The family who brew the local Kentish beer, Larkins, have been farming and brewing in Penshurst and the surrounding area for generations, (a family bequest from the time of Henry V111 mentions brewing equipment). As recently as 1976 Robert Langridge, grandfather of the current brewer was presented with the “Order of Knights of the Hop”, shown in the illustration.
The tradition of livening beer with hops was introduced into England by Flemish immigrants and immediately became the established method. Hop gardens, sprung up all over the county. The hops were trained up strings laced between tall chestnut poles – a job originally done by a man standing on stilts.
Until
the 1950’s Londoners would travel down to Kent by train from the East
End to pick hops and earn a bit of extra money whilst enjoying a healthy family
holiday in the country at the same time. They would arrive with their bedding,
some small items of furniture and pots and pans often arriving on horse drawn
carts. Whole families would pick all day with hands turning first brown then
black and then retire to basic accommodation known as hoppers huts, with shared
rudimentary sanitation. Rows of these simple single room dwellings sprung
up on farms and the remains of some brick built ones can still be found in
parts of Kent. During what leisure they had they would make their own fun
and at the end of the harvest they would gather together and celebrate round
a big bonfire and sing and dance before returning to London the next day.
Hop pickers disappeared as machinery took over the picking and the hop fields in Kent diminished. Larkins no longer grow their own hops because the price fell so low. Instead they buy the Bramling Cross variety from neighbouring or other Weald of Kent farms and the Fuggles and East Kent Goldings varieties are grown nearer to Canterbury.
Traditionally the hops were dried in ‘Oast Houses’ which can be seen all over the area, although most are now converted into homes. They are comprised of roundels, with a cone shaped roof. A fire was lit on the ground floor and the hops were spread and dried on a raised floor with the fumes being drawn upwards and out through the white wooden cowl on the top- which swiveled round with the wind.
Nowadays the Larkins oast is fired by oil and is one of the most modern,
being built in 1935, but beside it stand some of the oldest traditional oast
houses in the country. The Larkins brew-house is in a former cowshed along
with the fermenting vessels and the “cellar” in which the brew
matures and the whole process takes 1 – 3 weeks depending on the strength.
The strongest is Porter, followed by Best Sovereign and then Traditional Bitter.
The locally grown and malted barley, Kentish hops and the local water which rises through the sandy clay and ironstone of the area all contribute to the wonderful characteristic taste of this beer. No sugars or brewing adjuncts are added. Enjoy a glass of Larkins at “The Rock Inn” and you will also find it in many other local pubs in the area.
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