The opening of a new chapter, for Shepherd Neame

It seems strange that barely three weeks after my visit to Faversham, that leading Kent brewer, Shepherd Neame would unveil ambitious plans to secure the future of brewing in the town. The announcement was accompanied, by news of a £15 million investment in a new, modern brewery that will reshape the company’s historic operations while retaining brewing at the heart of the town. The proposal represents one of the most significant changes in Shepherd Neame’s recent history and reflects how Britain's oldest brewer is adapting to a rapidly changing beer market.

Rather than constructing a brewery on a new site, Shepherd Neame intends to convert its existing bottling hall into a state-of-the-art brewing facility. The bottling operation is expected to close in 2027, with the new brewery completed by the end of 2029. Brewing will continue in the current plant while construction and conversion work takes place. The new brewery will not only be smaller than the existing operation but also far more efficient. Company executives have emphasised that the project is designed to improve quality, sustainability and operational flexibility, enabling the brewer to respond more effectively to changing consumer tastes and develop new products. The new plant will continue to use some existing infrastructure, including the famous artesian well that has supplied water to the brewery for generations.

A key element of the strategy is a renewed focus on Shepherd Neame's own beers. The company plans to move away from the large-scale contract brewing, which has been the backbone of the business over recent decades, and to concentrate production on its own core brands such as Spitfire, Bishops Finger and Whitstable Bay. One example of this is the termination of Shepherd Neame’s long-standing licence to brew and distribute Singha Lager in the UK, which will come to an end in April 2027. Originating in Thailand, Singha is an important lager brand in the lucrative Asian restaurant market, but one where volume has become the driving factor. Other contract brands in this category include Kingfisher, Samuel Adams and Hürlimann's, although the latter was for many years, Shepherd Neame’s premium pager brand.

The brewery project forms part of a wider ten-year vision for the historic Faversham site, where Shepherd Neame intends to reduce its footprint to a "Heritage Core" centred on the brewery's most historic buildings behind Court Street. Plans include enhanced visitor facilities, hospitality and event spaces, retail outlets, a new pub, offices and the creation of a public open area known as Brewery Square. The aim is to create what the company describes as a unique "brand home" that celebrates its brewing heritage while attracting more visitors to the town.

For beer enthusiasts and local residents alike, the announcement is significant. While the scheme acknowledges the challenges facing the brewing industry, including declining beer volumes and rising costs, it also demonstrates Shepherd Neame's commitment to keeping brewing in Faversham for generations to come. This is an important factor when viewed against some of the rumours circulating a month or so ago, which claimed that the company was looking at abandoning brewing altogether. So, after more than three centuries after brewing began on the site, the company is betting that a leaner, more modern brewery will ensure that Kent's most famous brewer remains rooted in its historic home well into the future.

This is definitely good news as far as local jobs and businesses are concerned, although from my own, personal point of view it ought to come with a caveat attached. The later would take the form of the company altering the recipes, especially those of its cask ales. I know that I am not the only Kentish drinker to think so, but whilst this family brewery has a fine range of attractive and traditional pubs, beers such as Master Brew, Spitfire, and Late Red really lend themselves as open to improvement.

I’ve written on the blandness of many of the company’s cask beers, ad nauseam, and I can categorically confirm this was NOT the case 40 years or so, ago! Some drinkers claim that the beers are over attenuated, in so much that any residual malt sugar remaining in the finished pint, has been attacked by the house yeast, and turned into alcohol and CO2. In other words, the beers are fermented right out, leaving them lacking balance, body and above all flavour. With a new, and leaner brewing plant in the offing, surely now is the time to revamp the tired old recipes and give Kentish drinkers the beers they truly deserve, and can be realy proud of?