"Not a lot of people know this..." says Hitchin Town's commercial manager Mick Docking, "but it's highly likely the first-ever recorded FA Cup match to kick off was Hitchin Town vs Crystal Palace back in 1871."

Hitchin have the distinction of being one of 15 teams which played in the first ever FA Cup in 1871, where they bowed out in the second round to eventual finalists, the Royal Engineers.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the FA Cup, making it the oldest national football competition in the world - and to mark the occasion, the club has teamed up with Garden City Brewery and Hitchin internet service provider IDNet to create a special celebratory ale.

"It's a way for us to generate some extra revenue for the club, engage with local firms and have some fun along the way," explained Mick.

IDNet kindly provide the broadband at Top Field and they were the Canaries' partners when hosting previous local cider and cheese festivals.

"We reached out to local brewer Nick Laurits and a recipe for the ale was hatched," says Top Field stalwart Mick.

"It was decided to focus on hop varieties and ingredients which would have been around back in 1871," Mick explained.

After some research, the key hops of Challenger, East Kent Goldings and Fuggle were chosen.

A date was set last month and the enthusiastic team met at the Garden City Brewery to roll up their sleeves and prepare the mash.

Brewer Nick Laurits welcomed volunteers from IDNet and the football club, and after a short briefing on the process, it was all hands-on deck.

As Nick explains, there were three highly social activities where everyone got stuck in.

"First we got everyone stirring in the grain, this took about 15 minutes of continuous paddling and was followed by a 75 minute mash," he said.

Mashing is the term given to the start of the brewing process, where crushed grains are mixed with water to form a porridge-like mixture.

Next came the messy part of transferring the wort into a giant kettle and scooping out the used grain.

"I was impressed how keenly and vigorously everyone got involved, not least because you need a decent level of fitness." says Nick.

The final piece of group participation was measuring out and adding the hops - followed by a 60 minute boil.

The whole process took around five hours and a well-earned pint was enjoyed by all afterwards.

IDNet's Director Tim Davies said: "When Mick told us about his plans to mark the 150th anniversary of the FA Cup, we quickly realised that it would combine three of our favourite things: Hitchin + Football + Ale.

"How could we not be involved in such a noble initiative?

"Grass roots football and the true spirit of the FA Cup need to be celebrated now more than ever, so we hope the Football Association and other clubs make the most of the '150' celebrations."

Now there was only one last thing to decide – what would the ale be called?

Both the Football Club and IDNet asked their social networks for name suggestions and after much deliberation, the winner was announced as Hop Field 1871.

"It's a play on the name of our home ground, 'Top Field' and incorporates the commemorative date," explains Mick with a smile.

Hop Field 1871 will be available to purchase in the Canary Club bar before the Canaries host Cheshunt FC in the second preliminary round of the FA Cup, the 150th anniversary of the world's most renowned domestic knock-out tournament.

All proceeds will go to support club development.

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Stay tuned to Hitchin Nub News for a future UP CLOSE feature on IDNet, who are a leading technology-driven Internet Service Provider (ISP) based in our town.

IDNet deliver high-performance data and telecoms solutions for home users, SME businesses, blue-chip corporations and government agencies throughout the UK.

Find out more about IDNet here