Malt loaf

A traditional Kent oast house designed for drying hops

It is said that the world’s most popular drink, after water and tea, is beer. Whether or not this is entirely accurate is beyond my research but beer is certainly brewed the whole world over and the basic ingredients are always the same – water, a starch (usually barley), brewer’s yeast and a flavouring, such as hops.

Shepherd Neame bar

On a recent visit to Faversham, Kent, we toured the Shepherd Name brewery – Britain’s oldest – and were given an excellent insight into this independent family company. We went behind the scenes at the busy working brewery and discovered how history and heritage are combined with modern technology to produce their award-winning range of ales and lagers. It was truly fascinating – despite being, or so I thought, a non-beer drinker – to be introduced to the production process together with all the sights and smells. And, of course, they didn’t let us leave without us sampling three distinctly different types of brew.

To my amazement, I actually enjoyed the lager - named Whitstable Bay - and, much to my husband’s amusement, I asked for a pint of it!  However, I hadn’t realised that it was quite strong at 4.5 per cent and my walk back to the hotel is a bit of a blur! 

Well, that was last week and I haven’t touched a drop since! However, I have developed a longing for the taste of malted barley and so I used some Wessex Mill flour to bake a malt loaf. It wasn’t a particularly pretty result but it did produce a dark, chewy bread which, when buttered, was satisfyingly sweet and undeniably malty.

I think I had better stick to eating bread rather than drinking beer in future!  

Malt loaf