by French & Jupps
Nestled in the historic market town of Faversham, Kent, The Faversham Brewery stands as a testament to centuries of brewing tradition. Home to Shepherd Neame, Britain’s Oldest Brewer, this site has witnessed the craft of brewing evolve, consistently producing Kentish ales bursting with character and internationally renowned lagers. Using time-honored techniques and natural ingredients, including mineral water from the town’s aquifer and locally sourced hops, the brewery blends art and science to create award-winning beers. In this article, we sit down with brewing manager Rupert Hodgkins to gain insights into the mastering malt and the intricacies of its uses in a variety of beer styles, exploring the secrets behind crafting beers enjoyed time and time again.
Brewery Name: Shepherd Neame
Brewer Name: Rupert Hodgkins
Job Title: Brewing Manager
Spotlight Beer: First Drop
Website: www.shepherdneame.co.uk
Introduction To Rupert Hodgkins
Q1. What inspired you to start brewing?
I was a keen homebrewer and BioChem Eng Masters graduate. It seemed like a good career choice!
Q2. How long have you been at Shepherd Neame?
17 years
Q3. How/Have your beer styles and flavours profiles evolved over the years?
Our traditional beers haven’t changed much at all. The rest of our range has generally become much hoppier and lighter.
Q4. What factors have influenced these changes (e.g., consumer preferences, ingredient availability, brewing techniques)?
We try out a lot of beer styles and different ingredients. Consumer preferences lead the way, and marketing budget allocation also plays a significant role.
Q5. What sets your brewery apart from others in the industry?
We are the go-to brewery for classic Kentish Ales. We also have a vibrant range of modern ales, lagers, and ciders. I genuinely believe that any beer drinker will find something they love in our range.
A Guide to Choosing Brewing Malts: Tips from Rupert Hodgkins, Brewing Manager, Shepherd Neame
Choosing Base Malts
Q6. What factors influence your choice of base malts? Is it beer style, colour, extract?
Base malt choice is based on both style and colour. When brewing a lager, we almost always use a lager malt. However, we might use a lager base for a very pale ale, too. Sometimes, contract partners have specs that don’t align with ours, so we might need additional base malts with slightly different specs.
Q7. What are the key characteristics to look for when selecting a great base malt?
A great base malt should look, smell and taste fresh. We check each load as it enters the brewery, crunching on some grains and examining the malt closely. Other than that, the grains should be as consistent as possible. If some grains are under-modified or have high glucan levels, this can cause performance issues even if the bulk specs look ok.
Q8. Do you have a specific approach to creating a balanced malt bill, ratios, preferences?
It depends on the beer. Many of our classic ales use substantial amounts of crystal malt, which I would avoid when brewing more modern styles to create differentiation and allow modern hop flavours to pop. This week, we’re brewing a wheat beer that contains 50% un-malted wheat, so the rest of the grain needs to be a base malt with good diastatic power. Generally, it’s important to consider whether the beer you want to make is malt-led, yeast-led or hop-led in terms of flavour. For instance, you’d want to experiment with a complex malt bill for a malt-led beer, bringing in a range of malt flavours. For a hop-led beer or even a lager, you might want to minimise the flavour contribution of the malt as much as possible.
Choosing Specialty Roasted Malts
Q9. What is your approach to incorporating Roasted Malts into your beer recipes to achieve specific flavour profiles? Are there any dos and don’ts?
For a dark beer, I would generally use a mixture of amber, brown, and chocolate malts, maybe with a touch of roasted barley, depending on the flavour goals. For amber or even lighter ales, I would consider using a tiny amount of chocolate malt as an alternative to crystal or as a complement to the lighter-coloured malts.
Q10. Do you have a methodology for using roasted malts effectively?
There are many factors, but the key is to have a clear vision of the flavour you want to create. Is it complex, simple, heavy, or light? Are you using aromatic hops? What temperature is the beer going to be served at? What carbonation level? Once you know these, the recipe should fall into place. Failing that, just use whatever you fancy and see how it turns out. The only way to learn is to try. And fail.
Q11. How do you balance the bitterness and astringency of Roasted Malts with the hop bitterness and aroma in your beers?
Perceived and measured bitterness are different, especially for dry-hopped beers or beers with a high roasted malt proportion. Generally, aim for lower IBUs than you think you need with both roasty and dry-hopped beers. Alternatively, increase the FG with mash profile adjustments.
Q12. Does your water chemistry interact differently with Crystal and Patent Malts to influence beer flavour? Do adjust your water profile?
Darker malts tend to have lower pH worts, making pH control easier. I would create a salt blend to achieve a chosen sulphate: chloride ratio, and then adjust dose rates into grist and wort to achieve good mash and wort pHs. With the wort pH, you can find the right dose experimentally by measuring wort pH without copper slats, then dosing and re-measuring until you hit your target. Generally, adjust the ratio to taste and adjust the quantity to hit pH goals. There shouldn’t be much need for other types of acidification when using dark malts.
The Future of Brewing
Q13. At the start of 2025, what trends do you see shaping the next year in the beer industry?
Consolidation and rebalancing of capacity to match consumer demand. In terms of beer styles, I don’t really know but I’ve been surprised by the demand for traditional European styles. Pilsner, Kolsch, Wit, Biere de Garde. I think there is a desire for interesting beers that don’t depend on New World hops.
Q14. How is your brewery adapting to these trends?
We have a programme of new beers for every year, combining small runs of unfiltered/unpasteurised keg beer from our small batch brewhouse with new cask ale recipes from our main brewhouse. This gives us a way to explore consumer demand and hopefully generate a few long-term winners. We would like to keep supporting and promoting cask beer as a classic and sustainable choice.
Pro Tips for Homebrewing
Q15. What advice would you give to homebrewers who are looking to improve their skills and create more complex or consistently brewed beers?
Learn to clean your kit well, use bottled or otherwise dechlorinated water, pay attention to mash and wort pH. Make a yeast starter. Think about flavour in culinary terms. Balance is important, whether your flavours are mild or intense. Taste your wort and beer in different stages of fermentation.
Final Thoughts…
Q16. If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one beer, or beer style, for the rest of your life, which would you choose and why?
Ordinary bitter. It is tasty, not too strong, refreshing, and suitable for every occasion. But realistically, it’s going to be coconut beer.
Q17. Where can readers find your beers, learn more about your brewery and connect with you?
Through our website and socials at www.shepherdneame.co.uk
French & Jupps Maltings, Great Britain’s oldest maltster, is open to the public. Learn how we produce our range of handcrafted roasted malts and secure your place for a guided tour.
This World Wetlands Day, we’re proud to be reaffirming our commitment to sustainability and environmental social governance.
Arkell’s Brewery founded 1843, is owned and run by the same family on the same site, which began as a small farm brewery. Head brewer is Alex Arkell, the 6th generation of the family and takes a deep dive with us on on tradition, technique, and the future of brewing.
We’d love to become part of your journey and for you to become part of our story.
If you are looking to create your project using the finest malt with beautiful flavours and aromas, please get in touch,
French & Jupps Ltd, Roydon Road, Stanstead Abbotts, Herts, SG12 8HG
Registered Company No. 00165116
To learn about the journey from field to glass and more detailed explanation of the malting process click below.
Proudly delivering outstanding quality and services for centuries to come.
We pride ourselves in:
Producing the finest quality speciality malts
Providing an inspiring environment for businesses to develop and grow
Supporting the community and local youth programmes
Family owned and driven by core family values.
We are: One team, supportive, honest, respectful and care greatly about our community, local talented youth and the environment.
French & Jupps Ltd, Roydon Road, Stanstead Abbotts, Herts, SG12 8HG
