#GreatBritishBeach Clean - Deal Beach Sunday 17th September 2017

We had an excellent response to this year's #GreatBritishBeachClean here in Deal with at least 70 people volunteering for todays Clean at Deal Pier.

We collected 41kgs of rubbish which was logged as part of the national survey of  rubbish on our beaches organised by the Marine Conservation Society

This year there were over 13 cleans around the Kent Coast including those at St Margarets Bay and Shakespeake Beach in Dover

The next Deal With It Beach Clean is on Saturday 14th October meeting at 10am at the Sea Café on Walmer Green

Deal Hop Farm - The Harvest is In

We had an absolutely marvellous result on our first harvest day. 

Thanks your amazing work we harvested 75kgs of hops from 95 sites (one more today!)

This is three times our top end expectations!

The activity in and around the town can only be described as frenetic and we engaged so many others - we had some sites with 10-15 people getting in the harvest with neighbours, children, grandchildren and in many case passers by press into action.

Our guestimate is that we had about 250-400 involved on the harvest or at the Landmark on Thursday.

My favourite image of the day was of our Pre-School site bringing in their crop from the school allotment. The kids were only a little bigger than the basket!

Some photos from the day here

The Landmark Garden, especially between about 4:30 to 6:30, was manic and had that heady hoppy aroma - we had music, pickers, a Hop town crier and a fantastic team managing the process, weighing and looking after our precious crop. And it did not stop really until about 8pm and we final delivered everything to Ripple Steam Brewery at 9pm

The brewers are blown away with the quantity and quality of the harvest. Photos here and videos on Facebook

I am happy to report that our first run of  Hopping M.A.D (Made Around Deal) is in the fermentation tanks ready to be transferred to cask on Tuesday. The Aroma in the brewery is amazing. The beer looks, smells and tastes amazing - David is a happy brewer. He used about 25kgs on Friday

As we have more hops than we expected what do with the rest? We have taken advice from some local Professional hop farmers how to manage the hops. The plan is to do a second brew on Tuesday but this is contingent on the condition of the drying hops by Monday evening. We are hop sitting over the weekend. So keep your fingers crossed. The final decision is with the brewers. I will let everyone know what is happening on Tuesday morning.

I know a few of you may be feeling not as elated as the rest of us - people away, hops late or not at all.

But you are part of what we have achieved.

Our 'Crop' is not just hops or even beer but learning, friendships, fun and a community that can do anything #Deal@ItsBest

#GreatBritishBeach Cleans 15-24th September

We have our Deal Beach Clean on Sunday 17th September starting at 9:30am. This is part of the Marine Conservation Society's #GreatBritishBeachClean - a national survey of the impact of rubbish on our coastline and wildlife.

Our clean is one of 13 cleans around the Kent Coast - so if you miss ours please consider joining one of the others:


Other Local Cleans are at St Margaret’s Bay 16th Sept at 11am organised by the Bay Trust, Dover Shakespeare Beach 10am on the 17th Sept organised by White Cliffs Countryside Partnership plus Kingsdown Beach on Sunday 24th at 10am organised by Kingsdown & Ringwould Parish Council.

Full details at the MCS site http://www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/events/gbbc?postcode=&postcode_distance=10&county=Kent&beach=

Deal Hop Farm - Harvest Date Thursday 14th Sept

Deal Hop Farm has its first harvest next Thursday 14th September. 

The next day Ripple Steam Brewery will be using the hops in to brew a Green Hop Beer.

The project, launched in the town in January, has grown to a patchwork farm of 130 sites in peoples’ gardens, allotments, community gardens and spaces, including English Heritage’s kitchen garden at Walmer Castle.

In a little over nine months the group has become one of the largest community growing projects in the country with nearly 200 people involved

Steve Wakeford, of the Deal Hop Farm said “The project has gone brilliantly and thanks to our enthusiastic ‘hoppers’ we are well placed for an excellent first year’s crop.

The harvest is going to be great fun as well as quite challenging; as we are attempting to harvest on one day across all our sites.

The idea is to pick our hops on Thursday 14th from 3pm and have then available for brewing very early on Friday 15th by our partners at the Ripple Steam Brewery.

The Landmark Garden on Deal high street will be our main base for people to drop off their picked hops for weighing.

We will also have hop pickers in the garden picking hops off bines where people are away.

Volunteers hop pickers are welcome - long sleeves advised but cockney rhyming slang is not mandatory.

As we don’t have an Oast House, just yet; Our hops will not be dried but used as ‘Green Hops’ to give a massive flavour burst to our beer – named by members as ‘Hopping M.A.D {Made Around Deal} which will be available in the town from the end of October.”

Next Deal Beach Clean is 17th September

Our next Deal Beach Clean is part of the Marine Conservation Society's 'Great British Beach Clean' - a national survey of rubbish on our beaches

meet at Deal Pier at 9:30am - we supply all equipment but please bring something to drink and sun protection.

The beach clean will last for about 1-1:30hrs

Bee Fest in Deal

We had a very successful Seedy Saturday today at our Bee Fest in the Landmark Garden. We think we had about 250 visitors today.

Thank you to Dover Keepers, Landmark Uke Club for playing us, everyone who donated plants and food and all our Deal With It Volunteers

All our photos can be found at here