Beers, Boats and Boozers, No.82

There were some nice houses in Hemingford Abbot.

This one is the Manor House, right opposite the church. The original house was built in the 1500's and than a wing added on each side, one in the 16th century and one in the 17th. It is worth £2.6 million, or was before all this business.

This is the old Boot and Slipper pub with the barn next door. Obviously now a private residence but still reveals its past.You can see that each of the roofs has a cat finial on it.

After having a a bite to eat we wandered into Hemingford Grey to compare the two neighbouring villages. There weren't the number of big houses in Grey as there was in Abbot, but then the later is really a suburb, a pub but no other shop etc that we could see.

As we walked down the river bank it was very busy and we later learned that is was practice time for the Hemingford Regatta that had been going since 1901. These boats are owned by the regatta committee and the people of the two villages come together for all sorts of races in them, children, youths adults, mixed, canoes and skiffs. They are only available for five weeks prior to the event so practice nights are very busy.

We found a pub in the Hemingford Grey so we called in. It seemed to cater largely for the food trade, but we found a cosy corner and settled in. It had a nice atmosphere and the food looked good, and not over the top.

They only had three beers on and I chose one from the Brewster Brewery. The logo above may reveal why the brewery is so named. A brewster is actually the female form of a brewer. Just like the female of a baker is a Baxter? The brewery was started by Sara Barton who had obtained brewing qualifications before working in the industry. In 1996 she decided to set up her own brewery in the Vale of Belvoir. Their first brew was in 1998 and they have earned several awards over the years. In 2006 they moved to Grantham and have a 20bbl plant. They turn out traditional beers as well as a range of innovative brews under a different name, Adventure Beer Company. I was pleased to see that recently Alice Batham has joined Brewsters as she is a scion of the Batham's Brewer, which just happens to brew my favourite pint of all time, I am hoping for big things.

At 3.6% Hophead is a session ale with a nice colour and head. It has American and UK hops and the floral notes make a pleasant aroma. A good mouthful and finishes with a dry grapefruit. Well worth at least a couple of pints I would say.