Cairnes hops in 1898

It’s very obvious which country was the main source of hops for Cairnes: England. Not really surprising, seeing as it was right next door and a major hop producer. However, just like brewers in England, they also used North American hops. Which by this point meant West Coast hops.

Most of the hops were very fresh, as these beers were brewed in the autumn of 1898, just a few weeks after the harvest. The rest of the hops were from the year before, so still not that old. The exception being Pacifics from the 1895 season used in Single Stout.

It’s not surprising that Single Stout should have the oldest hops as that was by far the biggest selling beer for Cairnes. In that respect it was filling the same slot as X Ale in England. 

Cairnes hops in 1898
Beer	Style	OG	hop 1	hop 2	hop 3
TB	Table Beer	1045	English 1898	English 1898
Ale	Mild	1067	English
E.I. Ale	Pale Ale	1055	English 1898	English 1897	Californian 1897
IP Ale	IPA	1064	English 1898	English 1897
SS	Stout	1055	English 1897	Californian 1897	Pacifics 1895
DS	Stout	1071	English	English
Source:
Cairnes brewing record held at the Guinness archives.