Just received in from Ant at the Corn Mill. Lots of very useful info.
Crabble Corn Mill is holding its seventh beer festival over the late May bank holiday weekend. The festival is open on Friday 27th May, between 3pm and 11:00pm and on Saturday 28th May between 11am and 11:00pm.
The event is the single most important fund raising event for the Crabble Corn Mill Trust and in this current time of austerity the income from the event is particularly critical to the Trust.
This year there are 53 real ales and 17 ciders on offer. We are pleased to say this is very much a showcase for Kentish produce with every one of the 53 ales and 15 of the ciders being produced within Kent.
This year there are more breweries based in Kent than we have seen for many a year, possibly as long as 50 years or longer! Unfortunately we have not managed to get products from every Kent brewery as we only have limited room in which to store and serve the beers, but we have the product of 13 Kent breweries, 4 more than last year.
The previous six beer festivals have been well received by people in the local community and from further afield. Last year we attracted about 1200 visitors for the event and we expect a similar number this year. Building on what we achieved last year we believe we have overcome previous queuing difficulties by extending the length of the festival bar and having a separate cider bar. We are also limiting entry on Friday 27th May to make it a 'ticket only' event. This unfortunately means that people will not be able to buy tickets on the gate on Friday - although tickets can be paid for and reserved in advance for pick up on the gate. Advance tickets are available from Crabble Corn Mill from 1st May. They are also available from the Fox PH in Temple Ewell and the Tourist Information Kiosk on Dover seafront near to the Prince of Wales Pier. We limited numbers for Friday last year and whilst some people were disappointed not to get tickets, overall the feedback from customers was most positive as it was clear our arrangements had worked well and there was good access to the bars with minimal queuing times.
For Saturday 28th May tickets will be available on the gate, without the need to make a reservation so there will be room on Saturday for people who do not get tickets for the Friday session.
The beer festival is the largest single fund-raising event held by the Trustees in the year, and in these difficult economic times the Trust has come to rely upon the income generated just to meet day to day running costs. Like Crabble Corn Mill itself the festival is organised and run by volunteers. If anyone wishes to volunteer, particularly to help on Saturday 28th May, they are encouraged to contact the Mill by phone or e-mail. (01304 823292 or
beerfest@crabblecornmill.org.uk)
The Sponsors
We would not be able to hold this event without the help of the local businesses that sponsor the event.
The Trust is very grateful to all the sponsors who have contributed in various ways to bring this event together. We recognise that this year, once again, the economic outlook remains poor and like everyone, individuals and businesses alike, Crabble Corn Mill is facing a difficult time ahead with overheads increasing across all areas of expenditure, especially in respect of fuel.
Despite the difficult times, the Trust is very pleased that so many local firms have, once again, displayed tremendous support and come on board to sponsor the event. It is very encouraging that many of our sponsors this year have sponsored the event in previous years. The Trustees are extremely pleased by this display of loyalty and generosity and we see it as an endorsement of the quality of the event.
The trust is particularly proud to give a special mention to the following sponsors who have supported every one of the fund raising beer festivals since 2005:
Shepherd Neame Ltd, of Faversham has donated two casks of beer to this festival every year.
NT Rix Scaffolding has sponsored beer every year as well as providing the bar & stillage.
Adams (Printers) Dover have donated printing services to produce the beer menus every year.
Other business that have sponsored the event every year include, The Fox PH at Temple Ewell, The Accommodation Shop, Dover; The Ramada Hotel, Whitfield, Project Management Consultancy (PMC Ltd), Dover and The Friends of Crabble Corn Mill.
Cox and Hammond Tree Surgery has sponsored a cask for the last six years as well as donating their services to the upkeep of the grounds throughout the year.
A full list of our 2011 sponsors is at the end of this press release.
The Beers
Our selection of beer and cider has been made very much with the promotion of local produce in mind.
We are presenting 53 real ales this year, an increase of 2 on last year. We believe this festival is unique in that all the beers on offer come from a single county, our very own County of Kent. We have more beers from Kent at this festival that were seen at last year's CAMRA Kent Beer Festival!
Many of these beers are rarely seen under the same roof outside of a handful of beer festivals.
We have some very new beers. One is a beer called Low and Behold. This is a limited edition brew that has been specially produced by the Ramsgate Brewery in collaboration with the Wantsum Brewery and at a strength of 2.8% abv it is aimed to exploit the tax break offered to low strength beers, without losing any of the 'big beer' flavours. The brewers believe this may be the world's first 'protest beer'!
We also have the first ever 'mild' ale brewed by the Westerham Brewery (Rob's Virtuous Ale - 4.0% abv.) and we will be one of the first places to have 'Ridgeway' - a 3.8% beer brewed by one of Kent's newest breweries, Abigale's of Ashford.
There is also a selection of seasonal ales such as Shepherd Neame's 'Early Bird' 4.3% abv (Donated by Shepherd Neame); Larkins' 'Platinum Blonde' 3.6% and Westerham's 'Summer Perle' 3.8%.
We have not deserted the core beer range either and will have 'old favourites' such as 'Bishop's Finger' 5.0% abv (again donated by Shepherd Neame); 'Oyster Stout' 4.5% (Donated by the Whitstable Brewery'); Gadd's No 3 5.0% (Donated by The Ramsgate Brewery); 'Powder Money' 4.4% (Donated by The Nelson Brewery) and 'Hengist' 5.0% (Donated by The Wantsum Brewery)
The cider list has offerings from Kent based cidermakers such as Biddenden, East Stour, Double Vision and Merry Moon. There are two new ciders to our festival - 'Scary Perry' 6.4% and 'Lemon Moon' 6.4% - both from the Merry Moon Cider Co.
A provisional list of the beers and ciders we expect to present, subject to availability also appears at the end of this press release.
Entertainment
On Friday 27th May in the evening we have a 'Chicago' style blues band called The Bluetown Sheikhs. They don't play that many gigs so we are very lucky to have them play for us this year. Friday is worth a visit just to hear them play!
Supporting us in the Saturday afternoon slot for the seventh consecutive year are The Bottles who will once again playing their own unique mixture of folk and blues based music.
The headline band on Saturday evening is Roger Betts, River's own popular 'guitar hero' who has provided a superb finale to the festival several times over the years.
We also expect some stragglers from the Old Lone Gin Band to make an appearance in the garden on Friday afternoon.
Food
As in previous years the volunteers at the mill will be manning a BBQ and curry and other food and beverages (non alcoholic) will also be available in the mill tea room.
Advance Tickets
Entry fees are £4.00 on Friday 27th May and £2.50 Saturday 28th May.
Tickets for the Friday session are on sale from 1st May from:
Crabble Corn Mill, Lower Road, River. (01304 823292)
The Fox PH, High Street, Temple Ewell (01304 823598)
Entry on Friday is by ticket only - purchased in advance.
How to get to the festival / Drinking and Driving
The trustees do not want anyone to drink and drive and also encourage responsible drinking.
There are good public transport links to Crabble Corn Mill. Information on bus and train services is generally available to the public through recognised sources. There is a rail link to Kearsney Station and a number of busses run from the town to River or the main road at Crabble.
Crabble Corn Mill is indebted to Dover White Cliffs Tours, who are providing a continuous, 16 seater, mini bus service from Dover Priory Railway Station for the duration of the festival. The first bus out on Friday will leave Dover Priory at about 2:45pm. Please note this is not a free bus service - patrons will be required to pay the driver £1.50 each way. On Saturday the first mini bus leaves the station at about 10:45.
Hot beverages and soft drinks are available for non drinkers throughout the festival.
Graham Butterworth
For Crabble Corn Mill Beer Festival
Thanks to the following sponsors:
KMFM Radio
Shepherd Neame Ltd, Britains oldest Brewer.
Whitstable Brewery.
Nelson Brewery, Chatham.
Ramsgate Brewery.
Wantsum Brewery, Hersden.
Absolute Graphix
C'est La Vie Cafe, Dover
Dover Eurochange
Adams Printers
Davis Davis Design
Merry Moon Cider Makers
East Stour Cider Makers
Adams Printers, Dover
The Fox PH, Temple Ewell
N.T Rix Scaffolding Ltd
Dover Demolition
St.Peter & St.Pauls church, River
Coversure Insurance Services
McCabe Forb Williams Accountants
Modern Gent
Beverton & Co Accountants
Tersons Estate Agents
Palace Gate Stone Ltd
Priory Road Dental Lab
Piggott's Solicitors
Priory Road Dental Surgery
Eat Kent Components
Veg For All Seasons
Plant Hire Solutions
Gateway Camera Club
The Accommodation Shop
Burnham House Veterinary Surgeons
Casey Engineering
Cox & Hammond Tree Surgery
The Friends of Crabble Corn Mill
Mr G.A Negus
Geordie & Scouser
Palace Gate Stone Ltd
Park Inn Public House, Dover
Prince Albert Public House, Dover
Regency Independent Financial Services
Synctegrity
The Fox Public House, Temple Ewell
Vanes Bakers, Dover
War & Peace Show
White Cliffs Engraving
The Fabic Fairy
L J Ransley Skip Hire
Have a great time, whichever day you go - better still, go both days.
Roger