Last Friday we produced our first Green Hop beer, Green Giant IPA at 6%, and boy was it fun. In a 'Beerjolais Nouveau' style moment we raced to and from the farm to get the hops back to the brewery - like Time Team for brewing.
It had been a mammoth task to organise the brew in conjunction with the harvesting of the crop, to make sure that the hops were as fresh as possible. A lot can go wrong with a Green Hop beer, and we nervously watched the weather forecast leading up to the day. Any rainfall could have produced mould and mildew that would have made the beer undrinkable. But on the day, we managed to reach the farm and use the fresh hops within 5 hours of being picked - they don't come much fresher!
Green Hop beer can only be produced at the time of the harvest. If the hops are not used immediately, they need to be dried and vacuum packed to retain the freshness. 99.9% of all beers are produced with dried hops, and the taste of fresh hops will be a new experience for most. Our Green Giant IPA will be on sale from the 28th at the Canterbury Food and Drink Festival, along with Green Hop beers from most other Kent breweries. For the next fortnight they will also be available at a series of events across Kent. Make sure that you get to try them before they’re all gone – there won’t be another chance until next year. Check out http://kentgreenhopbeer.com/ for
more.
It had been a mammoth task to organise the brew in conjunction with the harvesting of the crop, to make sure that the hops were as fresh as possible. A lot can go wrong with a Green Hop beer, and we nervously watched the weather forecast leading up to the day. Any rainfall could have produced mould and mildew that would have made the beer undrinkable. But on the day, we managed to reach the farm and use the fresh hops within 5 hours of being picked - they don't come much fresher!
Green Hop beer can only be produced at the time of the harvest. If the hops are not used immediately, they need to be dried and vacuum packed to retain the freshness. 99.9% of all beers are produced with dried hops, and the taste of fresh hops will be a new experience for most. Our Green Giant IPA will be on sale from the 28th at the Canterbury Food and Drink Festival, along with Green Hop beers from most other Kent breweries. For the next fortnight they will also be available at a series of events across Kent. Make sure that you get to try them before they’re all gone – there won’t be another chance until next year. Check out http://kentgreenhopbeer.com/ for
more.
