Thursday 29 April 2021

AK hops 1925 - 1939

Finally, a look at the hops. With two exceptions – Pacifics in one Fullers example and Saaz in the Greene King beer – all of the hops were English. No great surprise there. After WW I knocked down gravities UK brewing needed fewer hops and was far closer to self-sufficiency than it had been before the war.

Where a region of origin in mentioned, Kent is by far the most common. With just a single example from Worcester. As Shepherd Neame was based in Kent and had its own hop gardens, it’s fair to assume that most of its hops would have come from their home county. The same is probably true of Fullers, too.

Note that every example contains at least two types and half contain three or more. This was typical of UK brewing at the time. Many of the hops used were not from the most recent season, something which was also standard practice.

AK hops 1925 - 1939
Year Brewer Beer hop 1 hop 2 hop 3 hop 4 hop 5
1925 Fullers AK Pacifics (1922) English (1923) English 1924)    
1930 Whitbread AK Worcester (1929) EK (1929) EK (1929)    
1931 Fullers AK English (1929) English (1930)      
1935 Fullers AK English (1935) English (1935)      
1937 Fullers AK English (1936) English (1936)      
1937 Greene King AK Kent (1935) MK (1935) EK (1936) Saaz (1936) EK (1936) dry hops
1937 Shepherd Neame AK English (1935) English (1936) English (1937)    
1939 Fullers AK English (1938) English (1938)      
Sources:
Fullers brewing records held at the brewery.
Greene King brewing record held at the brewery, document number AC93/1/12 .
Shepherd Neame brewing record held at the brewery.
Whitbread brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/01/096.


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