THE dynamic duo behind fledgling microbrewery Tilford Brewery, Mark Collins and Paul Griffiths, have collaborated with The Farnham Beer Project to produce their first ‘community beer’, Farnham Prima Donna.

The Beer Project was launched in 2013 with the aim of restoring a small part of Farnham’s once-prolific brewing industry and in this case, growing organic Prima Donna hops in its member’s gardens for a community beer.

At the heart of the project are the ‘Farnham Hoppers’, who elect to grow a hop plant, cultivate it with lots of TLC and at the end of the season, they harvest the hop blossom.

This is where Tilford Brewery come into the picture; head brewer and co-founder Mark Collins has transformed the hops into a glorious green beer at their microbrewery, which is housed in the ‘old coach house’ on the grounds of award-winning pub, The Duke Of Cambridge in Tilford.

Mark said: “After our Rushmoor Ripper (an English style bitter) won the highly coveted title of ‘Beer of The Year 2017’ at Farnham’s Beerex in April, several CAMRA members got in touch with us to ask if we would be interested in supporting their Farnham Hopper’s harvest for 2017.

“With collaboration and community underpinning our core ethos we were of course very keen to help.”

Farnham Prima Donna, a four per cent ABV single hoppy blonde ale, will be sold in seven of Red Mist Leisure’s pubs local to the Farnham area - The Red Lion, Odiham; The Wheatsheaf, Farnham; The Duke Of Cambridge, Tilford; The Queens Head, East Clandon; The Stag On The River, Eashing; The Royal Exchange, Lindford and The Exchequer, Crookham - and just this week, all of the hop growers met at The Duke Of Cambridge to try the beer that made the hop the star, for the first time.

Mark Robson, MD of Red Mist Leisure, added: “The brewing scene in the UK is really thriving and we are proud to have Tilford Brewery based in our coach house.

“The ethos of both our companies is all about community and this brew is already getting a big thumbs-up from customers.”

Chris Hunt, organiser of the Farnham Hoppers, said: “You could liken this initiative to community gardening in a way -  people enjoying stuff in their garden, and hops make a nice crop to grow.

“But this is also very much about the community and the social side of it - at the end of summer they come together to pick hops and then in the autumn time we can meet again and drink it collectively.” 

Tilford Brewery also supply nearby Meadow End Farm with the spent grain from each ale it creates. This spent malted barley and wheat is then used for feed on the farm and its ale-inspired sausages are available at The Duke of Cambridge, Tilford.