Brewing in the 1950’s - English Hops (part two)

Continuing our look at hops in the 1950’s, we’re going to consider the properties of the different varieties.

The 1950’s was a great time for the British hop industry. Two world wars had removed Britain’s dependency on hop imports. Back in the late 19th century between 20% and 40% of the hops used in Britain had been imported. Many of them from the USA.

A lot of it was to do with the drop in gravity. Weaker beers require fewer hops. And the amount of beer consumed also fell during the 20th century, much reducing the demand for hops. So even though production of hops in the 1950’s was about half that in the 1890’s, there were still plenty to go around.

This is really obvious in brewing logs. In the 1890’s, it’s rare to find a beer with no foreign hops. In the 1950’s, apart from the odd fancy Continental hop like Saaz, everything is British. Before WW II, Whitbread used all English hops in their posher beers, but some North American or New Zealand hops in their Milds. In the 1950’s, they don’t seem to have used any foreign hops at all.

The huge increase in barley production during WW II to replace imports meant that for the first time (other than during the wars) Britain was self-sufficient in brewing materials. In reality, it also reflects a decline in the international importance of British brewing.

These numbers will explain why foreign hops were no longer needed. First the 1890’s:

Hop production, acreage and imports 1890 – 1900 (cwt)
year	acres	UK production	yield per acre	net imports the following year	available for consumption	% imports
1890	53,961	283,629	5.26	185,526	469,155	40%
1891	56,142	436,716	7.78	176,834	613,350	29%
1892	56,259	413,259	7.35	185,716	598,975	31%
1893	57,564	414,929	7.21	168,316	583,245	29%
1894	59,535	636,846	10.70	204,087	840,933	24%
1895	58,940	553,396	9.39	193,738	747,134	26%
1896	54,217	453,188	8.36	148,660	601,848	25%
1897	50,863	411,086	8.08	223,747	634,833	35%
1898	49,735	356,948	7.18	168,130	525,078	32%
1899	51,843	661,426	12.76	180,233	841,659	21%
1900	51,308	473,894	9.24	141,307	489,201	29%
Source:
“100 Years of Brewing” 1903, page 656.

Now the 1950’s:

Hops: home production and imports
Year ended 31st Dec.	Acreage	Estimated Produce	Yield per acre	Imports: Less Re-Exports	Exports: British Hops	Consumption Years ended 30th Sept. following	surplus British hops
		Cwts.	Cwts.	Cwts.	Cwts.	Cwts.	Cwts.
1935	18,251	248,300	13.6	35,186	16,223	258,300	-10,000
1936	18,317	252,000	13.7	31,953	19,987	270,692	-18,692
1937	18,093	235,000	13	40,406	16,130	277,846	-42,846
1938	18,460	257,000	13.9	45,287	12,580	286,716	-29,716
1939	18,812	288,000	15.3	7,840	16,050	265,512	22,488
1940	18,592	270,500	14.5	14,675	26,830	251,354	19,146
1941	18,158	262,800	14.5	31	17,209	223,007	39,793
1942	18,420	261,900	14.2	2,963	30,673	231,689	30,211
1943	19,131	285,200	14.9	198	24,941	243,900	41,300
1944	19,603	253,900	13	--	26,525	244,822	9,078
1945	19,957	282,900	14.1	574	32,337	226,197	56,703
1946	21,163	257,451	13.4	29,243	35,056	217,759	39,692
1947	22,142	289,908	13.2	7,716	31,661	231,470	58,438
1948	22,787	273,584	12	4,561	29,135	233,168	40,416
1949	22,196	250,406	11.3	900	42,301	232,979	17,427
1950	22,198	368,313	16.6	269	84,027	229,106	139,207
1951	22,460	321,824	14.3	626	107,738	228,512	93,312
1952	22,279	282,349	12.7	502	76,620	225,569	56,780
1953	21,932	272,593	12.3	1,015	64,762	216,841	55,752
1954	20,760	246,748	11.9	3,075	51,323	217,716	29,032
1955	20,453	256,821	12.1	5,836	49,049	218,820	38,001
1956	19,982	184,170	9.2	6,416	40,746	215,114	-30,944
1957	20,415	267,677	13.1	8,848	38,635	208,870	58,807
1958	21,130	302,640	14.9	5,441	42,352	226,371	76,269
1959	20,350	222,768	10.9	6,007	34,291	234,611	-11,843
1960	20,098	248,195	12.4	8,172	12,220	234,611	13,584
Sources:
1955 Brewers' Almanack, page 63.
1971 Brewers'Almanack, page 54

That’s quite a turnaround.

Back to hop varieties. We’ll start with the classic English hop, the Golding.

“English Goldings. The genuine Golding is of very delicate aroma and flavour. It is usually a small and compact hop, of what might be called buttony appearance. When ripe and well managed the cones are unbroken. As a result, when a sample is cut from a pocket the formation of each cone is clearly outlined, with its resins in clusters of gold. The strig is short and angular, with the joints close together. The bracts have the ends rounded off and lie closely packed to the strig. If ripe and in good condition, Goldings should break up in an even and regular texture when rubbed down between the hands. They should not feel stringy, and the deposit on the hands reveals a wealth of resin. As a rule there is not a large amount of seed. For that reason the hop is most suitable for dry hopping, especially as it retains its wholeness in the cask and obviates floaters.

The Golding is an ideal hop for stock pale ales, as the preservative properties are high. It is at all times suitable for any pale ale, especially bottling beers.”
"Brewing Theory and Practice" by E. J. Jeffery, 1956, page 173.

This confirms what I thought about Goldings: good flavour, perfect for Pale Ales, an excellent dry hop. It’s no wonder that it’s hung around for so long. Despite its lower yield per acre, it had many qualities brewers desired.

Now for related varieties:

“Golding Types. Under this heading we can include Bramlings, Worcester Mathons, Cobbs, and Tutshams, all of which vary from Goldings, perhaps in some cases only a little. The difference, however, is just enough to be noticeable.

Bramlings, for instance, ripen earlier than Goldings, and have neither the delicate flavour nor the amount of resin. They are not quite so compact in formation. At the same time, they are very useful pale ale hops. Mathons are claimed to be every bit the equal of Kent Goldings, and with the vast improvement effected in the production of hops in the Worcester district in recent years we are almost inclined to agree. Some, produced by a well-known grower whose name it is inadvisable to mention, are certainly equal to any Goldings ever produced, and they only differ in so far as they are a little brighter and yellower in appearance. This difference in colour is rather a characteristic of the Worcester growth. Cobbs have slightly larger cones, and the bracts do not lie so closely together as is the case with Goldings proper. The flavour is a little coarser. We have seen some with a large amount of resins, but others are rather deficient in this respect. It appears therefore that they vary according to management. They, too, are useful hops for pale ales if blended with some other hop which is rather more delicate in flavour. Tutshams are larger hops, and of still heavier flavour. We advise them for use as a blend with coarse Fuggles in order to tone down the latter for mild ales. The strig of all hops of this type is short, and with joints set closely together at angles.”
"Brewing Theory and Practice" by E. J. Jeffery, 1956, pages 173 - 174.

Strange that Mathons – really the Farnham variety – were grown in Worcester, but not in Surrey. I’d noticed that Worcester hops were sometimes used in quite classy beers. I assume these hops would have been Mathons.

What’s left of Worcester hop growing today? I suspect very little.

Now the other classic English hop:

“Fuggles. Fuggles proper are unfortunately placed upon the market in varying stages of growth. We have seen some samples in which the cones were so small and under-developed as might easily deceive an unpractised eye into thinking the hops were Golding type. There is no mistaking fully grown Fuggles, which sometimes attain a very large size. In colour they are much greener than hops of the Golding type, and this feature is particularly noticeable at the junction of the stalk and strig. So much so that some growers resort to the undesirable practice of bleaching by the use of undue amounts of sulphur in the curing kilns. This bleaching can only be detected by an experienced eye. The strigs are long and fairly thick, and of a greenish hue. The bract joints are some distance apart, and the angles at which they are set are wider. The bracts are long and taper to a point. They are more open, and in fact the whole hop might almost be called 'untidy'. As regards flavour, Fuggles vary very much according to the district where they are grown. Those grown on the rich soil of the Weald of Kent give very heavy crops of coarse flavour. We have met with Fuggles produced from gardens in East and Mid Kent and also Worcester which are of sufficiently delicate flavour to warrant their use in running pale ales. Generally speaking, however, Fuggles are best reserved for mild ales and stout. The amount of resins present varies considerably. In some cases, when a sample is cut cleanly through, the side looks quite golden. In other cases the hops look like useless straw and nothing else.”
"Brewing Theory and Practice" by E. J. Jeffery, 1956, pages 174 - 175.

Sounds as if Fuggles varied greatly in quality and flavour. Classiness in hops could be described as their suitability for use in Pale Ales. Note, though, that Jeffery only considers the best Fuggle’s as good for running Pale Ales, the lowest order of the style. Mostly he recommends it for Mild and Stout, beers with either little hop character or where other strong flavours were present.

Here’s another venerable type of hop. Sort of.

“Farnham and Country Farnhams. Grown in Surrey and Hampshire, these hops are mostly of the Golding type. The first named especially is small and compact, but is a little more pointed in formation. They are very delicate in flavour, and it would be almost wasteful to use these hops in anything but pale ales. The colour is a very pale primrose. Samples of these hops are easily distinguishable from those grown in Kent and Worcester districts, as they weigh nearly half as much again, although of similar size. This feature is due to very close packing and pressing in pockets of much stronger texture. In consequence the pockets are much heavier in weight than the average pocket of just over 1.5 cwt.”
"Brewing Theory and Practice" by E. J. Jeffery, 1956, page 175.

Back in the 1800’s Farnham hops were the most valued by brewers, being considered superior even to East Kent Goldings. Though these aren’t the real Farnham type. The last of those was grubbed up before WW II. Though the region was still producing top-quality hops.

A rare piece of good news for British hops was the announcement in 2014 by the Hogs Back brewery that they were planting a hop garden. And even better, some of the hops were the renowned variety from nearby Farnham, the Farnham White Bine. For the first time in almost 100 years genuine Farnham variety hops are being grown in the region. I wonder what they’re going to do with them?

“Sussex Fuggles. These hops are mentioned separately as they are now sold as a distinct growth. The cones are fairly large and rather open in texture, and, if picked when over-ripe, have a tendency to break up and look ragged. Formerly of decidedly coarse flavour, a definite improvement has been noticed in this respect recently. In fact, better management all round has made Sussex Fuggles quite suitable for mild ales and stout. In colour they are yellower when ripe than the Fuggles from the adjoining county.”
"Brewing Theory and Practice" by E. J. Jeffery, 1956, page 175.

So Sussex Fuggle’s weren’t good enough for Pale Ale, only Mild and Stout. Given that the former was the most popular style back then, it means there was a considerable market for this type of hop.

I’ll finish with a review of the English hop growing districts and their varieties. First before the war:

Hop varieties by region in the 1930’s
Region	main varieties
East Kent (Canterbury, Faversham)	Goldings, Bramling, Cobb and Tutsham
Mid Kent (Medway valley, Maidstone to Tonbridge)	Fuggle's, Bramling, Tutsham, Cobb, Goldings, Tolhurst
Weald of Kent (Tonbridge to Sussex)	Fuggle's
Sussex	Fuggle's
Hampshire, Surrey	Fuggle's, Farnham Whitebine.
Hereford and Worcester	Mathon, Bramling, Fuggle's
Berkshire and Shropshire	Fuggle's, Goldings
Source:
"Brewing Science & Practice" H. Lloyd Hind, 1943, page 391

Then after it:

Hop varieties by region in the 1950’s
Region	main varieties
East Kent (Canterbury, Faversham)	Goldings
Mid Kent (Medway valley, Maidstone to Tonbridge)	Fuggle's, Goldings
Weald of Kent (Tonbridge to Sussex)	Fuggle's, Colegate
Sussex	Fuggle's, Colegate
Hampshire, Surrey	Fuggle's, Farnhams
Hereford and Worcester	Mathon, Cobb, Mayfield Grape, Fuggle's
Source:
"Brewing Theory and Practice" by E. J. Jeffery, 1956, pages 172 - 175.

Foreign hops next.