Green Hop Beers are predominantly found in the hop growing
counties of southern England including Kent, Surrey and Sussex, as well as
Herefordshire and Worcestershire in the Midlands. Outside of these areas Green
Hop beers is generally considered to be a rare beast, particularly in northern
England where historically hops have been considered more of a premium due to the
lack of hop growers in the region and the high transportation costs of
‘imported southern hops’, so understandably northern brewers have shied away
from Green Hop beers due to the higher yield of hops needed to brew such a beer
along with its narrow time constraints, making such a prospect unfathomable.
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 in recent years, some breweries have even gone to the lengths of
sourcing their hops from local commercial hop growers like Yorkshire Hops, or
community hop growing initiatives like the Hops Project, The Manchester Hop
Project, The Horsforth Hop Project, Harewood Food & Drink Project and the
Leeds Co-Hoprative respectively. While the number of northern Green Hop beers
pales in comparison to their southern counterparts, it is a growing industry
that is steadily becoming more noticed.
There have been 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 Cumbria, Green Hop Beers are sporadically found, with the
likes of Green Dragon (3.6%) – Kirkby Lonsdale flying the flag for the
region; while over in neighbouring Lancashire, Lune Brew Co. based in Lancaster
developed Bine & Dandy (4%) last year, a pale ale made with fresh
Harlequin hops. 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%),
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 at the time “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.”[1]
In comparison to Meadows’ long-distance endeavours, Birken Hop (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 which they found too good an opportunity to miss.
Head brewer Adam Williams once noted “we think its the first beer made with
local Wirral grown hops and that's exciting for us.”[2]
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, Rock the Boat Brewery has 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 Hops (3.7%) in 2021, all using hops
sourced from several farms in Herefordshire. Further west in 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 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; meanwhile, Cullercoats looked closer to home with their Wilde North
Blonde (3.8%) which uses Brambling Cross and Fuggles hops sourced from
Wilde Farm, Northumberland, potentially the most northerly hop grower in
England. Greater Manchester has been in the ascendence with Green Hop Beers,
including UK Fresh Hop: Challenger (4%) – Cloudwater, Green Eyed
Monster (4%) – Red Rose, 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 has produced their own
offering in the form with Hops Are Green (4%).
Track Brewing is surely the most creative brewer in the
Greater Manchester area to innovate with Green Hop Beers, they have
experimented with a wide range of beers styles and hops through the use of
fresh hops. In 2023 they approached the Manchester Hop Project, a community
initiative set up by Alex Pembroke back in 2018 comprising of volunteer hop
growers who grow the plant in their gardens. Head brewer Matt Dutton had strong
connections with the homebrewing community, through these leads he heard that
the Manchester Hop Project were looking for a new brewery partner following the
closure of Beer Nouveau. Due to his passion for using locally sourced
ingredients, Dutton persuaded to 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.”[3]
Despite only being able to produce a very limited release due to the low glut of
crop grown that year, the brewery pushed ahead and revisited the beer the
following year where they were able to use a greater yield of hops. Taking
advantage of this prospect, in 2024, they expanded their green hop range
further through their Harvest Ale Series with an emphasis on paying homage to
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 also made with hops
from the Manchester Hop Project, and their final release was Koyo (6%),
a punchy Red IPA, deviating from norm they utilized Harlequin hops sourced from
Charles Faram. 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.
Of all of the northern counties Yorkshire tops the list with
at least 18 breweries having produced at least one Green Hop beer over time,
from established family brewers like Theakston, to regional enterprises like
Rudgate, Saltaire, Great Newsome, Ossett, Acorn and Ilkley and craft brewers
like Kirkstall, Northern Monk, Amity 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, a hop garden set up by Matthew Hall and Chris
Bradley, cultivated on a hectare of land at Bradley’s Whinneymoor Farm in
Ellerker. Several breweries based around Yorkshire including Saltaire Brewery,
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 debuted 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 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. Since those
pioneering days, there has been a steady stream of releases that showcase the
breadth of innovation in the region, from promoting new hop varieties in the
case of the likes of The Green Goddess (4.9%) – Ilkley which utilized the then newly
release Olicana that was developed by Charles Faram as part of their ongoing
hop development programme, to experimenting with continental beer styles such
as Saison with the likes of Clive & the Barn (5.5%) – Ridgeside,
which was matured in barrels over 10 months using yeast from a nearby apple
orchard. The same brewery also released Raiders of the Hopped Ark (4.3%),
which continues the theme of creatively named Green Hop Beers produced within
the region that have seen the likes of Green Hop Monster (4%) – Rudgate,
Pretty Green (3.5%) – Acorn, Harley Quinn (4.3%) – Ilkley,
Green Dream (3.9%) – Ossett and Going Green Again (4%) – Wensleydale,
to name a few.
While some of these releases tend 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 “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.”[4]
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. In recent years, other
breweries within Yorkshire have innovated with Green Hop Beers, such as Triple
Point ESB (5.5%) – Triple Point, first produced in 2021, it was produced
entirely in Sheffield using local water and hops grown directly from their
garden on-site, the brewers namechecked the beer as Extra Sheffield Bitter,
while proclaming “Sheffield Never Tasted So Good”. Moreover, Northern Monk is
another brewery that has used locally grown hops, since 2019, the brewery have
collaborated with Harewood House through the Harewood Food & Drink Project,
utilizing a number of British hops grown in their wall garden. They utilize the
harvested hops in their beers, annually producing a Green Hop IPA that is
packed with several different hop varieties. 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 2022 they promoted this initiative with the collaboration beer Harmony
Green Hop Pale (4%) alongside Amity Brew Co., a multi-hop beer that used
several green hop varieties (Challenger, Golding, Fuggles, First Gold) with the
addition of US varieties (Amarillo and Citra). The beer was showcased at a
Green Hop beer festival held at the Sportsman, Huddersfield in October which
showcased 9 green hop beers from the breweries based in the Midlands and
northern England. The Leeds Co-Hoperative is another local hop growing
initiative, comprising of a 'patchwork farm' of local hop growers that was
originally set up in 2017 by Alan Slater and Nigel Poustie 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 town.
The organisation subsequently harvested the hops at their annual Hop Drop
events, before donating the produce to
local breweries, 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 brewery
promoted the beer at the Sportsman and the Green Hop Beer Weekender held at
Foley’s Taphouse in Leeds later that Autumn.
As Green Hop Beers continued to make inroads into the
Yorkshire beer industry, like their counterparts at Track Brewing in
Manchester, over the past six years Horsforth Brewery has 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 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 into Green Hop Beer. Their first
collaboration was Backyard Brew (5%), a Pale Ale made with 27kg worth of
Cascade hops grown in 66 gardens and allotments in the Horsforth area, as a
mark of thanks, 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%) its 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
abundantly 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
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 Entebier (4.4%) a Pilsner style lager,
these beers accompanied a special Green Hop version of their earlier release Rodeo
(3.9%) and returning favourite Darkest Before the Dawn (5.7%), which
were unveiled to the public at 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 community hop growing initiatives in areas like Horsforth,
Birkenhead, Leeds and Manchester for instance, to more commercial outlets like
Yorkshire Hops and Harewood House. These beers are synonymous with the breadth
of creativity and innovation that ripples through our rich 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 areas like Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Tyneside are fast
catching up. While many breweries have tended to go for one off releases, some
have pushed further, for instance Northern Monk has continued to produce Green
Hop Beers packed with a number of hops, though in the ensuing years they have
also experimented with Belgian Pales with the addition of Saaz hops and Belgian
Yeast, and they have also dabbled with traditional English Pale Ales through their
‘Fresh From the Old Flax Store’ banner. Their friends 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. Moreover, there have been a raft of innovators including Track
Brewing who annually produce Manchester Fresh Hop Golden Ale 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 in their innovation with Green Hop Beers and in 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, 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 the 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 in
Huddersfield has held yearly beer festivals every October since 2021 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 featured 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.
[1] ‘It
is sort of like using fresh herbs instead of frozen' - Inside the Macclesfield
green-hopped beer only brewed once a year’ by Alex Greensmith, Macclesfield Nub
News, 23rd September 2024
[2]
‘The Hops Project’, Brimstag Brewery, 28th November 2022
[3] ‘Fresh
Hop Series - Green Hop Beers - Part One’ by Track Brewing, 30th
September 2024
[4] ‘Our
Green Hopped Beer’ by Dave Hill, Small World Beers, 15th September
2014