Tunbridge Wells-based craft brewery Pig & Porter received the Silver ‘Beer of the Year’ award for its Caravan bitter at the Taste of Kent Awards, held on June 22 at The Gulbenkian, Canterbury.
The brewery currently produces a wide range of beers in cask and keg. Caravan, one of its well-loved bitters, picked up the silver award for its big caramel and toffee flavours from the malts and its fruity punch, particularly tangerine, from the English Ale yeast and English hops.
Founder Robin Wright said: “At Pig & Porter, every one of our beers is made with our customers at the heart of their production and we are beyond thrilled to have received this accolade.
“We were hugely honoured to be in a room with so many other terrific, local businesses. There was great camaraderie and support, and for many of us, it was lovely to stop and celebrate each other in a world where we are all busily running our businesses.”
“It was also a moment to reflect on how much we have grown as a business, and we are delighted to finally be back to pre-pandemic levels of trade.
“We were asked on the night where our success lies, and I think it is in our breadth of range, and the quality and consistency we bring to both keg and cask brewing – something we have always done since we first opened our doors.
“We offer something for everyone and maintain traditional values with modern brewing techniques. We are now looking to the future, and one of our key future targets is sustainability across all aspects of the business, focused on a range of areas from green energy sourcing/production to using raw materials from sustainable and carbon-neutral suppliers and capturing and reusing CO2.
“We continue to minimise waste and maximise reuse and recycling within our process including production, packaging, merchandise and marketing. The target aim is to be carbon neutral within five years.
“Additionally, we are in the early stages of engaging with the B Corp movement and creating a plan and timeframe to achieve future accreditation, as the high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability to positively impact all stakeholders – workers, communities, customers and our planet, very much reflect our own core values and aspirations.
“We are also currently busy planning for our future growth and expansion to accommodate a permanent Tap Room and retail/event space at the brewery. My ultimate goal is to retain our growing reputation as a renowned and much-loved Kentish institution.”
