We are rather big fans of hops.
As you can imagine, there are not many grown here in the UK that we haven't experimented with over the years.
So we always get rather over excited when it is time to create a beer fresh from the bines with the September harvest.
Green hopping ... 😋 it is all in the brew...
Super fresh from the field the morning we brew, it is vital that these hops are used within 24 hours of the harvest - unlike hops ordinarily used in the brewing process.
Green hops have a much higher moisture content at circa 80% than the hops conventionally used (around 12%). So in order to get the best flavour they are used in the brewing process as soon as they arrive (no pressure for delivery companies for cross county rural businesses!) To generate the right levels of aroma, bitterness and flavour we also use around 6 times more in volume than we usually use within the brewing process.
Allowed to steep for an hour or so, the green hops add different characteristics, flavours and aromas; meaning that a very watchful eye needs to be kept over the copper to ensure that we are achieving the quality of beer that we are renowned for.
The wonderful challenge that the team thrive on, is judging the absolute right time to run out of the copper to the fermentation tanks - too soon and we won't achieve the freshness and aroma desired. Too late and the taste and aroma can be negatively impacted. One variable beyond everyone's control is the climatic conditions immediately prior to cutting. So this is when our brewing alchemy comes to the fore 🤩. Along with a watchful eye...
And the result? Well you can judge for yourselves over the coming weeks - available in cask from the end of September and in bottles late October.
Please note that due to the bottling process this will have a different flavour profile to the cask bitter.
