EXPORTS

If you're an importer and interested in representing our range of premium beers, then why not contact us for more information on how to join our winning team.

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You already know that Shepherd Neame beers have earned their place among the best-selling premium ales in the UK.

But did you know that we also export our ales to 23 countries worldwide?

And it's not just overseas drinkers our beers are winning over - they're also winning international awards for their taste, condition and quality, including Gold for Bishops Finger at the Stockholm Beer Festival and the Helsinki Beer Festival and Gold for Spitfire at the International Brewing Awards.

We've established a network of import partners around the globe that are helping us to spread the word about Britain's best-loved beers.

To find out who imports Shepherd Neame beers near you, just choose from one of the countries on the right or select our Importers page.

So distinctive are the company's two prime export products Spitfire Premium Kentish Ale and Bishops Finger Kentish Strong Ale - that they have achieved Protected Geographical Indication status from the European Union. This means, like Cheddar cheese, Champagne and Jersey Royals, they simply can't be produced - or imitated - anywhere else.

Both beers are rich in tradition. Bishops Finger, named after the finger-shaped waymarkers pointing pilgrims to Saint Thomas a Becket's shrine in Canterbury, has its own characted specifying that it can only be brewed by the head brewer on a Friday using an antique Russian teak mash tun and tested by a board member on a weekly basis

Spitfire was conceived in 1990 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, fought mainly in the skies over Kent, and to raise money for service charities - about £100,000 so far.

Such provenance has attracted beer-lovers in more than 30 countries worldwide - and so has the taste. Bishops Finger won a Gold Medal at the 2000 BBI Awards and just four years after its launch, Spitfire won the Gold Medal, and the accolade of Best Strong Cask Conditioning Beer in the World at the Brewing Industry International Awards.

To cope with this increasing demand for their beers, the brewery in Court Street has expanded considerably over the years. Yet it remains on its original site and blends harmoniously with its historic surroundings.

Production has doubled over the past ten years. The company recently passed the 200,000-barrel production target for the first time, and is now brewing more than 210,000 barrels a year - that's almost 60 million pints.

The brewery exports to 23 countries around the globe. The Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland make up a large proportion of the export market, and Bishops Finger and Spitfire are extremely popular there. Many "English style" pubs in Sweden have English-sounding names, such as The Woolpack in Karlstad, and the Rover in Gothenburg and there's even a pub in Stockholm called The Spitfire.

Other countries in which Shepherd Neame ales can also be found include Ireland, France, Spain, Japan, Canada, Australia, Poland and Russia. Indeed, it's now possible to get a pint of Bishops Finger 200 yards from the Kremlin