Press Release
Something's brewing at Kew
For release 10 January 2003
The British have enjoyed their beer for centuries and a traditional pint
is still at the heart of the nation's psyche. British pubs serve more
brands of beer than any other country but few drinkers actually stop to
consider the journey from barley field to beer mug. From the end of January,
with the help of Young's brewery, Kew serves up a new living display of
hops, barley and brewing in the Princess of Wales Conservatory, showing
how these plants helped shape a distinctive culture and landscape.
The rural scene, complete with mini crops of barley and hops, recalls
traditional agricultural and woodland practices that supported the brewing
industry in the 19th and 20th centuries. Vintage farmyard machinery and
brewing equipment take centre stage amid wooden casks, malt sacks, hop
poles and other tools, illustrating methods used in hop growing and brewing.
The display also explores the much-loved activity of hop-picking that
once served as cheap and healthy holiday in the countryside for London's
East-Enders.
Kew's brewing display is presented in association with Young's, which
owns over 200 pubs in London and the south. The company has been based
at the 400 year old Ram Brewery in Wandsworth since 1831 and maintains
traditional brewing methods. Shire horses still make daily deliveries
of beer from the Ram Brewery to the local area, keeping up this time-honoured
use of heavy horses since the 1580s.
In its heyday, hop farming stimulated many traditional crafts. These included
charcoal-making to fire the oast house furnaces, weaving to produce sacks
and coopering to transport the finished product in wooden barrels or casks.
Charcoal was produced locally in coppiced woods. The management of these
woods and hop fields created a sustainable habitat that encouraged a diverse
range of wildlife and plants.
Many of the British wildflowers that flourished were used in the flavouring
of ale. Bog myrtle, heather, angelica, dandelion and elder are just some
known as brewing herbs used to give extra flavour, aroma or sweetness.
The brewing display is a prelude to Go Wild, Kew's 2003 summer festival,
which focuses on the splendour and diversity of Britain's native plants
and animals and the influence of traditional land management on landscape
diversity, local culture and the rural economy.
Kew Gardens opens daily from 9.30am and closes at 4.15pm until 9 February
then 5.30pm until 30 March. Entry is £7.50 for adults and £5.50
for concessions. Children of 16 and under are admitted free. For details
about visiting Kew, phone 020 8332 5655 or visit www.kew.org.
For further information and photographs, contact Hannah Rogers or Claire
Hyde on 020 8332 5607/5619 (media enquiries only, not for publication).
For further Press information please contact:
|
Kew: Public Relations Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5607/5619 |
Wakehurst Place: Public Relations Tel: +44 (0)1444 894018 |
