A brand new festival is being held at Brogdale this year; the Great British Cider, Beer and Food Festival will take place on 24 and 25 September and producers will showcase food and drink from around Kent and the UK.
Brogdale Collections is a charity with the principle aim of creating awareness and interest in The National Fruit Collections and to enhance the long term sustainable future for the living collections at Brogdale.
The National Fruit Collections are the largest fruit collection in the world growing on one site, and comprise around 2,200 apples, 550 pears, 320 cherries, 350 plums, 50 hazelnuts, 150 gooseberries, 200 currants (black, red, white and pink), as well as small collections of vines, quinces, medlars and apricots.
Sally Roger marketing manager at Brogdale, home of the National Fruit Collections comments:
“Our traditional cider festival is very popular in September and also has a number of food producers attending so we have decided this year to broaden the festival to give equal prominence to cider, beer and food and to give local producers the chance to showcase the great food and drink which is on offer here in Kent.”
“The cider bar will be much larger than in previous years and we are hoping to have over 100 different ciders to taste or take home. Cider apples will still be very prominent both in a display and also as part of the orchard tours.”
“Many people don’t just come to taste cider at this time of year but we are increasingly getting a number of enquiries from people who want to make their own cider so choosing the right variety of tree is important and what better way than to see the many varieties of cider apple grown at Brogdale and to select one that best suits your tastes.”
There will be plenty to entertain at the festival for all ages so if you want a break from sampling all the food and drink on offer then there will be guided and self guided orchard tours, tractor trailer rides, miniature railway rides, cookery demonstrations and gardening talks, fruit variety identification and much more.
There will also be music to entertain throughout the afternoon and evening including on Saturday local bands The Fecks, Engine and Clutch & Gearbox and on Sunday Adrian Ben and the Chillbillies. There is also the marketplace shops, Grow plant centre, Courtyard Cafe and new Lottery funded children’s play area.
Anyone interested in having a stall at the festival should contact Brogdale at enquiries@brogdalecollections.co.uk or call 01795 536250. Stalls will cost £55 for a marquee space 10% discount if you bring your own gazebo.
Further information on visiting Brogdale can be found at www.brogdalecollections.co.uk
On arrival back at the village Hall in Putley there were a number of people standing outside the locked door. The look on Mike Penney’s (Troggi) face when he realised thejudges for the bottle conditioned perry were inside and judging when he was a judgewas priceless. He had to bang on the window and shout, asking to be let in. Once themain judging started everyone piled in and the array of ciders and perries were amazing. The different colours and hues were highlighted by the sun shining in the window. Andy got started on the Dry and Medium ciders, while Mairi and I jointly did the Sweetciders and perries. Mairi was a Putley virgin and she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing….or doing. She had been given some ‘training’ by Andy on what to look for so was reasonably competent and by the end of the afternoon was extremely flushedand ‘happy’. That Japanese film crew kept following her round!
A team building event for businesses or just a fun night with your friends. Discover the wonderful world of ‘Real’ cider by learning about and appreciating some of the best cider’s and perries around.