Made in Kent: Our Kentish Ales and their PGI Status
Did you know that Westerham Brewery is one of just two breweries in the UK producing a range of beers with Protected Geographical Indication? Our Kentish Ales, British Bulldog, Grasshopper and 1965, and our Kentish Strong Ale, Audit Ale, have all been awarded PGI status. But you may be wondering quite what this means, so today we’re here to tell you about PGIs and why they make our Kentish Ales so special.
What is a PGI?
Geographical indication schemes in the UK have been set up to protect the geographical names of food, drink and agricultural products. They ensure that your Cornish pasties really are prepared in Cornwall to the traditional recipe, and that when you tuck into a delicious Melton Mowbray Pork Pie it was produced the same way it always has been in the Melton Mowbray region, with uncured pork that has been meticulously chopped, not minced. They are a guarantee of a genuine product, produced to meet precise parameters in a specific location.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs maintains a register of protected geographical food and drink names, which have been awarded either PGI or PDO status. PDO stands for Protected Designation of Origin, and is the stricter designation of the two, requiring every part of production, processing and preparation, right down to sourcing the raw ingredients, to happen within the specific designated location. Products with PGI status may use raw materials from elsewhere, with at least one stage of processing occurring in their designated region.
Now we’ve gotten past the acronyms, let’s take a look at Kentish Ales in particular. Required to be produced with local Kentish hops, local barley and regional mineral water, what is it about these ales produced in Kent that make them so unique?
Kentish Hops
Previously only associated with Shepherd Neame Brewery in Faversham, who were the sole producers of PGI Kentish Ale until Westerham Brewery gained PGI status in 2023, the majority of the flavours and aromas in Kentish Ales come from Kentish hops. What’s so special about growing hops in Kent? The Garden of England is the primary location in the UK for producing hops for brewing, like the West Kent Goldings in our British Bulldog. Hops grown in Kentish soil are key to creating the traditional hoppy flavours typical of Kentish Ale.
Historically, breweries nestled around the hop gardens in Kent had the rare opportunity to use the freshest, most fragrant hops in their brews, whilst breweries further afield had to use hops transported over long distances – before the advent of vacuum packaging this often led to their ingredients growing stale and past their best. It’s no wonder, therefore, that Kentish Ales with their fresh hops became so distinct from beer in other counties.
Best of the Barley
According to malt experts Simpsons Malt, there are a number of factors contributing to UK-grown barley being top notch for making good malt. The position of both the Jet Stream and gulf stream have crucial impacts on the weather in Blighty. The movement of the Jet Stream between seasons gives us our mild winters, wet springs and long, sunny summers that typically end in dry spells leading up to harvest time. Meanwhile, the Gulf Stream works its magic by constantly bringing warmer water towards western Europe, keeping our air temperatures just that little bit warmer. This gives the UK a temperate climate, perfect for growing the best barley for brewing. Our climate, along with growing in the lighter soils found in regions such as the south and east coasts, leads to lower nitrogen content in the barley, which reduces proteins that can cause beer to become hazy, or have harsher flavours.
The Westerham Greensand Aquifer
Water is the largest single component in beer, so it stands to reason that the water used to brew Kentish Ale plays a crucial role in making it noteworthy. Water varies in different regions in terms of its mineral makeup, making different locations suitable for brewing different types of beer. For example, soft water in Pilsen in the Czech Republic prevents harshness and allows delicate flavours to flourish, contributing to the region’s penchant for pilsners. Meanwhile, the high alkalinity of water in Dublin is ideal when producing stouts, thanks to its ability to balance the strong acidity of the dark, roasted malts in the brew.
Our Kentish Ales are all brewed using water from the Westerham Greensand Aquifer, which is most suited for brewing pale ales and lagers. The hills north of Westerham are chalk, leading to the rain that falls there dissolving minerals that hardens the water, which makes its way into the Thames basin. In contrast, our water from the Greensand aquifer below Westerham comes from rain that falls on the hills to the south of town, which are predominantly greensand, resulting in the water being notably less hard than its London-bound neighbour. This stretch of greensand – the Lower Greensand Ridge – runs south of the North Downs, all the way from the Hampshire – Surrey border in the west to the sea at Hythe, and many towns with a history of brewing like Westerham can be found within its vicinity, from Aldershot to Dorking and from Maidstone to Hythe.
Our Kentish Ales
We use a heritage yeast to brew our Kentish Ales that was previously used by our predecessors at the Black Eagle Brewery in Westerham. When the old brewery closed in 1965, the yeast was preserved in a yeast bank, ready and waiting for the establishment of our brewery in 2004.
Our Kentish Ales might all fall under the same PGI designations, but each one has a unique character ready to be explored.
If you enjoy a balanced, toffee taste accompanied by rich fruits, British Bulldog might be your Kentish Ale of choice, whilst Grasshopper is zesty and dry, with a gorgeous chestnut hue. 1965 has a fruit, malty aroma with hints of apricot, its taste full and warming with a dry finish. Last, but not least, we have our Kentish Strong Ale, Audit Ale, with its rich, wintery aroma of port, raisins and molasses. Smooth and warming, it tastes like complex fruits.
