BBC shoot down to Spitfire kings Shepherd Neame
By: JimOldfield
May 6th, 2012
Achtung! The Fokkers may not be coming – but the Beeb did descend out of the sun, on iconic Kent brewers Shepherd Neame.
The kings of the stunning Spitfire real ale ads (remember No Fokker comes close, and Spitfire – downed all over Kent, just like the Luftwaffe?) have had a visit from columnist and food critic Giles Coren.
He was filming an episode of Our Food – the series that looks at the best in regional produce from across the country.
Shepherd Neame has long told the tale of WWII in its hilarious ads – but when Coren visited the Faversham base of Britain’s oldest brewer, the company was helping tell the story of Kent’s renowned hops.
And the Beeb set senior brewer Stewart Main a difficult task… to make beer without using any hops at all.
Main said afterwards: “Giles wanted to taste this beer and compare it to our Kentish ales, so we set about brewing with heather, juniper berries, rosemary and malted wheat.
“These were combined with our traditional ingredients: mineral water from our artesian well, malted barley and yeast.
“The strength and taste were left to the gods!”
CAMRA’s South East London branch happened to be visiting the brewery on filming day and were lucky enough to try the final product.
But what was it like? Hit the BBC iPlayer link below to find out – and also learn the history of hops!
Hand-Pumped links:
Shepherd Neame: www.shepherdneame.co.uk
Our Food: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01gflcy/Our_Food_Kent
The best laugh you’re going to have on the Germans since Wembley ’66: www.spitfireale.co.uk/spitfire-adverts/
