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Chapel Down's Curious Brewery in Victoria Road, Ashford is opening today

The first visitors are set to take a step inside a new £1.7 million brewery, which is opening in a town centre today.

Curious Brewery - owned by Tenterden-based winemaker Chapel Down - is set to launch in Victoria Road, Ashford today after a year-and-a-half of construction work.

Beer enthusiasts can finally sample the locally-sourced food and booze on offer, as the brewery opens almost two months after its scheduled arrival.

Made in Kent went to look inside Curious Brewery and taste some of their products, including their award winning beer

The 120-cover restaurant is opening at 5pm today, but it is already fully booked over the next two days.

To improve the atmosphere in the joint restaurant and bar, soundproofing has been carried out to keep the production noise to a minimum while still audible for the brewery experience.

The brewery had initially planned to open its doors on Friday, March 29 but the opening date had to be pushed back due to groundworks issues.

The facility will allow Curious Brew to experiment with new drinks. Picture: Andy Jones
The facility will allow Curious Brew to experiment with new drinks. Picture: Andy Jones
Each employee is being trained to an industry qualification level on the drinks and brewing process. Picture: Andy Jones
Each employee is being trained to an industry qualification level on the drinks and brewing process. Picture: Andy Jones

Set to become the centre of Chapel Down's beer branch, the newly-made vats will be able to produce 9,000 pints a day when fully operational "in the next few months".

Finishing touches were still being completed earlier this week, as Kent Online went behind the scenes and shared a glimpse inside the latest development.

The facility will allow Curious Brew to experiment with new drinks, including Curious West Coast - an IPA that will be debuting at the brewery's opening.

Inside the £1.7m Curious Brewery in Victoria Road
Inside the £1.7m Curious Brewery in Victoria Road

Bosses have suggested that 12 to 15 new drinks are in the pipeline, with small batches of each being made over the next year.

The currently unused brewing equipment will have to go through a series of tests and dry runs before beer production begins.

Once operational an automated cleaning system using acid and caustic methods will be employed every day to ensure hygienic standards are maintained.

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