![\"Green](\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/sustainability\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/669\/2015\/10\/green-chapel-ale.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAll aspects of this beer were produced locally. The hops were grown locally on campus grounds and harvested by a team of students and staff, the labelling was designed by CCCU students and the brewing process itself was tasked to a local Canterbury micro brewer, \u2018Canterbury Brewers\u2019. It is truly a local endeavour by local people.<\/p>\n
How did this process come about? It started with a Hop, Skip and a Jump.<\/p>\n
The hops that were used in this process were the Wye Challenger, Fuggle and East Kent Goldings variety, the latter of which enjoys a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status meaning Canterbury Christ Church University is one of the few places where these type of hops can be grown.<\/p>\n
The project was spearheaded by Sustainability Projects Officer, Alex Metcalfe, and the choice of hops was made in consultation with Dr Pe<\/u><\/a>ter Darby<\/u>, who is a prominent researcher into the cultivation and preservation of hop varieties. Upon his recommendation, additional input was obtained from notable blogger, Sophie Atherton<\/u><\/a>, who very kindly offered her own advice and opinions on the project. It was later that Canterbury Brewers<\/u><\/a> came on board who provided the means to brew and bottle the beer.<\/p>\n Sara O\u2019Hara, a Senior Lecturer in Media, Arts and Design came on board with a view to the actual design of the new label and James Rose and Jamie Glover, both currently CCCU students, are responsible for the design of the striking new label for the Green Chapel Ale \u2013 inspired by our own CCCU Chapel Roof. The design is bold and crisp, much like the ale contained within.<\/p>\n By harvest time, it was time to collect the hops. A team of student volunteers, led by Chaplain David Stroud attended to the harvest, but without the benefit of an oast house, (a drying kiln to preserve the hops), they needed to be harvested and transported to the brewery as soon as possible. Freshly harvested hops have a very limited window, roughly 4-6 hours, before they become unsuitable to be used in brewing so it was a rather mad \u2018race to the finish\u2019 to get them collected and transported to the brewery in time! In many ways, the lack of an oast house contributed to the beer, as the rich oils that are normally lost from the hops during drying were retained and infused into the beer itself.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n