Showdown for Hogs Back Brewery - Surrey brewer to make national TV appearance

Hogs Back Brewery is set to reach an estimated 1.6 million TV viewers when it appears on BBC One Daytime series, The Farmers’ Country Showdown, later this month.

The episode featuring Hogs Back Brewery will be screened mid-afternoon on 18th January. It includes an interview with Hogs Back MD Rupert Thompson, where he talks about the brewery, and in particular our hop garden, as well as footage of the Farnham Food Festival, where Thompson gave a talk on hops.

The programme, which also features local gamekeeper and butcher Jack Smallman, was filmed in September, around the time of Hogs Back’s third annual hop harvest.

Thompson said, “We were delighted to welcome The Farmers’ Country Showdown team to the brewery. The hop garden, which we planted in 2014, is a great example of brewing tradition and innovation working hand-in-hand, and an excellent fit for the series, which looks at a wide range of farmers and producers.

“Growing our own hops, including the Farnham White Bine, a traditional local variety which we have revived, is a great story and we’re always happy to tell it. We look forward to seeing the final programme later this month and hope viewers enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed the filming.”

The Farmers’ Country Showdown celebrates the hard-working, devoted farmers who are the backbone of the rural economy. It illustrates the changing face of farming as well as the traditional ways of working the land they live on. It first screened in 2017 and a second series of 20 x 45-minute programmes started on 2 January this year.