BEER FESTIVAL

Friday 8th, Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th September 2023

• Larkins Brewery Traditional Bitter 3.4% A smooth Kentish style tawny session bitter, brewed on Larkins farm in Chiddingstone using hops grown in their own hop garden. Have a pint to toast the life of founder Bob Dockerty who passed away late last year.

• P & DJ Goucher Real Mild Ale 3.4% A full flavoured dark mild, brewed with chocolate and black Malts hopped with Kent Fuggles. An excellent example of a traditional mild and a festival favourite from this well-established Maidstone brewer. 

• Musket Brewery Fife and Drum 3.8% A Golden Ale, with tastes of honey, marmalade and floral notes from this ambitious brewery. Started by father and son team Tony and Rhys Williams on Loddington farm, Linton, in 2013. The brewery goes from strength to strength and their excellent brewery tap, The Armoury, is well worth a visit.

• Fonthill Brewery Good Morning Captain 3.8% This small brewery is based at the George, Tunbridge Wells, and is the realization of a dream for the team behind the George, the Sussex Arms, the Ragged Trousers and the Forum. Brewing once a week on a two and a half barrel plant. GMC is their flagship pale and well worth trying.

• Long Man Brewery Best Bitter 4.0% A traditional Sussex Style bitter, with a complex bittersweet malty taste, fragrant hops and a characteristic long deep finish, from this award winning brewer based in the small village of Litlington nr. Polegate.

• P & DJ Goucher Best Dark Ale 4.1% This is the original Goacher's beer and with the brewery celebrating its 40th anniversary this year it seemed appropriate to include it in our small festival. It is a rich, complex full bodied ale with high proportions of crystal malt and east Goldings hops. A taste of history!

• Gun Brewery Parabellum Milk Stout 4.1% With calls for a second dark beer at the festival we have selected this award winning milk stout from Gun Brewery in Heathfield. It is a rich, jet black milk stout made with a combination of barley, oats, wheat and roasted chocolate malts. One to be savoured.

• Lakedown Brewing Company Kicking Donkey 4.2% Lakedown Brewing was started by Roger Daltry's son Jamie and two sons-in-law and is based at his Lakedown trout fishery near Burwash. Kicking Donkey (named after the famous, now closed, local pub) is a traditional best bitter brimming with biscuity malts. It is brewed using UK Pioneer, Cascade and Jester hops along with local malts and yeast. If you haven't visited the brewery tap, you should; it is idyllic.

• Tonbridge Brewery Blonde Ambition 4.2% Tonbridge Brewery started life in 2010 and is now based in Branbridges Industrial estate near East Peckham. Blonde Ambition is full flavoured, well bittered and refreshing blonde ale, brewed with Kentish Challenger and First Gold hops.

• Iron Pier Brewery Rosherville Red Ale 4.8% Iron Pier was founded in Gravesend in 2017 and produces a wide range of excellent beers. Rosherville Red is an amber/red ale made with Citra and Mosaic hops giving it a well balanced fruity character. It is the brewery's flagship ale.

• Only With Love Brewery Firecracker ESB 5.2% The brewery was founded on a farm near Uckfield during the lockdowns in 2020 and brews a remarkable range of beers, including an innovative alcohol-free Black Gateaux stout! Firecracker was judged to be the best Best-Bitter in the UK at the recent SIBA National judging and the 3rd best cask beer in the country. It has malty caramel, biscuits and raisins with subtle tropical fruit on the nose. An exceptional beer.

• Burning Sky Brewery Aurora 5.6% Burning Sky, based in Firle, was founded in 2013 by Mark Tranter, formally Head Brewer at Dark Star. Aurora is their premium strength pale ale, made with a blend of malts which produces a juicy backbone and a pale amber colour. It utilises an expansive blend of US hops to give resinous mouth feel. It has big citrus and fruit flavours and too much of it will make you fall over.