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John Bexon

Head Brewers Club blog

Excellence in cask ale quality from Greene King Head Brewer

What drinks are being served at the Wedding Breakfast at Buckingham Palace?

Not being an avid reader of Hello! Magazine, surprise, surprise, all the fuss over who designs Kate Middleton’s wedding dress has rather passed me by. But I’m interested in the day itself – it should be a cracking day for our pubs, traditional bank holiday weather notwithstanding. And I’m definitely interested in what drinks are being served at the Wedding Breakfast at Buckingham Palace after the ceremony.

I’m a brewer not an historian, but I bet you when kings and queens of old were tying the knot, the beer flowed freely. More recently, though, I suspect it’s been wine and champagne that’s lit up the candelabras of the guests’ minds, to quote a phrase.

That disappoints me. Beer, after all, is our national drink and we should be proud of that. On such a patriotic day as this, it would be a shame not to honour beer’s role in our heritage and history.

I’m encouraged to hear, though, that the Queen’s Head Chef Mark Flanagan has said he will be looking to showcase the best of British produce. Good man. He’s apparently going to feature meat, game, vegetables and fruits from the Queen’s estates at the buffet-style breakfast.

Well, what could possibly go better with that than a classic English ale, full of taste and flavour and natural ingredients? And truth be told,  the 600 guests and their Royal hosts would be getting a drink that complements many foods so much better than wine.

Dare I suggest to Mr Flanagan that if he’s looking for something quintessentially British, he need look no further than the Celebration Pale Ale we’ve brewed specially for the big day? A 4.2% golden and refreshing pale ale, it’s distinctly quaffable and would grace the Royal nuptials perfectly.

In fact, we’re so confident Celebration Pale Ale is fit for a future King and his Queen that my boss Euan Venters, Managing Director of Greene King Brewing and Brands, has offered to supply the Palace with as much as they would like.

I really do hope the offer’s accepted. I’m sure William’s dad, who’s done some great work for village pubs and breweries over the years, would like it too. Prince Charles has always supported the Great British Pint whenever he can – it would be wonderful to see him on that famous balcony, raising a glass of beer to the happy couple!

 My invite has yet to turn up, so I suspect I’ll be watching events on the 29th from my local. I’m not sure if they’ll be doing more than switching on the telly and inviting us to soak up the spectacle. But I know lots of pubs are planning big knees-ups and all kinds of zany celebrations, with Royal look-a-likes a popular theme.

It’s going to be a busy time for pubs around then. There are two four-day bank holiday weekends in a row. Play your cards right and take three days of holiday, and you could be out of the office for 11 straight days. It’s a tempting prospect, and I’m really hoping that it gives a massive boost to pubs everywhere. They’ve had quite a tough start to the year, and the weather’s not helped. Let’s hope these two weekends kick-start a long hot summer of pub visiting and quaffing, to use one of my favourite words again.

    But before that, we’ve got the Grand National this weekend. With Newmarket just up the road from us, Greene King has always had close links with the sport of kings. We’ve had some great days out there with licensees and their customers over the years.

I can’t claim any inside track on Saturday’s race, but Ballabriggs, Big Fella Thanks (4th last year) and Oscar Time are on all the professional tipsters’ lists. If you want a real long shot, some people are quietly placing money on Piraya, the 100-1 outsider.

   I’ll also be keeping an eye out for the winner in Nottingham Forest’s game this weekend at home against Reading in the Npower Championship. Greene King IPA has sponsored them all this season, and they’re making a strong push for the end-of-season play-offs. They’re in 7th place at the moment, so they need a run of good results. Good luck boys.

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Date: 8TH APRIL 2011

Author: MATT

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Category:Head Brewer John Bexon

Light Blue hopes faded when Oxford took off at Hammersmith Bridge

The Champion of the Thames in Cambridge may be an excellent ale house, but as a guide to form in last week’s Boat Race it left much to be desired. Light Blue hopes faded when Oxford took off at Hammersmith Bridge, and from then on it was just a procession. No danger at all of hearing again that classic line some years ago when after a neck-and-neck finish the commentator breathlessly exclaimed: “It’s so close, I really can’t see who’s won. It’s either Oxford or Cambridge.”

Back on dry land again, I was delighted to host a five-course Beer & Food Evening in Bury St Edmunds the other night in my role as Greene King Head Brewer. It was held at the St Edmunds Tavern, a 15th century inn now in the capable hands of licensees Joanne and Jason Wallace. I’ve got to know them quite well since they took it on about a year ago, and agreed to do my turn as a bit of a special favour.

Though I say so myself, it went tremendously well. Over 50 people paid an extremely reasonable £12 to join us for the event, and over half of them were new faces to Jo and Jason.

I started the evening off by introducing myself – “You’re listening to an Abbot Ale container, a Black Belt in beer tasting” – and  explained a bit about the tongue’s powers of sensory perception, and how to sip and taste beer to really appreciate its characteristics. Having chatted to every table, I sat down and it was on with the fun.

First course was liver parfait, which I chose to be accompanied with a Greene King Very Special India Pale Ale. It cut through the paté’s buttery feel perfectly and was a lovely palate cleanser. A Waldorf salad followed, its crispy bacon flakes  complemented nicely by an Old Speckled Hen’s toffee caramel notes.

Then we were on to the main course, something I’d not tried before, a St Edmunds Beef and Ale pie, served in ramekins with paper hats and, naturally, with a St Edmunds Ale to help it down. Mouth-watering.

On to the home straight, and a chocolate cup dessert went extremely well with our Old Crafty Hen 6.5% dark vintage ale. And then it was cheese and biscuits time, with Strong Suffolk Ale bringing out all the flavor of the cheddar and blue cheeses. Gastronomic heaven.

Many of the guests stayed happily drinking at the bar until closing time. All round, quite a culinary experience and I know Jo and Jason were delighted by how well the evening went.

There’s another very special food and drink event I’m involved with soon – but on a much larger scale. The St Edmunds Real Beer and Food Festival takes place in the Greene King brewery gardens, and last year it attracted 4,000 visitors over its two days. It’s on the opening day of the Bury St Edmunds Festival, on Saturday 21 May, and runs on the Sunday too, and  promises to be a fantastic event for beer and food lovers.

I’ll be hosting some tastings, and I’m looking forward as much as any foodie to enjoying the very best food and drink our county’s producers can supply, including goodies like smoked cheese, cured beef, jam, chutney, cider, premium sausages, ice cream – the list just goes on. Plus, of course, some wonderful real ale from just across the road.

If you’re interested, and who wouldn’t be, tickets are £3 each. You can get them from the Greene King visitor centre (01284 714297) or from The Apex in Bury St Edmunds. Why not join up to the ‘St Edmunds Beer’ Facebook group (www.facebook.com/stedmunds) for regular updates and announcements? And for more information please email realbeerandfoodfestival@greeneking.co.uk.

My old Mum, who lives close by would love it, though she’s probably not up to the hustle and bustle of such a lively festival these days. She prefers our weekly lunch together, often at a nearby Hungry Horse, where we catch up on how it’s all going.

This Sunday is Mothering Sunday, of course. I’m hoping my brother has booked us into a pub somewhere. There’ll be trouble if he hasn’t – we’ll not have much chance of getting in otherwise, even with my mates Jo and Jason at the St Edmunds Tavern. They’ll have been booked up for ages.

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Date: 1ST APRIL 2011

Author: MATT

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Category:Head Brewer John Bexon

It’s the Boat Race on Saturday and I don’t know who to support!

I’m perched precariously on the horns of a dilemma this week. It’s the Boat Race on Saturday and I don’t know who to support!

You see, I’ve got strong links to both sides. Greene King has superb pubs in Oxford and Cambridge, and I’ve many friends in both cities. It’s not an easy one…

Take the Turf Tavern, a wonderful old pub hidden away in the heart of Oxford that dates back to the 13th century. It’s had a fine reputation for great ale over many generations, and there are some lovely stories about famous people who’ve enjoyed themselves within its usually jam-packed walls. It’s the pub where US President Bill Clinton “did not inhale” when he was a student at Oxford. And drinking a yard of ale there in just 11 seconds in the 1950s  (still a Guinness Book of World Records entry) did the future Australian PM Bob Hawke no harm at all, at least not politically. In his memoirs, he says it endeared him to his fellow beer-loving Aussies more than any political act he ever carried out. How he felt immediately after he’d sunk three high-speed pints history does not record. It’s certainly not the best way to bring out the beer’s inner qualities! Not to be recommended, that’s for sure.

And then there’s the Cambridge Eagle, even more famous for being the place where Watson and Crick announced to the pub’s patrons one lunch-hour in 1953 they’d discovered the secret of life by unraveling the structure of DNA. It’s a lovely pub, with a 17th century courtyard, and in one of its back rooms you can still see the signatures and graffiti on the red ceiling inscribed by Second World War fighter pilots back from successful missions.

 I’ve also got strong links to Cambridge because two years ago, when the University celebrated its 800th birthday, they asked me to brew a commemorative beer. The guys there wanted it based on the kind of medieval brew scholars would have been drinking then, but I felt I had to update it a bit for modern palettes. We called it 1209, and it went down very well in the local pubs.

I should imagine the race itself (BBC at 5pm) will be watched in pubs across the country. It’s amazing its fascination for so many people who never went to either university. I suppose when something’s been going that long – this will be the 157th boat race – it does become a national institution.

The bookies will be doing good business no doubt, but they got it wrong last year when hot favourites Oxford had to settle for second place. Punters can also bet on the winner’s time – 16 minutes 19 second is the best ever, with the slowest a crab-catching 26 minutes 5 seconds.

So who’s it going to be then? Who am I going to back? Perhaps I should take a steer from another of our pubs in Cambridge – the Champion of the Thames, one of the famous King Street run pubs. I’ve got this week to decide.

And finally, for all of you celebrating late into the night afterwards, do remember Summer Time starts at 1am on Sunday morning, when the clocks “spring forward”. Useful to remember when you’ve agreed to meet your mates in the pub at 12 for Sunday lunchtime. You wouldn’t want to miss an hour’s valuable drinking time, would you!

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Date: 22ND MARCH 2011

Author: MATT

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Category:Head Brewer John Bexon

Another massive week coming up for pubs!

 Another massive week coming up for pubs. Thursday is St Patrick’s Day. Friday is Red Nose Day. And Saturday is the climax of the Six Nations rugby, with England in Dublin looking for their first Grand Slam since the World Cup in 2003. Oh, and adding even more spice, there’s some great football over the weekend too, with Spurs v. West Ham on Saturday lunchtime and Chelsea v. Man City on Sunday at 4. I just hope our licensees have placed their bumper orders. It’s going to be lively.

Like many people, I can’t wait until Thursday – it’ll be brilliant. You don’t need to be Irish to love St Patrick’s Day. The party atmosphere, the craic in the pubs when the celebrations get going is really something special, and of course Greene King’s shamrock colours suit the occasion perfectly!

Even a dedicated Abbot drinker might be tempted to try a drop of the dark stuff on St Patrick’s Day. But whatever’s floating your boat that day, there’s a good chance that for many, the weekend will be starting early.

And why not when there’s fun to be had on Friday’s Red Nose Day? There’s a great tradition of pubs raising money for good causes (over £150 million last year alone) so it’s no surprise many get involved with Comic Relief. Everyone loves the day, and what it’s all about, and the pub is a great place to watch it all on TV as well as have your own fund-raising events. Obviously some of the pictures from Africa can be harrowing. But the mixture of humour and serious message is always uplifting and life-enhancing, and being in the pub somehow brings people closer together – which I suppose in many ways is what Red Nose Day is all about.

And then there’s Saturday and Dublin. As I mentioned last time, I was lucky enough to be at Twickenham on Sunday for the Scotland game, and it was a brilliant day out. From a company point of view, it’s great to see our name featuring all round the enormous stadium. Anyone there or watching the game on TV would been in no doubt that Greene King is a brand to be reckoned with.

And did you see the fox? I don’t know how it got on to the pitch before the game, and I havn’t dared ask our marketing boys and girls. But it was a dead ringer for our Old Speckled Hen fox, the one we feature on all our TV adverts on the Dave channel, the one that’s always in search of the elusive hen, or in this case perhaps, grouse.

However the Twickenham fox got there, it was perfectly in tune with our quirky TV ads – if you havn’t seen them all, you can check them out on our Old Speckled Hen website (www.oldspeckledhen.co.uk). 

We like to describe “OSH” drinkers as rather fox like in their “wiliness, wisdom and discernment” and always on the hunt for the less conventional things in life. Here’s to our rugby boys having plenty of the fox about them in Dublin on Saturday.

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Date: 17TH MARCH 2011

Author: MATT

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Category:Cask Ale, Head Brewer John Bexon

Quite a week coming up, and I’m really looking forward to it

Quite a week coming up, and I’m really looking forward to it – not least as there’s so much exciting food and beer-matching potential . You’ve probably spotted already it’s Pancake Day on Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent, of course. It’s traditionally the day you confessed your sins then went on the razzle and let off some high spirits. They call it Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, in the States, and really go to town.
Not sure it’s a good idea to encourage people to let off too much steam these days. And the more “weight-challenged” customers might take offence at having a Fat Tuesday event. But whatever you call it, there’s definitely cause for a celebration.

Many pubs organise pancake races (they’ve been having them since 1445 apparently), and it’s great fun to see who can make it to the finishing line with their pancake intact. After tossing it three times, of course. But it’s even more fun to enjoy one of chef’s really well made pancakes with plenty of sugar and lemon juice while washing it down with a nice cool Old Speckled Hen. I do recommend it. Delia Smith’s BBC Food webpage has some handy hints for getting it just right. The pancake, that is.
Actually, the whole week should give chef plenty to please the customers with as it’s the official British Pie Week. Some of these “official” weeks are bizarre, but here’s one that’s really worth getting stuck into. There’s so many different pies to serve up, and the great thing is, they all go well with Abbot Ale.
An 18th century Stephen Fry type called Sydney Smith said his idea of heaven was eating paté de foie gras to the sound of trumpets. Mine would be a steak and Abbot Ale pie….trumpets optional; that’s definitely a desert island luxury.
The people behind British Pie Week have set up a helpful website to give you some ideas – it might be worth a peak (www.britishpieweek.co.uk).
As if that wasn’t enough to be looking forward to this week, we’ve also got the mouthwatering prospect of a cracking Calcutta Cup match at Twickenham at 3pm on Sunday. As you know, Greene King’s a massive supporter of English rugby, with our IPA sponsorship and Lawrence Dallaglio OBE as a Greene King ambassador. Our Rose & Crown pub in the West car-park will be absolutely heaving before and after the game. We normally serve thousands of pints in the space of just a few hours. It’s a wonderful occasion, and I’m lucky enough to be there myself this time, doing the only propping I’m any good at these days, propping up the bar with a foaming pint of IPA.
I’m looking forward to having some healthy banter with my Scottish friends and getting them tuned into the finer points of IPA as I sure they will do to me with Belhaven Best when we next clash at Murrayfield.  What a better way to end the week?

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Date: 8TH MARCH 2011

Author: MATT

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Category:Head Brewer John Bexon

What’s coming up at Greene King and in our pubs across the country

After being tied up with the latest seasonal beers we’ve been planning at Westgate Brewery –  you’ll enjoy The Sorcerer (4.5%) and Morland Original (4.0%) I’m sure – it’s good to get back to my blog and share a few thoughts on what’s coming up at Greene King and in our pubs across the country.

I know St David’s Day, which falls next Tuesday (March 1), is not in the St Patrick’s Day class for packing a pub. But never underestimate Welsh patriotism. With probably a few hundred thousand Welsh living in England, there’ll be many thirsty boyos around in need of a place to toast their patron saint. And as St David was a sixth-century abbot, it’s obvious what they should be drinking. The “Blessed Among Beers”, as we call it, should do the trick nicely. Just don’t mention Chris Ashton and his swan-dive try celebrations at the Millennium Stadium the other day: that 19-26 scoreline must still be rankling. Stick to safer subjects like Gabby Logan and Duffy.

I was in Wales myself not that long ago, walking in the Brecon Beacons and staying at Ross-on-Wye in that beautiful region just near the border.  After the long drive up there from Bury St Edmunds, it was a pleasure to find the blessed Abbot in tip-top order in some local pubs, which helped make for a truly memorable weekend.

If you’re not up for taking the missus away for a romantic weekend, how about a brewery trip to Bury St Edmunds instead? I jest, of course, but I was tickled to see the team at our Brewery Visitor Centre, right next to my office at the Westgate Brewery, have put up an A-board outside saying: “Banish the winter blues – treat your loved one to a brewery tour.”
It’s a wonderful bit of tongue-in-cheek marketing – at least I think it is. And for £8, it’s certainly great value and well worth a couple of hours of anyone’s time. But if you’re after romantic gestures, you might be on safer ground with the loved one if you treat him or her with a visit to the St Edmunds Real Beer & Food Festival that Greene King is organising on Saturday 21 May, from 10am in the Westgate Brewery Gardens.

Local food and drink producers will be joining Greene King to showcase and promote the region’s very best produce. There are stalls packed with top-class cheeses and chutney, sausage and venison, and ice cream and whisky – all the finer things in life, so many of which can go beautifully with beer. We ran the event last year, and it proved such a tremendous success that it’s staked its place as a permanent event in the foodies’ calendar.
I’ll be there, with many of my team, offering tutored tastings and beer master-classes. It promises to be quite a day, and I do hope I see you there. You can always take the brewery trip next time.

John Bexon
Head Brewer
Greene King

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Date: 25TH FEBRUARY 2011

Author: MATT

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Category:Head Brewer John Bexon

Greene King IPA nets sponsorship deal with Nottingham Forest

Leading cask ale to become the football club’s Official Beer

Greene King IPA has today announced it will become the Official Beer of Nottingham Forest FC for the next three seasons. The deal, which starts in time for the beginning of the new Championship season, will see the award-winning beer take up pouring rights at The City Ground in Nottingham.

The three year sponsorship deal kicks off at an exciting time for the Club, with manager Billy Davies looking to improve on the excellent third place finish in the Championship for the 2009/10 season. “We will all be raising a glass to Forest’s return to the Barclays Premier League after a twelve year absence,” says Greene King free trade sales director, Joe Parks looking ahead to next season.

The deal is part of Greene King IPA’s ongoing investment in Nottingham and the region, where it is also the Official Beer of the Trent FM arena.

Greene King’s free trade sales director Joe Parks said, “It is really exciting to have Greene King IPA as the Official Beer of Nottingham Forest. Nottingham is an important region for us and the success of our Trent FM Arena sponsorship has proven this. We look forward to selling more quality Greene King IPA through our sponsorship with Nottingham Forest and will certainly get behind the team and fans in their quest for promotion next season.”
     
Mark Arthur, Chief Executive of Nottingham Forest, said “We are delighted to welcome Greene King IPA to The City Ground. We are looking forward to what will hopefully prove to be a long and successful partnership for both parties.”

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Date: 3RD JUNE 2010

Author: MATT

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Category:Cask Ale, Greene King IPA, Press Release

Oysters’ perfect partner in Old Crafty Hen

One of Britain’s leading suppliers of fresh shellfish will be bringing their wares to the ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’ next weekend.

The Colchester Oyster Fishery, based on Mersea Island, are bringing rock oysters, cooked and dressed lobsters and crabs, scallops and mussels to the very first event of its kind in the brewery gardens, Bury St Edmunds on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th May.

Graham Larkin, Operations Manager at the Fishery, is looking forward to the Festival: “We are delighted to be involved in such a fantastic event, and have found the perfect food and beer match with our rock oysters and Greene King’s delicious Old Crafty Hen.

“In Victorian times, oysters would be sold out of barrels on street corners with darker stouts, and in the same way the strong, dark Old Crafty Hen, with it’s oak-aged ingredient, goes really well with the fresh oysters.”

The ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’ is an exciting new addition to the Bury St Edmunds Festival, and over forty regional producers will be sampling and selling their products in the brewery gardens.

“This will be a great event,” said Graham, “because the public are able to come and meet the producers from the region, and speak face to face. They can ask where it comes from, and how fresh the food is, and these are very important questions to ask.”

The ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’ will be taking place in brewery gardens, just off Westgate Street, Bury St Edmunds, between 10am and 5pm on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th May.

Stallholders include Bluebell Woods Wild Venison, Kelly Turkeys, Rodwell Farm Dairy, DJ Barnard Meats, The Cake Shop Bakery, Alder Carr Farm fruit ice-cream, Fresh Direct fruit and veg’, The Chilli Company, Aspalls Cyder, Lane Farm Country Foods and many more.

Tickets only cost £1 and are available from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 01284 769505, or on the gate on the day.

For further information:

• Adam Driver, 07974 132940, adamdriver@greeneking.co.uk 
• Graham Larkin, 07545 207448, graham@colchesteroysterfishery.com
• Follow us on Facebook! Real Food & Beer Festival @ Greene King – 15th & 16th May 2010

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Gourmet burgers with real ale chutney

Suffolk Food Hall gives backing to Food and Beer Festival

An award-winning food market will be selling gourmet burgers with Suffolk Springer ale chutney at the ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’ on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th May.

Suffolk Food Hall, based just off the A14, under the Orwell Bridge, has given its full backing to the very first food festival that the Bury St Edmunds brewer has hosted.

Oliver Paul, co-director of the Suffolk Food Hall, is proud to be taking part in the ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’: “We are all about showcasing the very best food and drink that Suffolk has to offer, and therefore give all our backing to this fantastic Greene King event.

“Our core values of quality and provenance in local food are shared by our Suffolk brewery, and we can’t wait to be part of the weekend.”

Similar to the Suffolk Food Hall, a variety of different producers are attending to showcase, sample and sell their produce at the ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’, and include Bluebell Woods Wild Venison, Vineyard Fine Foods, Alder Carr Farm, The Chilli Company, Jimmy’s Farm, The Cake Shop, Yum Yum Tree Fudge, Aspalls Cyder, Colchester Oyster Fishery, and many more.

Oliver and co will be at the ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’ on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th May, from 10am-5pm, selling their Suffolk-sourced gourmet beef burgers (made from 28-day hung mince) with traditional beer chutney.

“Our burgers are well complemented by the Greene King Suffolk Springer chutney, freshly made by ourselves,” says Oliver, “The rich, dark flavours of the bottled ale go splendidly with the fresh, local beef.”

“This event in a few weeks gives consumers a real shopping experience,” continues Oliver, “where they can talk face to face with the producers they are buying from, and this is why we are fully behind this fantastic Food and Beer Festival for the region.”

To book your £1 tickets for the ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’ please call the Theatre Royal Box Office on 01284 769505. Tickets are also available on the door over the weekend.

For further information:

• Adam Driver, PR & Events Assisant, Greene King Brewing Company, 07974 132940, adamdriver@greeneking.co.uk
• Oliver Paul, 07958 946211, oliver@suffolkfoodhall.co.uk
• Follow us on Facebook: “Real Food & Beer Festival @ Greene King – 15th & 16th May 2010”

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Date: 13TH MAY 2010

Author: MATT

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Category:Press Release

Suffolk Homemade Cheese this weekend at ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’

A Suffolk dairy is bringing a selection of their homemade cheeses to the ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’ this weekend.

Rodwell Farm Dairy, from Baylham near Ipswich, has also discovered that Greene King’s Old Speckled Hen is a perfect partner for their best-selling cheese ‘Shipcord’.

Susan Richards, who runs Rodwell Farm Dairy with her husband Robin, thinks that the real ale brings out the distinct flavour of the cheese: “’Shipcord’ is specially produced at higher temperatures to create a close texture, and this is emphasised with the rich malty flavour of the Old Speckled Hen. We also have a special smoked version of ‘Shipcord’, that goes well with the ale.

“Our cheeses are made using unpasteurised milk from our own dairy cows, and are matured for between three months and a year, and this gives them their own unique flavour.”

Rodwell Farm cheeses have had success in the ‘British Cheese Awards’, and Susan is looking forward to showcasing her homemade cheeses at the ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’: “The event sounds fantastic, and we are delighted to be coming along to celebrate the best that the region has to offer.”

The ‘Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’ is taking place as part of the 25th Bury St Edmunds Festival, and is the first such event that has been held in the town. The event is open both Saturday and Sunday from 10am till 5pm.

Over forty local food and drink producers will be attending the Festival, taking place in brewery gardens in Bury St Edmunds, near the Theatre Royal. Stallholders include Bluebell Woods Wild Venison, Alder Carr Farm fruit ice cream, Colchester Oyster Fishery, The English Whisky Company, Suffolk Larder, Purely Pesto, The Cake Shop Bakery and many more.

Rodwell Farm Dairy will also be bringing their delicious ‘Hawkston’ cheese to the event, which a crumblier cheese, which is kept in the maturing room for between three and five months.

Tickets only cost £1 and are available from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 01284 769505, or on the gate at the Festival.

For further information:

• Adam Driver, 07974 132940, adamdriver@greeneking.co.uk 
• Susan Richards 01473 830192 
• Rodwell Farm Dairy’s products can be found at www.rodwellfarmdairy.co.uk
• Follow us on Facebook! Real Food & Beer Festival @ Greene King – 15th & 16th May 2010

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Date: 13TH MAY 2010

Author: MATT

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Category:Press Release