Shepherd Neame Ltd

We are proud to announce that our £1.2 million transformation of The Royal Crown in Rochester has been recognised with a Conservation Award from the City of Rochester Society. The Grade II listed building, situated near Rochester Bridge on the High Street, reopened in November after an extensive three month internal and external renovation. Care was taken to retain and enhance its historic features while introducing a contemporary look and feel. The pub dates back to the 1860s, and there has been an inn on the site since the 1300s. It had been named The Crown in recent years before the refurbishment, but to mark its relaunch, we reinstated its former name The Royal Crown. Rob Flood, Chairman of the City of Rochester Society, and other members of the Society gathered at the pub to present the Conservation Award to our Director of Property Services, Martin Godden. Robert said: “Our Society first began issuing Conservation Awards in 1977, in recognition of projects which have made a positive contribution to the local street scene in Rochester. When it came to choosing a recipient for our latest award, The Royal Crown was a definite frontrunner, as it’s such a fantastic development. We are delighted with the way that Shepherd Neame Ltd has retained and restored many of the pub’s historic features. As a Grade II listed building, it is a significant part of the High Street, sitting on the gateway route into Rochester just across from the iconic Rochester Bridge. The restoration is an outstanding example of how to refurbish and enhance a classic public house and is receiving well-deserved praise from residents and our many visitors and tourists.” Read more at https://snea.me/RoyalCrown 🍻 #hospitalitynews #pub #Rochester #brewery #brewing #KentBusiness #refurbishment

We are committed to using local suppliers wherever possible, and one of our long-lasting partnerships has been with our fish supplier Chapmans of Sevenoaks Ltd, who we have been working with for more than 10 years.   As part of our People, Pubs & Planet strategy, we aim to do the right thing for our communities, people and environment – which includes using local suppliers wherever possible.   Founded by Keith Chapman more than 30 years ago, the firm’s produce is sourced responsibly across the Kent and Sussex coast including from its own boats in Rye.   We recently visited the harbour to meet the team and see the catch arrive, before it is transported to customers across the South East, with the fish able to go from sea to plate in a day.   Chapman’s provides a wide range of fish to Shepherd Neame’s pubs and hotels for a diverse array of dishes, although the classic Whitstable Bay-battered Haddock and Chips always remains most popular with customers across the estate.   Chapman’s founder Keith Chapman said: “We don’t just see Shepherd Neame as a customer, we have a real relationship with their team, and take pride in working with their chefs to ensure they have the finest fresh produce to put on their menus.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eVAMXER5 #brewer #brewery #brewing #hospitality #partnerships #local #localsuppliers #sustainability

The first Whitstable Arts Festival was launched last Thursday (August 29). Offering a diverse selection of contemporary art and groundbreaking cinema at venues around the town, the festival runs until September 8, and Shepherd Neame is one of the sponsors. As part of our sponsorship, Shepherd Neame provided the wine and beer for the launch event at The Horsebridge Arts Centre, which was attended by our Chief Executive Jonathan Neame and our Managing Director, Pubs, Jonathon Swaine. We also hosted an after-party at the Duke of Cumberland's Boatyard function space. Among the events taking place this week will be a mass wild swim outside our tenanted pub, The Old Neptune, in Whitstable to coincide with a talk by author Patrick Barkham about his book The Swimmer: The Wild Life of Roger Deakin. We have also created a special walking map promoting the festival, our pubs and our Whitstable Bay collection, which will be available in our pubs around the town. Find more at https://lnkd.in/eF8F9wem #brewer #brewery #hospitality #Kent #Whitstable #arts #partnerships

Phew, what a weekend we had for the 35th Faversham Hop Festival! We were proud to be principal sponsor again for another year as thousands came to town to enjoy the live music, morris dancing and parades – and of course, beer! The rain stayed away and our main Brewery Stage drew the crowds outside our brewery in Court Street, as a line-up of local acts entertained everyone throughout the days. A number of our historic vehicles joined the morning parades both days through the town and our Chief Executive Jonathan Neame and our Senior Brewer Stewart Tricker took to the stage on Sunday as part of the traditional hop blessing. Our nine pubs across the town were busy serving our beers including seasonal favourite Late Red (4.5%) along with this year’s limited green hop ale Hop Pocket (4.5%), while our brewery was busy running tours, including family ones, which are laid on specially during festival weekend. Thanks to organisers, Community Heritage Events Ltd., who arrange the event on behalf of Swale Borough Council, to all our team members who worked their socks off through the weekend, and to everyone who came and enjoyed it! 🍻 #brewer #brewery #hospitality #Kent #partnerships

The beautiful beer garden at Shepherd Neame's Swan & Dog in Great Chart is creating a buzz with punters and passers-by alike. It’s not just the bees visiting the plethora of blooming plants now adorning the spacious garden of the village pub which are keen on their addition. General Manager Joanne Rodwell reports even passers-by stop to compliment its new look. The four-week project to refurbish the garden, repaint the front of the pub and install a newly-designed swing sign has been a hit with everyone. Jo said: “The feedback has been so positive. People walk past and say how beautiful it is looking. It has definitely brought more people in the gate – everyone wants to sit out there now!” The refurbishment included new hand-painted signage on the pub’s frontage, a new swing sign, as well as pretty planters, barrels and shelves now overflowing with flora and fauna, brought in by Tops Pots. The pub, which dates back to the 16th century, has always been a haven for socialising and the new look garden has increased its appeal further. Please pop in and enjoy it for yourself soon! #brewer #brewing #hospitality #refurbishment

We have been proud to partner with Pennies, the digital charity box, for the past four years. Customers drinking and dining at selected Shepherd Neame pubs and hotels are invited to make a 25 pence donation when they spend over £25 and pay on a card via Chip & Pin or digital wallet. Every penny given goes to charity: 90% to our current Charity of the Year Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex and 10% to Pennies. As today is Pennies' first Micro Donation Day, celebrating the amazing power of millions of tiny donations, it is the perfect opportunity to say THANK YOU to all our customers for helping us raise thousands of pounds for charity during that time! Find out more about our Sheps Giving activities here: https://lnkd.in/ecsD76B #microdonationsmatter #pennies #makingadifference #hospitalitynews

Faversham Hop Festival returns next weekend (August 31 and September 1), and we are proud to be principal sponsor for another year. The town will come alive with music across four stages and in pubs and other venues throughout the town, with more than 70 bands and acts performing, dedicated busker areas and morris dancing, along with a fairground, magic shows and more. We are sponsoring the main Brewery Stage over the weekend outside our Court Street brewery, and a number of our historic vehicles will feature in the morning parades through the town which traditionally open each day of the festival. Our popular brewery tours are normally only open to adults, but festival goers of all ages will be able to enjoy special family tours throughout the weekend. Beer lovers will be delighted to hear that seasonal favourite Late Red (4.5%) will be on offer at selected pubs during the weekend, alongside New World XPA (5.1%), the latest in our Small Batch range of limited edition, craft keg beers. This year’s limited edition green hop ale Hop Pocket (4.5%) will also be unveiled at the festival. And there’s also an extra treat on offer, with the fantastic prize of beer for a year up for grabs! Festival goers simply need to scan the QR code which will be found on posters around Shepherd Neame pubs during the weekend. For more information and a full line-up of bands at our pubs, visit snea.me/HopFest24 #brewery #beer #VisitKent #tourism #brewing #faversham #pubs 🍻

Our new pizza wagon has just hit the road, offering handmade sourdough pizzas to eat in or take away at our pubs. The wagon, titled Little Tom due to its eye-catching tomato-red colour, has been adapted to incorporate a bespoke pizza oven along with fridges for the ingredients, and two hatches for the team to serve customers. In keeping with our long beer heritage as Britain’s oldest brewer, it is decorated with hops, and the inscription ‘Master Bakers’ instead of Master Brewers. All pizzas are made fresh to order, using handcrafted sourdough bases, and presented in a recyclable cardboard box. Our Head of Food Sang Nguyen said: “Pizza is always a popular choice with our customers, and now the Little Tom pizza wagon can allow us to offer fresh, handmade pizzas at any of our pubs and hotels. “Our teams have been trained in making the perfect sourdough for the base, and we are using the finest ingredients, locally sourced wherever possible for the toppings. We have seen a great reaction to the wagon, which is a real talking point wherever it goes.” Little Tom is currently situated at the Ship and Trades in Chatham Maritime, where will be open from 4pm this Friday (August 23) and from 12 noon on Saturday (August 24). It will then be moving to The Limes in Faversham where it will be open during the Hop Festival weekend from 11.30am to 7.30pm on Saturday (August 31) and from 11.30am to 6pm on Sunday (September 1). For more information visit https://snea.me/LittleTom 🍕

We are delighted to announce the launch of our first collection of English wines, in collaboration with Balfour Winery. Both Shepherd Neame Ltd and Balfour Winery are proud to be family-owned, independent Kent businesses, and we have come together to create English Garden, comprising an elegant white wine and crisp rosé, using Kent-grown grapes. The English Garden White Bacchus boasts appealing aromas of rose petal and elderflower, along with vibrant citrus flavours and hints of apple. A dusky pink in colour, the English Garden Rosé offers aromas of ripe summer strawberries, raspberries and rose petal. It has a crisp flavour with a finish of lush wild nectarine and hint of thyme.    Michael Prior, Wines and Spirits Manager, said: “Shepherd Neame Ltd is committed to working with local businesses and suppliers wherever possible and we are passionate about championing English wines, including offerings from our Kentish heartland. We are delighted to see this special partnership come to fruition, and look forward to our customers enjoying our beautiful and elegant English Garden wine.” Balfour Winery’s Head Winemaker Fergus Elias, who led the team in producing the new collection, said: “This is a really exciting time for English winemaking, particularly in Kent which is becoming known as the Wine Garden of England with more and more vineyards being introduced in the region. We were delighted to work with Shepherd Neame on this exciting project to raise the profile of Kentish wines and are incredibly proud of the finished result.” The wine, which is produced and bottled by Balfour Winery near Marden, is now available by the glass or bottle in selected Shepherd Neame Ltd pubs across Kent, London and the South East. It is also available to buy from our Brewery Shop in Court Street, Faversham. Wine Garden of England #wine #KentBusiness #EnglishWine #Winemaking #VisitKent #Vineyards

Shepherd Neame was proud to be the principal sponsor for Broadstairs Folk Week again this year. We had a busy bar, serving a range of our ales and lagers, including Whitstable Bay Blonde Lager and Whitstable Bay Pale Ale, Spitfire Lager and Spitfire Amber Ale, Master Brew and cask ale First Drop and limited edition ale, Go for Gold, for the week, which finished on Friday, and our three pubs - the Royal Albion Hotel, The Wrotham Arms and The Neptune's Hall, had a series of live acts. It was the event's 59th year and we look forward to seeing it back again next year and the hundreds of folk fans too! #brewer #brewery #hospitality #livemusic #partnerships