Brewing in Kent (Paperback)

Brewing in Kent By Johnny Homer Cover Image
Not currently in store. May be available on Bookshop.org.
Find us on Bookshop.org to order!

Description


The county of Kent holds a unique place in the history of brewing in Great Britain. When hops were first cultivated in this country around 600 years ago, introduced by Dutch and Flemish merchants, it was at Westbere, just outside Canterbury, where they were grown. Indeed, the Kentish soil proved so suited to the growing of Humulus lupulus, the Latin name for the hop, that the Garden of England soon became the centre of the British hop industry. Perhaps this is why brewing was one of Kent’s major industries for many, many years. The market town of Faversham is home to Shepherd Neame – the oldest surviving brewer in the country with a history that can be traced back to the mid-sixteenth century, perhaps a little earlier.Despite its hop heritage, Kent was not immune to the decline in regional brewing that blighted the post-war years. However, in the last decade or so a spectacular renaissance has taken place, and from the dark days of the mid-1990s when the county had only a handful of brewers, it can now boast in excess of forty. Kent is also the birthplace of the micropub, small and independent pubs that put the focus on locally sourced produce. They have helped revive the brewer’s art in Kent and, in doing so, written the latest chapter in a charming and very colourful history.This fully illustrated book explores both the rich history of brewing in Kent, and all that the county has to offer today.

About the Author


Johnny Homer is a journalist, broadcaster and brewery tour guide. He was born and bred in central London and over the years has written for a variety of different newspapers, magazines and websites. He has also been a staff journalist with Oracle Teletext, as editor of the daily BeatBox music magazine, the Press Association and Northcliffe Media, the latter as Sports Editor of the Canterbury Times series of newspapers. He is a regular and long-standing contributor to BBC London’s Robert Elms show.


Product Details
ISBN: 9781445657431
ISBN-10: 1445657430
Publisher: Amberley Publishing
Publication Date: September 15th, 2016
Pages: 96
Language: English
Series: Brewing