Green Hop Beers are predominantly found in the hop growing
counties of southern England including Kent and Sussex, as well as
Herefordshire and Worcestershire in the Midlands. Outside of these areas Green
Hop Beers are generally considered to be a rare beast, particularly in northern
England due to the lack of hop growers in the region, the difficulty in
transporting fresh hops over long distances in the short space of time required
and the higher yield of hops needed to brew such a beer, so understandably northern
brewers have shied away from Green Hop Beers since such a prospect was
unfathomable and pricey. However, in recent years there has been an uptick in
Green Hop Beers in the North, brought on largely by the growing number of
microbreweries and the emergence of the craft beer movement challenging the
entrenched traditions of their forefathers. A glut of modern brewers have
experimented and innovated while seeking to expand their ranges, encompassing a
variety of beers styles native to the UK and abroad. Green Hop Beers have
increasingly fallen into this bracket over the past decade as a growing number
of microbreweries (and the odd regional brewer) have embraced this unique beer
style. There has also been an uptick of hop-growers in the north, making the
transportation of hops in a shorter space of time much easier. Some breweries
have sourced their hops from commercial growers like Yorkshire Hops, Harewood
House and Wilde Farm; community hop growing initiatives like the Manchester Hop
Project, the Horsforth Hop Project and the Leeds Co-Hoprative; communal gardens
like the Callister Garden Trust or Roots in the City; some breweries have even
gone to the lengths of sourcing their hops from hops grown on their brewery
sites. While the number of northern Green Hop Beers still pales in comparison
to their southern counterparts, it is a growing industry that is steadily
becoming more noticed.
There have been many instances of Green Hop Beers being found
all over northern England, from Cheshire in the south to Tyneside in the
north-east. In some counties like County Durham, Green Hop Beers are
sporadically found, with only Green Goldings (4.5%) – Durham flying the
flag for the region, whereas in Northumberland, in 2018 Allendale Brew Co.
produced a special green hop version of Lodestone (5%) brewed with
Bullion hops sourced from Hukins Hops based in Tenterden, Kent; while latterly
in 2024 they released Target Fresh Hop (4.5%), the same year Harlequin
(3.8%) – Rigg & Furrow appeared, brewed with 25kg of Harlequin hops
from Charles Faram. Two years earlier, Brewis Beer Co. first developed Fall
(5.5%) described as a green hopped modern amber beer, it was brewed using
UK Cascade hops grown at Wilde Farm, Ponteland, a 12.5 acre smallholding that
is arguably the most northerly hop grower in England. Meanwhile in Cumbria,
Bowness Bay Brewing in Kendal have developed Swan Verdi (4%) a green hop
variant of their core-range product Swan Blonde (4%), the brewery has
produced in on an annual basis using four times the usual amount of hops in the
brew sourced from their own on-site hop garden, sales of the beer are limited
to several pubs in the local area. The same goes for Green Dragon (3.6%) –
Kirkby Lonsdale, which has been become an annual fixture for the brewery
for over a decade, in more recent times last September the newly reopened
Jennings Brewery in Cockermouth marked their inaugural year of production with
the release of Green Hop (4.4%), it proved so popular in local pubs, the
brewery has recently announced that the beer will be available again this year.
Over in neighbouring Lancashire, Green Manalishi (4.5%) – Irwell Works
is one of the oldest Green Hop Beers in the county produced since 2012, in
recent times the brewers have sourced their hops from Charles Faram. There have
been other recurring examples including Darwen based Red Rose Brewery have
produced Green Eyed Monster (4%) on an annual basis using different hop
varieties each year, the same goes for Green Hop Ale (4%) by their
neighbours Snaggletooth. Not limited to microbreweries even regional brewer
Moorhouse's dabbled with Green Hop (3.8%) back in 2021. Whilst most
brewers have tended to go down south for their hops, in 2014 Bank Top unveiled English
Born and Brewed (3.6%) back in 2014 using First Gold green hops from
Yorkshire Hops, a hop garden set up by Matthew Hall and Chris Bradley,
cultivated on a hectare of land at Bradley’s Whinneymoor Farm in Ellerker. Going north-east towards Tyneside, several
breweries have developed their own Green Hop beers, from one-off efforts like Fresh
Hop (4.8%) – Full Circle to revisited specials like Green Hop (4.4%)
and Green Hop IPA (5.2%) by Tyne Bank, as well as Fresh 23’ (4.2%)
from Hadrian’s Border brewed with Pilgrim hops from Stocks Farm,
Worcestershire, two years later the brewer resurrected the brand with the aptly
named Fresh 25’ (4.3%) this time using Harlequin hops, again from Stocks
Farm. There have been some Green Hop Beers brewed with locally grown hops in
the region such as Fresh Green Fuggles (4%) - The Olde Potting Shed
notably sourced from hops grown on the brewery site, in 2017 student-run
microbrewery Stu Bru developed University Roots (5.2%) that utilized 20
kg worth of UK Chinook hops cultivated by student volunteers at the University
Farm over at Newcastle University. Likewise, the same year, Cullercoats debuted
Wilde North Blonde (3.8%) which used Brambling Cross and Fuggles hops
sourced from Wilde Farm, originally intended as a one-off release, its
resulting success encouraged the brewer to produce it on an annual basis.
Meanwhile a hefty number of breweries across Cheshire and
Merseyside have produced Green Hop Beers, including a multitude of releases
from The Cheshire Brewhouse, including Green Hop 2021 (3.9%), Verdigis
(4.2%) and John Barleycorn's Green Hop Temptress (4.4%), moreover
Rock the Boat Brewery has also released several Green Hop Beers showcasing
different hop varieties including First Gold Green Hops (3.9%) in 2017, Cobbs
Golding Green Hops (3.9%) in 2018 and latterly Pilgrim Green Hop (3.7%)
in 2021, all using hops sourced from several farms in Herefordshire, while the
likes of the former Ad Hop brewery produced Endeavour (4%) and Liverpool
Green (3.9%), the latter using hops grown in Wavertree. There have also
been notable one-offs like Hopys Gwydd (3.9%) – Neptune in 2016, that
utilized Welsh grown Cascade and Chinook hops, and Johnny's Green Hop (4%)
by Crewe based Tom's Tap and Brewhouse in 2018, which was brewed with hops
grown at a regular customer's garden, the brewer named the beer in his honour.
One of the most notable Green Hop Beers in the region is long-running staple Bengal
Buttress (4.3%) – Wincle Beer Co., which has going strong since 2013, named
after a Gritstone Crag rock climb located within the Staffordshire moorlands;
notably brewery owner and founder Giles Meadows personally collects 70kg of
hops from a grower in Worcestershire in a five-hour round trip. Meadows is a
self-confessed fan of Green Hop Beers, he stated to the local press “it is a
bit like the difference between cooking with fresh herbs, and cooking with
dried herbs. There is a real difference and complexity of flavours and aromas.”
In comparison to Meadows’ long-distance endeavours, Birkenhop (3.9%) –
Brimstage on the other hand uses hops grown in the locally through The Hops
Project which the brewery set up with the Callister Garden Trust and Make CIC,
the hops are grown by volunteers at the Callister Community Garden based in
Birkenhead. The brewery was approached by Callister in 2022 about the prospect
of growing local Wirral grown hops for them, the brewery found it too good an
opportunity to miss. Head brewer Adam Williams once noted “we think it’s the
first beer made with local Wirral grown hops and that's exciting for us.”
First released in November 2022, the beer has since been made of a yearly
basis, each September volunteers from Callister visit the brewery to donate the
fresh green Prima Donna hops. Sold exclusively in bottle all profits of the
beer go towards local community projects. Across the Mersey in Liverpool, other
breweries have also dabbled with local hop growers, Black Lodge Hideaway have
produced a similar beer Our Little Hideaway (3.4%) brewed with hops
donated by the local community garden Roots in the City based a few minutes
away from the brewery, moreover Handyman Brewery is a member of the The
Liverpool Beer Collective, an initiative set up by local enthusiasts, brewers
and publicans; through the collective in 2020 they first developed Green Hop
Pale (4%) brewed with First Gold and Prima Donna hops grown locally by
members of the collective.
Greater Manchester has been in the ascendence with Green Hop
Beers, including the likes of UK Fresh Hop: Challenger (4%) – Cloudwater,
and more recently Stones Throw: Green Hop (4.2%) developed in
conjunction between Runaway Brewery and Café Beermoth. Even long-running
established brewers like J.W. Lees have produced their own offering in the form
with Hops Are Green (4%). Meanwhile since 2009, Dunham Massey Brewery in
Altrincham has annually produced their Green Hop Beer (4.1%) using Fuggles
hops grown at their own brewery site, it is markedly one of the longest running
examples of a green hop beer produced by a northern brewer still in production.
Likewise other breweries across the county have used locally sourced hops
including the likes of Cheer Up, Sleepy Green (4.2%) – Wakey Wakey,
since 2022 Steelfish Brewing has annually produced Chorlton Green Hops
(4.2%) sourcing hops grown within 3 miles of the brewery. During the 2010's
and early part of this decade, Steve Dunkley of Beer Nouveau innovated with green hops through a
wide range of beers including notable examples like Green Hop Stout (5%),
Strong Ale Green Hopped (7.6%), Green Hop ESB (5.8%), Mild Green
Hopped (3%) and over at the other end of the scale Green Hop Barley Wine
(12%) aged in oak barrels. From time to time, the brewery also showcased
various hop varieties, in 2021 they marked the upcoming 150th anniversary of
the Fuggles hop since it first went on sale on 8th November, 1861 with the
appropriately titled Fuggle 150 (5.6%), a Pale Ale brewed with Fuggles
hops, Chevalier malt and matured in oak barrels for an authentic Victorian
recreation. Dunkley also ran the Manchester Homebrew Group where he was introduced to Alex Pembroke who occasionally brewed at his place. Pembroke helped run the Chorlton Homebrew Group and was growing his own hops at home at the time, they soon hit upon the idea of brewing the hops commercially and reached out to other local homebrewers for donations of hops. Thus in 2018 the Manchester Hop Project was born, a community initiative comprising of local volunteer hop growers who
grow the plant in their gardens. For five years Beer Nouveau collaborated with the project on a number of beers from Green Hop (5.5%) in 2018 up to their
final collaboration Prima Donna 23 Green Hop (4.3%) in 2023 prior to the
brewery's closure later that year. A year before Beer Nouveau's closure, the project reached out to other breweries for use of their spare hops, Track Brewing jumped at the chance. In 2023 head brewer
Matt Dutton, who has strong connections with the local homebrewing community
heard that the Manchester Hop Project were looking for a new brewery partner
following the closure of their former client Beer Nouveau. Due to his passion
for using locally sourced ingredients, Dutton persuaded the brewery to approach
Pembroke with an offer. Their first collaboration together was Manchester
Fresh Hop Golden Ale ’23 (5%) using First Gold, Fuggles & Magnum hops.
The brewery was excited by the prospect of using green hops for a change due to
their unpredictable flavour characteristics, a spokesperson noted “there was
also something magical about producing a beer that could never be replicated
and so closely connected to our local community.”
Through the brewery's efforts they managed to revitalise the fortunes of the
Manchester Hop Project and they gathered in their second-best harvest of 75kg.
The following year the brewery expanded their Green Hop range further through
their Harvest Ale Series with an emphasis on paying homage to the traditional
British beer styles of their youth. The first of these was Auburn (4.8%)
a brown ale made with locally grown Hallertau Mittlefrüh, Magnum and Fuggles
hops, giving a distinct herbal, earthy and spicy character. Also produced that
year was Pilgrimage (4%), a dark mild combining roasty toasted malt
flavours with fresh hops, while their final release was Koyo (6%), a
punchy Red IPA, deviating from norm they utilized Harlequin hops sourced from
Charles Faram via their hop development program. All the beers in this range
were revisited the following year, accompanied by new releases including Fall
(4.6%) a best bitter made with Fuggles hops, and Dusk (4.5%) a lager
made with Challenger hops, both sourced from Hukins Hops based in Kent
respectively. Since 2024, they have annually promoted their Green Hop Beers
every October at events held at their taproom. The innovation and creativity of the brewery clearly left its mark on the local brewing scene, particularly on Track Brewing which has carried on Beer Nouveau's legacy when it comes to Green Hop Beers, in recent years they have established a reputation with their eclectic wide range of beers styles and hops through the use of fresh hops.
Of all of the northern counties Yorkshire tops the list with
at least 27 breweries having produced at least one Green Hop beer at any one
time, from established family brewers like Theakston, local independent
enterprises like Rudgate, Saltaire, Great Newsome, Ossett, Acorn and Ilkley to
craft brewers like Kirkstall, Northern Monk, Amity, Darkland, Bini Brew Co. and
Horsforth to name a few. The clamour for Green Hop Beers in the county began in
earnest in 2013 with the establishing of Yorkshire Hops. During the inaugural
year several breweries based around Yorkshire including Saltaire, Brass Castle,
Brown Cow and Big River each sponsored a row of hops in return for first dibs
once the hops were harvested. By the time the hops were harvested later that
Autumn, a number of the breweries involved in the sponsorship scheme were
inspired to produce their own Green Hop Beers in order to showcase these new
locally grown hops, Saltaire released Sovereign Harvest (4.8%) developed
with Sovereign hops brewed within 24 hours of harvesting, while Brass Castle
took the festival scene by storm with their green hop effort Force 5 (3.5%)
which made its public debut at the York Beer Festival only a week after it had
been brewed on 9th September. Meanwhile, Great Newsome had trialled Autumn
Bounty (4.1%) the year before using a small patch of hops cultivated on
their brewery site, looking to expand the product they turned to Yorkshire Hops
for assistance since they could offer them a greater yield of hops that would
allow more beer to be produced, in the end they managed to procure a hefty
shipment of Sovereign hops which were harvested on 17th September 2013 then
transported over 29 miles to the brewery and brewed within hours of harvesting.
The resulting beer was showcased at the Beverely Beer Festival a few weeks
later held between 4th - 6th October. The
brewery continued with their arrangement with Yorkshire Hops for the next few
years before moving onto Charles Faram. Sometimes they would use a combination
of sources for their Green Hop Beer, current head brewer James Hodgson recently
noted “wild hops scale one of the brewery's walls, so we would always make
sure to harvest those the day prior to brewing Autumn Bounty and use them in
the brew, though the Faram green hops made up the bulk of the hop grist.”
At one point the brewery even attempted to grow their own hop garden in a field
opposite the brewery, the beer was last produced in 2023 though Hodgson hasn't
ruled out the chance of brewing it again. Since those pioneering days, there
has been a steady stream of releases that showcase the breadth of innovation in
the region including Fresh Hop Phoenix (4.3%) – Roosters, Green
Hop Monster (4%) – Rudgate, Fresh Hop Ale
(4.1%) – Riverhead, Green Rat IPA (4.8%) – Rat, Green
Dream (3.9%) – Ossett, Goose Green (4%) – Goose Eye / Wensleydale and
its sequel Going Green Again (4%) – Wensleydale, even Theakston
once made a contribution with their Green Hop Ale (4.1%). Various
hop varieties have been the focus for Tigertops based in Wakefield with
releases featuring Green Hop Godiva (4.5%), Green Olicana (4.9%)
and Green Harlequin (4.8%). Annually every September since 2015, Acorn
has been producing Pretty Green (3.4%) on a yearly basis through their
Signature Series which promotes limited edition monthly releases. Since the
beer’s inception the brewery has sourced their hops from Pridewood Farm in
Herefordshire. While some brewers source their hops from afar, others have
looked for more local suppliers, in 2024 Ilkley based taphouse Bini Brew Co.
released Meanwood Hop (4.4%) brewed with First Gold hops
harvested a Meanwood Urban Farm, situated less than a mile from the
brewery. Moreover, the Leeds Co-Hoperative is a notable community
hop-growing initiative in the county, comprising of a 'patchwork farm' of local
hop growers that was originally set up in 2017 by Alan Slater and Nigel Poustie
after they were inspired by the Grow Beer City Farmers Project in London. The
Leeds Co-Hoperative encouraged growers to grow Cascade hops in the gardens,
creating a patchwork farm within the city. The organisation subsequently
harvested the hops, before donating the produce to local breweries at their
annual Hop Drop events. Their hops were use in a number of Green Hop Beers, their
clients included Sunbeam Ales, (the now former) Normadic Beers who featured
their hops in the beers GeeGee (4.5%) that first appeared in 2018 and
subsequently Dukka (3.8%) three years later which used a combination of
Cascade and Prima Donna hops respectively; and latterly Kirkstall who
approached them in 2022 for a Green Hop beer commission, they provided over 36
kilos of locally grown Cascade hops to the brewer towards the production of the
beer which they called Vespers (4.5%). The beer was showcased at a Green
Hop beer festival held at the Sportsman Beerhouse, Huddersfield in October 2022
which showcased 9 Green Hop Beers from the breweries based in the Midlands and
northern England, and latterly the Green Hop Beer Weekender held at Foley’s
Taphouse in Leeds later that Autumn. The majority of Green Hop Beers tend to be
pales, golden ales or bitter, the likes of Briggs Signature Ales deviated from
the norm with their Neo Classical (3.9%) a Black Session IPA, a
hefeweizen in the form of Yorkshire Harvest (4.2%) an early
release by Atom, while Ridgeside experimented with Clive & the Barn
(5.5%), a Saison which was matured in barrels over 10 months using yeast
from a nearby apple orchard. They also produced Raiders of the Hopped Ark
(4.3%), which continues the fine tradition of whimsically named Green Hop
Beers produced within the region.
While some of these releases have tended to be one-off
endeavours, some breweries have repeatedly innovated with Green Hop Beers, in
2014 Shelley based Small World Beers caused a scene when they released their
first Green Hop product called Yorkshire-Ness (4%). Dubbed Yorkshire in
a pint glass, every component of the beer was made within the county, it was
made with a combination of Challenger and First Gold hops sourced from
Yorkshire Hops (after the brewery sponsored a part of the acreage at
Whinneymoor), while the water was directly sourced from their own borehole at
Barncliffe Mill, and the malt was acquired from Thomas Fawcett & Sons Ltd,
of Castleford, much in keeping with brewery ethos to brew beer using locally
sourced ingredients. Brewery owner Dave Hill noted at the time “a Green beer
would impart more subtle and delicate flavours if we looked after them, so to
get our hands on fresh hops, Yorkshire ones at that, was a great opportunity
for something different.”
The hops were driven 70 miles from the hop garden to the brewery, from bine to
copper within three hours, a record at the time for a northern brewery. Since
2016, the brewery succeeded this with Harvest Muse (4%) which has
reappeared on an annual basis (bar a brief gap in 2020-1), each year they have
showcased a different hop variety including WGV Hops (2016), Challenger (2017/
19), Sovereign (2018), Goldings (2022); these were sourced from Towend Farm,
Ledbury and Brook House Farm, Bromyard respectively. Meanwhile, Ilkley has
produced a number of examples since 2014 including The Green Rose (5.6%)
an ESB using Yorkshire grown Green Hops and it successor Green Rose (4.4%)
in 2017 produced with hops from Harewood House through their Harewood Food
& Drink Project, to promoting new hop varieties in the case of the likes of
The Green Goddess (4.9%) which utilized the then newly release Olicana
that was developed by Charles Faram as part of their ongoing hop development
programme, more recently in 2022 they collaborated with Charles Faram again
with the production Harley Quinn (4.3%) – Ilkley, a tongue-in cheek
title that featured UK grown Harlequin hops. In recent years, other breweries
within Yorkshire have innovated with Green Hop Beers, such as Flora ESB
(5.5%) – Triple Point, first produced in 2021, it was developed entirely in
Sheffield using local water and hops grown directly from their on-site brewery
garden, the brewers namechecked the beer as Extra Sheffield Bitter, while proclaiming
“Sheffield Never Tasted So Good”, the brewery enjoyed the experience so much
they reprised the beer two years later. Moreover, Northern Monk is another
brewery that has used locally grown hops, since 2019, the brewery has
collaborated with Harewood House, utilizing a number of British hops grown in
their wall garden. They then utilize the harvested hops in their beers, they
initially produced a Green Hop IPA (5.9-6.7%) released annually between
2019 to 2022 that was packed with several different hop varieties and varied in
strength from year to year. The resulting beer was released through their
Patrons Project program, an initiative created to foster creativity and
innovation between artists, organisations and creatives across the north; the
beers combine traditional brewing practices with modern progressive flourishes.
In the ensuing years they have also experimented with the likes of Green Hop
Belgian Pale (4.5%) with the addition of Saaz hops and Belgian Yeast, and
have recently dabbled with traditional English Pale Ales through their ‘Fresh
From the Old Flax Store’ banner. In 2022 they collaborated with Amity Brew Co.
to produce Harmony Green Hop Pale (4%), a multi-hop beer that used
several Green Hop varieties (Challenger, Golding, Fuggles, First Gold) with the
addition of US varieties (Amarillo and Citra). This beer was among a number of
examples showcased at the Green Hop beer held at the Sportsman, Huddersfield
that October.
As Green Hop Beers continued to make inroads into the
Yorkshire brewing industry, like their counterparts at Track Brewing in
Manchester, over the past six years Horsforth Brewery have innovated with their
Green Hop Beers, producing a creative roster of releases from a variety of
different styles. Since 2020, the brewery has been involved with the Horsforth
Hop Project, a locally based cross-town community hop growing project similar
to the ones in Leeds and Manchester. Every September the hops are harvested and
donated to Horsforth Brewery who subsequently turn it into Green Hop beer.
Their first collaboration was Backyard Brew (5%), a Pale Ale originally
made with 27kg worth of Cascade hops grown in 66 gardens and allotments in the
Horsforth area, as a mark of thanks during the first year the brewery donated
200 cans of the beer to the growers involved in the scheme. Building on its
success, the following year the brewery released Darkest Before the Dawn
(5.7%), a black IPA its name is reflective of the state of society at the
time as it recovered from the effects of the pandemic. In 2022 they turned to
Latin with the release of Lupulus Maximus (5%) it’s name a play on the
Latin word for hops (Humulus Lupulus); while Maximus is a word for greatest or
largest, so it could imply this beer is powerfully hoppy. American Steam Beer
provided the inspiration for their 2023 collaboration Gold Rush (4.8%),
markedly they promoted three of their Green Hop Beers including this one at the
annual beer festival held at the Sportsman that year. After a two year gap they
returned with two new releases in 2025 to add to their growing roster of Green
Hop Beers, this time they turned their attention towards continental beer
styles through the likes of Wolf of the Woods (5.3%), a Saison, and Erntebier
(4.4%) a Pilsner style lager, these beers accompanied a special Green Hop
version of their earlier release Rodeo (3.9%) with fresh Cascade hops and
returning favourite Darkest Before the Dawn (5.7%), which were unveiled
to the public at an event held at the Horsforth Tap last November.
The profusion of Green Hop Beers across the north clearly
breaks down preconceived misconceptions about the lack of demand for this style
in this part of the UK. Indeed, over the past decade there has been push among
brewers in the region to produce more Green Hop Beers, which is in no doubt
fuelled by the emergence of cross-town community hop growing initiatives in
areas like Horsforth, Leeds and Manchester for example; or in the case of the
Callister Community Garden and Roots in the City, dedicated community projects
where the hops are grown exclusively on-site and donated to nearby breweries.
Then there's the proliferation of commercial growers like Harewood House, Wilde
Farm, Yorkshire Hops and more recently Meanwood Urban Farm for example; while
some breweries in the case of Dunham Massey, Bowness Bay and Triple Point for
instance have taken the steps to sourcing fresh hops home-grown within their
own breweries. These beers are synonymous with the breadth of creativity and
innovation that ripples through the UK's richly diverse microbrewing and craft
beer industry, their gradual emergence has fuelled interest into beer styles
that the bigger brewers shied away from. Of all the counties, Yorkshire
continues to dominate as the epicentre for Green Hop beer production in the
north, yet a number of counties around northern England are fast catching up. While
many breweries have tended to go for one off releases, there are some examples
out there that have been annually produced for over a decade like Green Dragon
(3.6%) – Kirkby Lonsdale, Bengal Buttress (4.3%) – Wincle Beer Co., Green
Hop Beer (4.1%) – Dunham Massey, Pretty Green (3.4%) – Acorn, Green
Manalishi (4.5%) – Irwell Works and Swan Verdi (4%) – Bowness Bay. Notably
there have been the likes of Harvest Muse (4%) -– Small World Beers
which differed in hop variety from year to year, moreover Northern Monk has
continued to produce annual Green Hop beers packed with a number of hops
sourced from Harewood House, initially sold through their Patrons Project
series and more recently featured under their ‘Fresh From’ banner. Their
friends over at Amity have also persevered with their Green Hop Beers, with
further releases in their Harmony series, recently they pushed the boat out
with Harmony 2024 (5.8%), developed as a tribute to iconic US beer Celebration
(6.8%) – Sierra Nevada, in their version they used fresh hops grown via the
Leeds Co-Hoperative; vibrant citrus notes from the hops were blended with
crystal malt to create a fitting homage. Meanwhile, in 2023 Neptune returned to
brewing with green hops with the succesive releases Green Hops (3.8%)
brewed with freshly picked UK Cascade hops from Hukins Hops, and they also collaborated
with St. Austell Brewery to produce Green Goddess (4.2%) as part of the
latter's club's series. Moreover, there have been a raft of innovators
including Track Brewing who annually produce Manchester Fresh Hop Golden Ale
(5%) along with a range of other releases from the brown ale Auburn
(4.8%) to Pilgrimage (4%) a classic Dark Mild that taps into the
brewer’s interest into recreating traditional and much-loved British beer
styles of the past. Track have made a sterling effort through their innovation
with Green Hop Beers and maintaining the local community hop initiative The
Manchester Hop Project. Similarly over at
Horsforth Brewery they have continued to bring in demand with their
respective local community hop organisation The Horsforth Hop Project, and have
established over the past several years a vast and eclectic range of Green Hop
Beers that draw from various styles, from continental influences like the
farmhouse Saison in the form of Wolf of the Woods (5.3%), to Black IPA’s
with their ever popular Darkest Before the Dawn (5.7%), each year they
have innovated and helped to promote the unique aromas and flavour
characteristics that fresh green hops entail. While the odd Green Hop beer
occasionally appears at beer festivals in the North, some outfits have striven
further to promote the cream of the crop, since 2021 the Sportsman Beerhouse in
Huddersfield has held yearly beer festivals every October, promoting a variety
of Green Hop Beers produced by Northern brewers. Moreover, since 2024 Track
Brewing have also organised their own Green Hop Beer festivals titled ‘Harvest:
A Fresh Hop Celebration’ that feature five of their Green Hop Beers. While the
number of Green Hop Beers produced in northern England pales in comparison to
the abundance found down South, their growing prominence will someday challenge
their dominance and break down preconceived notions of Green Hop Beers as a
regionally specific beer style.
