T hink about the history of of England. Up until the 1950s, East End families (usually women and children) would decamp from London every autumn to the countryside to work for the next few weeks in the hop gardens. This was valuable work, which often helped pay for necessities over the winter months, and when the ‘hop cards’ which allocated a family a place on a particular farm were delivered they were so prized that a black market developed in London of stolen and forged cards – perhaps an early form of identity theft! The days of such intensive manual labour have long gone. Of the 72,000 acres of hops that grew across southern England at the end of the nineteenth century, only 2,650 now remain. But the taste for beer is stronger than ever – so where do all the hops come from, and how does the harvest now happen? Where do the hops for British beers now come from, and is there a terroir for hops as there is for grapes? Growing of hops is now primarily restricted to Kent and the West Midlands with acreage split evenly between the two locations. We believe that terroir does play an important part in hops. To give an example: the parentage of many hops grown in Germany, US and around the world is English (such as the Goldings hop variety which was first reported in Surrey in the 1750s). These hops however express themselves differently when grown on different soils with different temperatures and latitude (as day length is extremely import for hop growing). hops in this country and you probably have a somewhat idealised picture of the historic hop harvests in the south
For more information about Steiner Hops please see www.hopsteiner.com
What are the current trends in beers and brewing, and what do you think the next big thing will be? We have seen a massive growth in more heavily hopped and flavoursome beers in the past few years. Whilst this may be reaching saturation in the Western world there is still much more room for growth in Asia and South America for this beer style. In addition we have seen the global brewers respond to the growing threat from the much smaller micro brewers by purchasing many of these breweries, often at inflated prices. In the current market place it is hard to differentiate between genuine micro breweries brands and the multinational brands. This will probably result in drinkers searching out their local breweries who source local hops and malt for their beers. Whilst our breeding programme is naturally focused on developing more flavoursome varieties such as Denali which is packed with a pineapple punch, the less sexy focus is to improve yield. These agronomic factors include improved disease resistance meaning less pesticide spraying and improved drought tolerance such that irrigation can be minimised, all of which improve the sustainability of hops during times of climate change. Finally, what are your tips for pulling the perfect pint? Firstly, make sure the glass is clean and dry. Beer foam tends to dissipate when it comes into contact with oils that may be smeared on the surface of the glass, and a damp glass will produce less foam. We recommend a glass with sloping sides, such as the traditional pint glass shape, to get the best result.
How are the hops now harvested? The hop harvest runs through autumn, using specialist harvesters that mechanically remove the hop cones from the trellis. They are then transported to the cleaning facility, and the hop cones are mechanically separated from any remaining leaves and stems and sent to kilns for drying. Once the hops have reached the proper level of moisture content they are baled and stored in refrigerated conditions in order to protect their delicate balance of oils and resins. The leftover hop leaves are then macerated and spread back onto the land. The bales can then either be vacuum packed into smaller foils or milled into powder and pelletised which are then bagged into special nitrogen- flushed packaging to keep the pellets fresh. Is there still a market for English hops? English hops are synonymous with traditional English ale. The Fuggles and Goldings hop varieties in particular are renowned around the world for their delicate flavour and spicy, earthy and citrus fruit aromas which produces a balanced beer style with good drinkability. Whilst there has recently been a renaissance in the more heavily hopped IPA (India Pale Ale) beer style driven by the upsurge in US Craft Brewers, we are also experiencing a demand for less bitter, more drinkable or sessionable beer styles for which English hops are excellent.
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Hop cones are sent to kilns after picking
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