The hop plant, or
Humulus Lupulus is a climbing bine with bitter cone-like flowers. The
plant is related to the cannabis family, along with nettles, so the hop is like the good
cousin, or non-evil twin.
It has long been used
as flavouring for beer; but only introduced to
brewers in Britain in 1524, thanks to thoughtful Flanders merchants. It was initially regarded with suspicion
as Ale, the typical British fermented malt beverage, was flavoured
with herbs and flowers, a mixture known as gruit. This sweet, spicy
ale was very popular and beer (a fermented malt beverage with hops)
didn’t corner the market for some time.
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| My Nugget Hop cutting. |
Hops have a long and
peculiar history. In Renaissance Europe being a key component in beer
was a bit of a death sentence, either directly or indirectly. Hop
plants were banned from several English towns over the years.
Conversely, Bavarian King Wenceslas banned people from selling
Bavarian hops to other countries, prizing their flavour above
anything else.
Gradually, as the hop
garnered favour and brewing became an industrial enterprise (from the older
days of homebrewing) and trade blossomed, hop growing became a
profitable enterprise. The southern counties are perhaps best known
as hop growing regions in the UK. Since then, when Goldings was the
variety commonly available to the brewer, botanists have meddled and
we now have hundreds of varieties available to grow or brew with.
My first hop was
Nugget, an American high alpha acid variety, with a spicy aroma. I
live by the sea in northwest Ireland, and we get relatively long
summers considering our latitude. The last frost usually happens in
April, and the first in late October. That gives us a long enough
growing season, as the hop plant needs 120 frost-free days in order to crop.
My Nugget's in it's third year, while I've also recently added Progress, Goldings Early Bird, WGV, Fuggle and First Gold to my farm; all first year, all English varieties, and I can't wait to use them, in one super hoppy soup.
My Nugget's in it's third year, while I've also recently added Progress, Goldings Early Bird, WGV, Fuggle and First Gold to my farm; all first year, all English varieties, and I can't wait to use them, in one super hoppy soup.
