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18th September 2013

Kent Green Hop Beer Fortnight Fri 27th Sept – Fri 11th Oct 2013

Kent Green Hop brewers undeterred by long, hot summer
Kent brewers have been competing to make the fastest, freshest and most flavoursome beers for Kent Green Hop Beer Fortnight – which begins at the end of next week.
Old Dairy Brewery, in Rolvenden near Cranbrook, was the first to brew on 30th August and The Canterbury Ales was fastest – getting its fresh hops from bine to brew in just an hour and forty minutes, in a remarkable one-man brewing achievement.
But it’ll be up to beer drinkers to decide which is most flavoursome. They’ll have the chance to begin the tough task of comparing one beer with another when the Fortnight launches at Canterbury Food & Drink Festival on Friday 27th September. It will be the only time all the beers will be available simultaneously in the same place, but there will also be plenty of opportunity to drink them at the county’s pubs.
Despite brewers’ excitement it’s been a somewhat difficult season for the county’s hop growers. A long, cold spring followed by a late, but hot and dry, summer has meant smaller yields than last year – but experts say the hops are of very high quality.
“The main factor has been that – in many cases – the spring weather meant hops didn’t climb as quickly as they normally would. So the plants never produced enough of a framework to support a large crop,” says Dr Peter Darby of Wye Hops Ltd – a research centre for the British Hop Association.
He added, “The drought which followed meant they weren’t able to catch up. However, there were high numbers of cones (hop flowers) and less leaves than usual which made for a fast and productive harvest.”
Most of Kent’s hops are destined to be dried for later use but the county’s brewers rush to get hold of the first fresh hops of the harvest to make Kent Green Hop Beer which has lighter, fresher character than traditional dried hop brews and which many think of as the ale version of Beaujolais Nouveau wine.
Kent Green Hop Beer Fortnight was founded by the county’s brewers last year. This year’s two-week celebration includes a new brewery Open Day (on Sunday 6th October) featuring five East Kent breweries and giving people the chance to have a beer with the people that make it.
For further details of the Fortnight, including the East Kent Open Day, visit: www.kentgreenhopbeer.com
ENDS
For further information; trade session enquiries (see below); interview, filming, audio and image requests contact: 
Kent Green Hop Beer PR Manager,
Sophie Atherton on 07946 112 025 or sophieatherton@btinternet.com
Notes to editors and story hooks:
  1. There is a Kent Green Hop Beer trade session in Canterbury on Thursday 26th Sept where the media and bloggers are invited to try a selection of Kent Green Hop brews in advance of the launch at Canterbury Food & Drink Festival. Contact Sophie Atherton on the number above if you wish to attend or send a reporter.
  2. The first week of Kent Green Hop Beer Fortnight coincides with Cask Ale Week (27th Sept – 6th Oct) – and Kent Green Hop Beer is cask ale. More details of Cask Ale Week from:www.caskaleweek.co.uk.
  3. The Fortnight also overlaps with British Food Fortnight which runs from 21st September to 6th October 2013.
  4. The East Kent Open Day on 6th October includes: Gadds’ Ramsgate Brewery, The Foundry Brewpub, Goody Ales, Wantsum Brewery and The Canterbury Ales. Places can be booked on a bus tour of these breweries for £7.50 per person from the Ramsgate Brewery shop or by emailing: info@ramsgatebrewery.co.uk.
  5. The breweries taking part in 2013’s Kent Green Hop Beer Fortnight are:
    The Canterbury Ales; Canterbury Brewers/The Foundry Brewpub; Caveman; Cossack Brewery/The Phoenix; Goachers; Goody Ales; Hop Fuzz; Kent Brewery; Larkins Brewery; Mad Cat Brewery; Old Dairy Brewing Co Ltd; Shepherd Neame; Swan on the Green; Gadds’ Ramsgate Brewery; Ripple Steam; Tonbridge Brewery; Wantsum Brewery; Westerham Brewery and Whitstable Brewery.
  6. This year Kent Green Hop Beer Fortnight is sponsored by Simply Hops, part of the Barth-Haas Group – www.simplyhops.co.uk  
Sophie Atherton
Kent Green Hop Beer Fortnight PR Manager,
Freelance Journalist & Accredited Beer Sommelier
Mob: 07946 112 025
E: sophieatherton@btinternet.com
www.sophieatherton.co.uk
www.afemaleview.net
https://twitter.com/sophwrites