BEERS + WINES + SPIRITS
FROM AROUND KENT
When it comes to beers, wines and spirits we love products that are produced in the county of Kent. You will find a selection below, but there are lots more from Kent and a far in store.
ROMNEY MARSH BREWERY ALES
MADE IN ROMNEY + ALES
Romney Marsh Brewery is a family-run brewery in a unique rural setting – Romney Marsh, Kent – on the East Sussex border and by the sea.
The company launched in May 2015 and the team consists of husband and wife Matt Calais and Cathy Koester and Matt’s dad Brian Calais. Head brewer Matt worked in television for 16 years and was the former executive producer of the Channel 4 series Come Dine with Me. American-born Cathy spent the previous two decades working in Parliament in the UK and for the British music industry. Having passed a lot of their free time enjoying the very small batch ales Matt was producing at home, the couple decided to take the plunge and scale up their hobby into a full-time business venture.
The barley and wheat used is sourced in Britain as are whole flower British hops. They are also big fans of New World hops, particularly whole flower varieties from the USA. By combining the indigenous and the remote, they have successfully created a distinctive range of great tasting ales that you will want to return to time and time again.
THE CANTERBURY ALES
LOCALLY MADE + CANTERBURY ALES + HANDCRAFTED
Established in 2010 we have been making our range of hand-crafted ales for pubs all over Kent for more than five years. In 2014 our Merchant's Ale, a 4% "mild stout", was judged by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) to be not just the best beer in Kent, but the best beer in the South East of England
As well as our range of "character" beers named after the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales we produce regular monthly specials which have proved hugely popular. These range from Black IPAs to Rauchbeers, APAs to Golden Ryes and are usually (but not always) single hop brews.
GADDS ALES
MADE IN RAMSGATE + HANDCRAFTED
Lois and Eddie Gadd founded the brewery in the back of a dodgy boozer on Ramsgate seafront, trading there for 4 years and building up a few customers along the way. In early 2005 they made a run for it, escaping to a light industrial unit at the back of town, away from the humdrum and the grind.
The brewery has expanded since those days and now employs a gang of ne'erdowells and skivvers to help craft and deliver fresh, tasty, local ale to the fresh, tasty, local people along the East Kent coast.
SHEPHERD NEAME
MADE IN FAVERSHAM + SINCE 1698
You may know Shepherd Neame for their traditional Kentish ales such as Spitfire, Master Brew and Bishops Finger, but they also brew award-winning lagers including Hürlimann, Samuel Adams and the popular Whitstable Bay Collection alongside a range of seasonal brews available through the year.
The iconic hop gardens of Kent surround the Faversham Brewery, inspiring their brewers to create award-winning, distinctive beer.If you're looking for bottled ales, whether using traditional or perhaps more unusual ingredients, we have something that will intrigue and delight in equal measure.
CURIOUS BREW
MADE IN ASHFORD + SINCE 1698
We are The Curious Brewery. Where flavour and passion comes first. We believe in trying to create things that others can’t.
Our reason for being is to inspire people to stay curious. To question. To celebrate. To smile more. And to never graduate from the school of life. We decided to make the best-tasting beer and cider, using just the best quality ingredients and our skill as England’s leading winemakers.
First and foremost we make beer that we want to drink and which we know is a better beer. We apply the passion we have for ingredients, use our endless thirst for knowledge, and apply our unique winemaker’s skill to make distinctive beers of soul and purpose. Beer of unique balance, style and which does what we think great beer should do first and last - Refresh.
THE KENT CIDER COMPANY
MADE IN FAVERSHAM + EST 2007
The Kent Cider Co. was formed by Mark and Serena Henderson in 2007. Since their small beginningʼs it has grown into the renowned company it is today. Stocking pubs, bars, deliʼs and restaurants and at events and farmers markets throughout the year.
Based in Oare Creek, their award-winning craft ciders are made from Faversham Apples, traditionally pressed and in an exciting array of flavours for every palette.
Kent Cider Co. has garnered over 18 awards as well receiving accolades in the national press and tv appearances. The Kent Cider Company use a large range of interesting and unusual fruits in the production of their award-winning ciders. Heritage varieties from their own orchards are blended with traditional Kent orchard fruits.
KENTISH PIP CIDER
KENT CRAFT CIDER + MADE IN CANTERBURY
It all starts with apples. Kentish Pip is based at Woolton Farm, near Canterbury where the Mount Family has been growing apples for four generations.
Using this huge knowledge base and a wide range of varieties we blend a selection of dessert, culinary and cider apples, giving a wonderful fruity Kentish cider with plenty of depth and interest.
Our apples are harvested at their optimum ripeness and pressed within days to capture the full flavour and aroma.
The juice is fermented carefully through the cold winter months and then matured, all in individual single varieties.
Using real fruit means our base ciders vary from batch to batch and season to season, depending on a number of factors but most importantly the Great British weather.
To ensure consistent quality and flavour, all ciders are blended to taste in small batches with the final product approved through a strict criteria by at least two members of our tasting panel.
BIDDENDEN CIDERS
MADE IN BIDDENDEN + MADE WITH KENT APPLES
BIDDENDEN WINES
MADE IN BIDDENDEN + EST 1969
Originally home to a 40 acre apple orchard, the Barnes family started to consider diversifying the farm in the late 1960s. After listing to a radio feature on English vineyards being replanted, Mrs Barnes was inspired to turn to viticulture. In 1969, one-third of an acre of vines was planted and Biddenden Vineyards was born.
Today the single estate vineyard spans 23 acres of gentle south facing slopes situated in a sheltered valley, just outside the picturesque Wealden village of Biddenden. 11 different grape varieties are grown here to produce its array of award-winning White, Rosé, Red and Sparkling English wines. The knowledge which the family has built up through experience over the years can be seen in the quality and consistency of the wines produced year on year.
BARNSOLE WINES
MADE IN STAPLE + KENT WINES
Barnsole is a boutique vineyard, a winery, and two passionate winemakers who strive to produce premium quality English wines.
Our vineyard is located in the picturesque country village of Staple, situated between the historic city of Canterbury and the delightful cinque-port town of Sandwich. This is fertile land that has been farmed since ancient times. The (loam over chalk) soil regularly offers-up relics such as Napoleonic buttons, musket balls and the odd clay pipe that was discarded by a farm hand, long, long ago.
Only when the fruit is fully ripe do we gently hand harvest and process with care to maintain the freshness and varietal expression.
Fruit for sparkling wine is whole bunch pressed. The fruit destined for still wine is crushed or destemmed, depending upon the wine style required. The juice is clarified and then fermented in closed stainless steel tanks to maintain its freshness and aroma.
Sparkling base wines are bottled in the spring following harvest. We add only a pinch of sugar and some yeast, then we leave the wine to ferment a second time in the bottle, followed by eighteen months in the cellar to impart the sparkling finesse that we seek.
All of our wines are purposely dynamic and will improve with time. Pursuing this philosophy, we allow our wines to rest comfortably in our cellars to develop before release. We aim to produce 20,000 bottles each year.
MANOR WINES
MADE IN ADISHAM + KENT WINES
We are based just outside Canterbury, where we have our wine stores and office. Chain stores and other larger operators have inherent disadvantages when it comes to good wine: interesting, individual wine that is unique to its birthplace tends to be the result of small-scale labour-intensive methods. And it’s very difficult for these large organisations to deal with small producers, none of whom produce enough to be offered in all their outlets. On the other hand, this is a perfect situation for the independent merchant, who can forge close links directly with the winemaker and take a real interest in their business, building up a long-term relationship to the benefit of both.
ANNO GIN
MADE IN MARDEN + KENT GINS
In 2011, our founders Dr Andy Reason and Dr Norman Lewis left behind their roles as scientists to pursue their passion for craft spirits and open Kent's first gin distillery in 200 years. With one eye on the science behind making quality spirits and another on proudly displaying all that their home county of Kent has to offer, they duly created Anno Distillers and began the journey of a lifetime.
Nestled away in the sleepy yet picturesque village of Marden is where the magic happens. We utilise our skills to craft products designed for your pleasure, full of both intense flavours and subtle notes. But perhaps most of all, each and every one of our employees has a real passion for what we do, helping to ensure that each bottle is bursting with our famous flavours.
DOCKYARD GIN
MADE IN CHATHAM + KENT GINS
The Copper Rivet Distillery is an exciting and dynamic new Medway based craft distillery. Drawing upon the area’s rich tradition of innovation and craft, the team will toil together to produce small batches of exceptional gins, whiskies and vodkas from scratch in bespoke stills, with the same skill that local craftsmen once fashioned world-class ships.
We’re the only spirit maker in Kent, and one of just a few in the UK that undertakes the complete process of brewing and distilling from grain to glass, ensuring our range of premium spirits is totally distinctive and unique.
Set in the historic and magnificent Victorian Pump House No. 5, our distillery is open for tours. Come meet the team to see how we make and produce our range of spirits, explore and see firsthand the distilling process in action, play and experiment with flavour profiling in our laboratory and sup and savour some of our spirits for yourselves.
CHAPEL DOWN GIN
MADE IN TENTERDEN + KENT GINS
This limited edition gin was produced with distilled Bacchus grape skins and infused with juniper, coriander, elderflower, orris, angelica, lavender, orange peel and lemon.
A highly aromatic gin created by our winemakers using distilled Bacchus grape skins. It takes 2 years to develop and deliver spirits that will surprise and delight with the same exciting, clean, fresh vibrancy as our wines. A heady aroma of intense citrus peel, juniper and freshly cut grass leads to an early palate dominated by ripe citrus fruit with a herbal finish.