Westerham Brewery

Monthly Specials February

News Releases - Click here for Press Articles

News Index
January 2012

2012 Celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen’s accession to the throne, the Westerham Brewery has crafted a celebration ale called Jubilation Ale.

The beer is brewed with the finest English Maris Otter pale ale malt to produce a crisp and sparkling golden ale. The beer also showcases hop breeding and hop growing in Kent over the last 100 years. We have carefully selected nine different hops bred in Kent and grown in Kent to infuse the Jubilation Ale with the flavour of the Garden of England.

1930s Whitbread Golding Variety: first selected in 1911 this hop was released to farmers in 1932 and at one time was one of the most widely grown hop varieties in Kent. Grown at Finchcocks’ hop garden in Goudhurst.

1940s Early Choice Golding: released in 1948, it is still grown to this day at Finchcocks’ in Goudhurst.

1950s Bramling Cross: bred at Wye College in the 1927 and released in 1951, this is a cross between Bramling Golding and a male seedling of a Manitoban wild hop from Canada, a commonwealth connection in our Jubilation Ale. Grown at Finchcocks’ in Goudhurst.

1960s Progress: bred at Wye College in 1950 and released in 1967, Progress has its parentage in WGV and a grandfather of Target. Grown at Little Scotney Farm in Lamberhurst.

1970s Target: bred at Wye College and released in 1972, Target was bred as a high alpha hop. Excellent for dry hopping. Grown at Little Scotney Farm in Lamberhurst.

1980s Pilgrim: bred at HRI Wye, Pilgrim has the same father as First Gold. Grown at Hoad’s Farm, Sandhurst

1990s First Gold: bred at HRI Wye in the 1980s from WGV and a dwarf male, it was released in 1996 as the world's first dwarf hop variety. Grown at Crow Plain Farm, Marden.

2000s Sovereign: bred at HRI Wye from the dwarf variety Pioneer, Sovereign was released on the Queen’s birthday in 2006. It has a noble English hop aroma befitting our noble Queen. Grown at Crow Plain Farm, Marden

2010s Finchcocks’ Hop X: a small quantity of hops have been found in the Finchcocks’ hop garden that have a very special aroma. The hop will be bred on in 2012 and then we hope it will go into farm-scale trial.

Jubilation Ale was first brewed on 20th January 2012 with Peter Darby of Wye Hops Ltd and Ian Strang of Little Scotney Farm in attendance to help with the hopping of the beer. Peter Darby is the hopfather of the most recent four hop varieties we are using and is one of the world’s experts on hop breeding and cultivation. For the last 31 years he has continued an unbroken tradition of hop breeding in Kent going back to 1906 when hop breeding at Wye College was started by Professor Ernest Salmon. Despite the closure of the College, the breeding actively continues at Wye Hops Ltd, based near Canterbury. Without the hop breeding programme at Wye Hops Ltd and the hop growers of Kent, Jubilation Ale and other true English ales would never taste the same.

Using a combination of First Wort Hopping, Continuous Hopping during the boil, Late Hopping in the Hop Rocket® and Dry Hopping in maturation tank we hope to showcase the hops of Kent. Available from February until July

News Release - January 2012
Jubilation Ale brewed with 9 Kent hops bred and grown in Kent launched for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

News Release - October 2011
Scotney Pale Ale, Scotney Best Bitter and William Wilberforce Freedom Ale win the National Trust Fine Farm Produce Award

News Release - July 2011
Viceroy India Pale Ale wins Supreme Champion Bottled Beer at SIBA South East

News Release - March 2011
Westerham Audit Ale scoops SIBA National Champion Strong Ale Silver Medal

News Release - March 2011
Westerham Brewery to celebrate the Royal Wedding with Matrimoniale

News Release - February 2011
Brewing up German style beers ar Westerham Brewery with German brewer

News Release - November 2010
William Wilberforce Freedom Ale selected in Morning Advertiser's Top 50 Microbrews

News Release - September 2010
Over 3,000 more pubs are now serving cask ale than a year ago — an uplift of 4%, according to The Cask Report

News Release - July 2010
Westerham scoops top prize again at the SIBA South East of England competition

News Release - March 2010
Westerham's National Trust Viceroy India Pale selected as one of the Ten Best Beers by Roger Protz in the Independent 25 March 2010

News Release - December 2009
James May selects British Bulldog as his Pick of the Best Winter Ales

News Release - November 2009
Viceroy India Pale Ale receives tasty plaudits from top beer writers