Faversham Hop Festival is back this Saturday and Sunday, with brewer and publican Shepherd Neame returning as principal sponsor for another year.
The Faversham-based independent business has a host of hop-related offerings to mark the festivities through the weekend, including free beer and a rare glimpse into the brewery for families.
The town will come alive with music across four stages and in pubs and other venues throughout the town. More than 70 bands and acts will be performing, and there will be dedicated busker areas and Morris dancing, along with a fairground, magic shows, and more.
A number of the brewer’s historic vehicles will feature in the morning parades through the town which traditionally open each day of the festival.
Shepherd Neame is also sponsoring the main Brewery Stage over the weekend, outside its Court Street brewery, with a music line-up that runs throughout the day from 10.45am until 5.20pm.
It has teamed up with Herne Bay artist Peter Gander to create a special Shepherd Neame Hop Spots map to help festival-goers navigate the many venues and line-ups, including its own nine pubs in the town. A digital copy of the map will be available online, and as a banner at selected Shepherd Neame pubs.
Shepherd Neame’s popular brewery tours are normally only open to adults, but festival-oers of all ages will be able to enjoy special family tours throughout the weekend. Tours will be held on both Saturday and Sunday.
Beer lovers will be pleased to hear that seasonal favourite Late Red (4.5% ABV) will be on offer at selected pubs during the weekend, alongside New World XPA (5.1% ABV), the latest in Shepherd Neame’s Small Batch range of limited edition, craft keg beers.
This year’s limited edition green hop ale Hop Pocket (4.5% ABV) will also be unveiled at the festival. Beer is usually brewed with dried hops, but Hop Pocket is made using fresh green hops which go from bine to beer in a matter of hours, giving it a delicious aroma and earthy kick.
Shift brewer Scott Wilkins (pictured above) travelled the short distance from the Faversham brewery to Parsonage Farm, Boughton-under-Blean last Monday to select and help pick the first hops of the year for the brew with farmer Antony Rudgard-Redsell.
“Faversham Hop Festival is a brilliant celebration of our hop heritage in Kent, and Shepherd Neame has been proud to support the event since it was first held more than three decades ago,” said brewery chief executive Jonathan Neame.
“It provides a fantastic boost to our town, attracting thousands over the weekend, and we look forward to joining in the celebrations across our pubs and at the brewery.”
