieties. It is a cross between Whitbread’s Golding variety and a dwarf male and has many of the Golding’s flavour and characteristics. A very adaptable all year round hop for fruity bitters, old ales, stronger flavoured summer beers and IPAs. KEY FLAVOURS: citrus character, orange peel and dried apricot.

East Kent Goldings

The Target hop was bred by HRI-Wye in 1972 as a bittering hop. However its flavour characteristics have outperformed expectations. Although many brewers regard it as a difficult hop to grow, those who have persevered manage to obtain distinctive results.

KEY FLAVOURS: orange, marmalade, peppery geranium.

First developed in the 1700s, Goldings consist of a group of traditional English hop varieties, including Amos’ Early Bird, Cobbs, Canterbury, Eastwell, Golding, Bramling and Mathon.

The Golding is often described as ‘quintessentially English’.

KEY FLAVOURS: citrus sweet, lemon, floral, violets, apricot.

The Target

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Fuggle

New pub name remembers Ditton’s quarrying past A pub named by its local community will open its doors in Ditton this spring.

The company has invested £200,000 turning the village’s former working men’s club into a comfortable and welcoming local.

Winner Julie Read

© KM Group

Local people were invited to suggest names for the new pub, through a competition run in conjunction with the Kent Messenger newspaper. Julie Read, who lives in nearby Woodlands Road, suggested the winning name - The Kentish Quarryman.

The name refers to Ditton’s ragstone quarry, behind the pub in New Road, which was one of the main industries in the village before quarrying finished in the mid-1980s. Mrs Read said: “It will bring a bit of history back to Ditton. The quarry is a lovely place to go for a walk and that is one of the reasons why I chose the name.” Mrs Read will be a guest of honour at the pub’s opening ceremony, where she will pull the first pint.

The Kentish Quarryman will have a bright, airy environment throughout with an open fireplace, painted timber panelling and slate and carpeted flooring.

A partitioned meetings and functions room has been created and existing windows replaced with attractive sash windows. There will also be a patio area with picket fence at the front of the building, and a smart new roof made from reclaimed Welsh slate tiles.

Pub

East Sussex publicans do the double Two Shepherd Neame pubs in East Sussex have been voted Pub of the Year by readers of their local newspaper.

The Bull Inn at St Leonards scooped the Pub of the Year Award for the second year running, as voted for by readers of the Hastings and St Leonards Observer. Licensees John and Dawn Buckingham (left) have been at the pub for four years and have created a community-spirited pub, focusing on good beer and good food.

The Cinque Ports Arms in Rye was awarded Pub of the Year by the Rye and Battle Observer. Readers chose the traditional pub for the

welcoming atmosphere created by licensees Neil and Jana Sheppard (below), as well as the pub’s good beer, top quality pub food and live music every Saturday.

Game on!

The Woolpack, Chilham held a ‘Beer and Game’ dinner to support the British Association of Shooting and Conservation’s Taste of Game Week.

A sumptuous four-course menu of game dishes matched with Shepherd Neame ales, was served-up to a fullybooked restaurant.

The menu included: mixed game terrine paired with Spitfire Kentish ale, roast breast of pheasant with Bishops Finger Strong Kentish ale, venison

casserole with Late Red Autumn Hop ale and a dessert of vanilla parfait with 1698 Bottle Conditioned Ale. Top quality local game was supplied by local butchers JC Rook and Son. Head brewer David Holmes gave diners an expert guide to beer tasting as well as tips on matching beer with food.

Now pub manager Louise Grattan plans to make game dishes a permanent feature on The Woolpack menu.

L-R: Shepherd Neame head brewer David Holmes, The Woolpack chef Mark Waldock and The Woolpack manager Louise Grattan

Sportsman’s star turn The Sportsman, Seasalter has been awarded a Michelin star for the exceptional quality of its cuisine.

The pub was listed in the Michelin 2008 Great Britain and Ireland Guide in January. Michelin stars are awarded to restaurants on the basis of the cooking and presentation of the food on the plate. The food is judged on the quality of the ingredients, their preparation, the combination of flavours, imagination and consistency.

The Shepherd Neame pub is run by brothers Philip and Stephen Harris, who have developed and refined the pub and its menu over the past eight years. Stephen, the head chef, creates seasonal menus that showcase his ability to create outstanding dishes based on the best quality local produce.

Philip and Stephen Harris at The Sportsman, Seasalter

News

In the past the pub has received a number of awards for the quality of its cuisine including the Which?

Good Food Guide South East Restaurant of the Year, the Shepherd Neame Pub Restaurant Award and was a runner-up in The Observer Food Monthly Best Sunday Lunch Award.

Stephen said: “We use the best produce from Kent but it’s down to our chefs to bring out the best in it; as even the best ingredients can be messed up quite easily.

“This is a brilliant endorsement of how we run the pub and demonstrates that we must be getting things right.

“Our philosophy is very simple; we are the kind of place that has paper napkins, we do not have a dining room and people eat in the pub.”

Special places to stay A selection of Shepherd Neame pubs are featured in Alistair Sawday’s Special Places to Stay: Pubs and Inns of England and Wales (5th edition). The new guide, which is published on 24 April, features over 900 outstanding pubs in England and Wales.

The guide features an original mix of gastro-pubs, well-loved boozers, flagged floors, real ale and memorable wines.

Sawday Publishing has teamed up with Master Brewer to give away 10 copies of the guide. Simply answer the following question: More than how many pubs are featured in the guide?

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Horse & Groom, Rushlake Green

A 500 B 900 C 1200 Send your entries on a postcard to: Master Brewer, The Mill House, Hollingworth Court, Ashford Road, Maidstone, ME14 5PP

Refurbishments Crown fit for a king

All ship shape at Crossways pub

The Crown Inn, School Road, Chislehurst has a refitted and reorganised bar, restaurant (below) and function room following a £45,000 refurbishment.

A new fireplace has made the large restaurant more cosy and relaxed.

The Wharf, Crossways, Dartford has been given a £70,000 refurbishment, including features reminiscent of the area’s maritime history, including Thames barge sails in traditional oxblood red behind the bar (right) and a bespoke awning constructed from a tensile sail cover for the new outdoor smoking area.

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A River Thames mural has been added above the entrance.

Manager Marc Watson said: “One aspect of the work I particularly like are the pair of corresponding murals which portray the Thames in 1698 when Shepherd Neame was founded and as it now appears in the 21st century. They really add to the pub’s sense of heritage.”

Managers Tracy and Marc Watson

Rosy outlook for gardeners

The function room can accommodate 60 to 70 people and the pub’s kitchen offers a range of menus to suit all manner of events such as wedding receptions, christenings and birthday celebrations.

Higham pub The Gardeners Arms has been given a £35,000 garden refurbishment featuring an attractive walled two-tiered garden, making good use of a small, previously unused area.

The top tier consists of a covered timber-framed structure and the lower tier mixes hard landscaping with a variety of planting. Other features include a water feature and mood lighting.

New-look Farnham Plough has family appeal The Plough, West Street, Farnham has been completely refurbished and redecorated to create a warm, traditional local which appeals to everyone.

New-look and new licensees for the Lamb The Lamb, in Church Lane, Ripe, near Lewes, East Sussex, has undergone a £40,000 refurbishment by the brewery.

The bar area has been improved and redecorated, maintaining the traditional character of the pub and its cosy interior.

(L-R) Licensee Neil Jones, Shepherd Neame’s George Barnes, licensee Alix Elvin join pub regular Mick Cain to pull the first pint to celebrate the reopening of the pub.

(L-R) Father David who blessed the pub, Jonathan Neame, regular Kenny Hutton, tenant Frank Mead and Tommy Bean who accepted a cheque on behalf of Cancer Research

New licensees chef David Reffold and partner Ann Sawyer, a local for over 30 years, who worked in the pub eight years ago, took over at the beginning of March.

Licensee Frank Mead commented: “Our new garden is an eye-catching retreat for all our customers, especially families, and makes great use of a previously unused outside area.

We’ve seen a definite rise in trade as a result of the transformation.”

The £100,000 refurbishment includes the introduction of dark wood flooring and panelling and lots of snug alcoves for small groups.

The interior décor features Queen Anne style chairs, sofas and an attractive fireplace. The garden has a freshly laid lawn and a heated covered area.

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Acquisitions

Best Beech Inn lives up to its name The brewery acquired the Best Beech Inn, Mayfield Lane, near Wadhurst in November and has since invested £65,000 refurbishing the pub.

The refurbishment involved removing a number of interior walls to create more customer space, introducing contemporary seating and wood-burners.

The large restaurant and seven letting bedrooms have been redecorated and

Riviera garden for Royal Albion Visitors to the Royal Albion, Broadstairs, can enjoy better views of the beach and relax in a stylish new garden better suited to cope with poor weather.

The lawn, which could get muddy during rainy spells, has been replaced by modern travertine stone paving, interspersed with “Riviera-style” planting which will provide colour, scent and interest all year round.

The paving, and decking areas with ramped access, will allow the garden to be used in all weathers.

The next phase of the pub’s refurbishment moves indoors, with the aim of restoring the Royal Albion to its Regency grandeur.

a giant umbrella erected in the large garden for smokers. New tenant Paul Russell plans to transform the pub’s menu by offering simple, wholesome dishes using ingredients from local suppliers, including a carvery on Sundays.

A traditional country pub, the Best Beech is located between Wadhurst and Marks Cross in East Sussex. The acquisition takes the number of Shepherd Neame pubs in East Sussex to 40.

Best Beech Inn

Computer bus display is just the ticket!

Customers waiting for a bus at the Prince of Wales in Churchill Square, Brighton, can sup up and queue up at the same time!

Licensee Aron Barnes (left) has arranged for the city council to install a screen behind the bar displaying arrival and departure details at the nearby bus station.

The new screen means Prince of Wales customers know whether there’s time for a pint or just a swift half.

Aron commented: “We get lots of shoppers and shop workers coming into the pub while they wait for a bus.

They were always asking for the timetable book we kept behind the bar.

“This new system is fantastic.

Previously, customers would have to sit outside or keep looking out the window to see if their bus had arrived.

This will save a lot of stiff necks!”

ess! l, Stop pirer te d The George Ho

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acqu The brewery has utique Kent’s foremost bo of e on k, oo AA Cranbr an s ld ho l’s brasserie od hotels. The hote Fo od Go e Th ted in both ial rosette and is lis ec Sp Alistair Sawday’s Guide 2008 and England of ns In d an bs Places to Stay: Pu ition e Autumn 2008 ed and Wales. See th . ils ta de ll fu r fo of Master Brewer

Fitting tribute to

Bill Deedes

© Daily Telegraph

The brewery has marked the death of veteran journalist W F Deedes, a dedicated supporter of the Shepherd Neame Kent Journalist of the Year Awards, by naming one of the award categories after the former newspaper editor and politician.

A photograph from The Remarkable Lives of Bill Deedes

In consultation with his family, it was decided the most fitting tribute to pay to Lord Deedes would be to name an award after him which recognised his support for Kent’s young writing talent.

Lord “Bill” Deedes was chairman of the judging panel of the awards for 17 years, and the W F Deedes Kent Young Journalist of the Year Award, presented for the first time to Danny Boyle of the Bromley and Bexley Extra

by Deedes’ daughter Lucy, has been renamed in his memory.

At the 20th awards event, an audience of more than 90 journalists and editors from Kent’s media heard a speech by Deedes’ biographer, Stephen Robinson, in which he praised the former Daily Telegraph editor and peer for working hard to encourage and support young people in the profession.

Mr Robinson described Deedes as “a life-long supporter and confidant to generations of young journalists”.

He said: “Because his family lost out in the Crash of 1929, Bill could not go to university, so he began like so many others as a cub reporter, scrapping to make a living. He shared the sense of thrill and trepidation any teenager feels on reporting for work at a newspaper – in his case in the year Hoover was in the White House, Ramsay MacDonald in Downing Street, and the Empire State Building was topped out in Manhattan.”

Jonathan Neame said: “Over the past 20 years, the Kent Journalist of the Year Awards have become an important part of Kent’s media calendar, encouraging and rewarding the highest standards of reporting. The involvement of such an icon of journalism as the late Lord Deedes helped to establish their unrivalled reputation and his valued contribution will leave its mark for many years to come.”

This year’s awards attracted a record 120 entries and were judged by a panel comprising former BBC Radio

Kent broadcaster Barbara Sturgeon; Kim Fletcher, former editorial director of the Telegraph Group and chairman of the NCTJ; Tim Luckhurst, professor of journalism at the University of Kent and a former editor of The Scotsman; and Justin Allen, from the sports desk of The Sun and the News of the World.

Kent Journalist of the Year Awards winners

The Kent Journalist of the Year 2007 was Colin Campbell, of BBC South East Today, also winner of the Bishops Finger Kent Broadcast Journalist of the Year category, who was complimented for his “compelling and immensely watchable reports”.

‘The best journalist in the world’ Extracts from Stephen Robinson’s speech at the Shepherd Neame Kent journalist of the year awards Let me tell you why I think Bill was such a good reporter, or to use his friend Sir Denis Thatcher’s description, “the best bloody journalist in the world”. He had a natural writing fluency. He had an immense curiosity about the world around him, whether that was England, or Africa. He had impeccable manners, which meant that he put a tie on not just to have a drink with an ambassador but also to visit the woman whose house had been destroyed in a natural disaster in the developing world. He insisted on looking smart, not because it made him seem grand but because it made the person he was interviewing feel important and respected.

He was without prejudice. This meant that his mind was uncluttered and he remained receptive to new ideas even in advanced old age. So he could master Word on his PC when he was in his eighties, and email when he was in his nineties.

He had an essential humility, which meant that when he retired as editor of The Daily Telegraph in 1986, he was not too grand to return to his first love, reporting, and get back on the road again, roaming all over the world into his nineties Above all, he believed journalists should never forget how lucky they are. “A reporter shares the bench with the coach and physio and the substitutes,” he once wrote. “From there he sees more of the game than they see from the directors’ box.” He believed that it was much better to be a reporter, finding out new information, than to pontificate from on high as a columnist, and he was sure there were far too many columns in contemporary newspapers. And he believed that to report properly, you have to get down to street level, and that sometimes you have to get your feet dirty.

It was that professionalism and drive, that devotion and attention to detail, that sustained the longest Fleet Street career of them all.

Stephen Robinson’s book, The Remarkable Lives of Bill Deedes was published on March 27

Walks breathe life into Faversham countryside The brewery has helped to launch four new circular walks to promote Faversham as Kent’s premier walking destination for a short break.

The themed walks are the culmination of two years’ work by the Faversham Enterprise Partnership and a £100,000 investment to upgrade signage and access on each of four routes in the Faversham area and improve information about the excellent walks to be found in the area: • The Peasants’ Last Revolt (Boughton, Hernhill, Dargate, Dunkirk) • Syndale Valley Walk (Newnham, Eastling, Stalisfield, Doddington) • A Walk on the Wild Side (Faversham, Davington, Oare, Luddenham) • Footsteps of Royalty & Romans (Faversham, Ospringe, Painter’s Forstal, Brogdale) Packaged in a waterproof A5 carry-case, the self-guided walks are designed to be practical for walkers, with comprehensive fold-out guides to each of the four routes. Each guide details the history and heritage, landmark buildings and flora and fauna of the route.

Boxing champion Barry McGuigan joins the walks’ launch

A map and recommendations of accommodation, visitor attractions, pubs, restaurants and tea rooms are also included along with special offers.

The walking routes are split into sections allowing walkers to choose where to start and finish.

Packs can be requested from faversham.org/walking or simply downloaded from the website and printed off at home. A range of discounts for businesses in the area is also available from the website.

Walking dates for the diary Ramble for Rod

Kent Charity Walk

One of the Faversham Walks will be the route for the Ramble for Rod on Sunday 21 April to raise funds for the Rod Kesson Benefit Fund. Rod Kesson was the company doctor who died suddenly of a heart attack.

Organised by his wife Monica Kesson, the 8-mile circular walk will start and finish at Faversham Football club with a refreshment break at The Three Mariners, Oare.

The 13th annual Kent Charity Walk takes place on Sunday 18 May to raise money for 11 Kent hospices. Sponsored and organised by Shepherd Neame and the Kent Messenger Group, it will be an 11-mile walk starting at Charing.

For more details and an entry form, look out for a form in your local Kent Messenger newspaper, log on to www.shepherdneame.co.uk, telephone 01795 532173 or write to Louise Hopkins, Charity Walk, Shepherd Neame, 17 Court Street, Faversham ME13 7AX.

Hello sailors!

The two-day sponsored cycle ride on behalf of the Kent Air Ambulance coincided with HMS Kent’s arrival at

Portsmouth, where a team of six riders were flagged off by Commodore A J B Cameron Royal Navy the Commodore of the Portsmouth Flotilla.

The team followed a route through Kent, stopping for refreshment at the Blue Anchor in Crowborough, The Harrow in Hadlow and The Walnut Tree in East Farleigh, where they presented Jill Playle, head of fundraising at the Kent Air Ambulance with a cheque for £1,332.14.

Picture shows: Adam Lapin, Steve Edwards, Matthew Wellington, Scott Richardson, Stacie Tennent and Michael Perrin from HMS Kent with Jill Playle from the Kent Air Ambulance

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Three Shepherd Neame pubs welcomed a team of sailors from HMS Kent on a recent charity bike ride from Portsmouth to East Farleigh near Maidstone.

Supporting best of grassroots cricket This summer, the brewery is once again supporting the Shepherd Neame Twenty20 Club Championship in which some 210 cricket clubs from Kent, Essex, Surrey and Middlesex compete in this fast and furious version of the game.

Last years’ winners Finchley knocked finalists Bromley for six

Sport Nice little runner

The winners from each county’s knockout tournament will contest a finals day to be held at Kent County Cricket Club’s St Lawrence Ground at Canterbury on Sunday 14 September.

Last year, Finchley, from Middlesex, triumphed over Bromley, from Kent, Saffron Walden, from Essex, and Old Whitgiftians, from Surrey, to win the title at the County Ground, Beckenham.

New Sponsorships The brewery has signed a sponsorship deal with the Essex County Rugby Football Union which will support Essex rugby at both grassroots and county level for the current campaign and the next two seasons.

The deal includes Spitfire Ale shirt sponsorship for the Essex county side.

Shepherd Neame will put its name to the three county leagues, contested by 24 club sides, and the annual knockout cup.

Charlotte Edwards, the current Kent and England Ladies cricket captain, is to be sponsored by the brewery for the next season.

The 28-year-old will have the use of our distinctive Spitfire mini as she travels the country taking on South Africa in a Test Series and commutes between Kent and Cambridgeshire, where she works for cricket equipment company Hunts County Bats.

The right-handed opening bat and leg spin bowler became the youngest player to represent her country when she made her Test debut in 1996 against New Zealand.

Charlotte (below) played her first World Cup in India in December 1997, scoring a record One Day International total of 173* (2nd highest women’s ODI score) against Ireland, the day before her 18th birthday.

(L-R) Players Aaron Woodward and Gavin Scott, Shepherd Neame’s David Townshend and President of Essex RFC Mike Drinkwater

Meanwhile Shepherd Neame has signed a sponsorship agreement with Folkestone Invicta Football Club, of the Ryman League Premier Division.

The two-year sponsorship deal will see Folkestone Invicta first team players wearing shirts branded with Asahi Super Dry, which is served in Stripes, the club’s bar.

Published on behalf of Shepherd Neame by Edwards Harvey, The Mill House, Hollingworth Court, Maidstone, Kent ME14 5PP Printed on 80% recycled stock that has been awarded the NAPM and Eugropa recycled certificates

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(L-R) Folkestone officials Jim Pellatt and Peter Young, with club skipper Roland Edge and Martin McCague, David Townshend and Graeme Craig from Shepherd Neame