On Friday 18th September, another full house was depleted by a group of three being unable to come on the day but the rest  of Farringdon Ward Club were treated to a comprehensive tour of Shepherd Neame brewery in Faversham, Kent.

Some members had travelled far and wide for a 10.30am start: in fine weather and market day, for the tour of the oldest brewery in the country. To start with, we were given a health and safety briefing, so we wouldn’t dare contaminate any beer! The tour took approximately two and a half hours, which described the whole process of preparing the ingredients, through to a tasting of six different styles of beer. We were also treated to explanations of bygone pub signs and an impressive display of delivery vehicles in The Old Brewery Store.

Before we were treated to our bespoke two-course meal (we were the only guests before the 2pm tour!), President David Selves thanked our Tour Guide, Martin for a very informative and passionate tour. As a mark of appreciation , David presented Martin with a Farringdon Ward tie to share with Jonathan Neame, 5th generation of his family to run Shepherd Neame. Treasurer, Andrew Hamilton in turn, thanked both David and Membership Secretary, Bruce de Saram for their hard work in organising the day.

The proverbial ‘get-together’ in a ‘beer factory’ had been a great success.