Green Hop Beer – how do they make that?

Around about this time of year, early September, you're going to start hearing about Oktoberfest in Germany and other harvest events. Here in Kent in the South of England where I'm from, we start gearing up for Green Hop beer season.  Let me tell you a little bit about this special season in the beer calendar.

Green hop, wet hop and fresh hop

When you use hops in beer, usually they are dried, and they are condensed down into pellets, or the cones have dried and kilned to preserve them so they can be used throughout the year. However, that drying process cuts down the hop oils that are required in the brewing process. When hops are harvested, they can be taken directly off of the bine and put straight into beer. This creates a very different type of flavour and aroma. You may also hear this type of beer called wet hops or fresh hopped beer, as the hops are picked directly in harvesting season, and taken by brewers to be added directly to their brew kettles.

Green hop beer comes from bines, not vines

As I said, the hops are taken from the bine, they're not on a vine.  A bine grows clockwise around something, it doesn't creep out like a vine does. And hop binns grow clockwise around strings that are secured by poles in the fields. So when you're driving through the countryside in Kent, you can see these fields and see the polls are holding up the lovely green hops as they are growing towards the September season.

Green Hop beer needs to be made quickly

I find it really interesting at this time of year to keep an eye on the social media of local camp breweries. Because at the beginning of September in about the first couple of weeks, you'll see them start talking about Green Hop beer, and they will literally be on the phone to the local hop farmers waiting for the moment that the hops are ready. As soon as the hops are harvested, they need to be put into the beer within 24 to 48 hours. Ideally within 24 hours but a lot of the brewers around me will have the hops into their beers within about seven hours. I’ve read and spoken to brewers and heard about how they literally run to the field, get their sacks of hops.  They will have the brew on that morning and put them straight into the brew kettle. There are some great videos from local breweries such as Wantsum, Canterbury Brewers at the Foundry brew pub and Goachers show these hops being put into their brew kettles.

How to brew Green Hop beer

One thing about using fresh green hops is that they are more delicate in the aromas and flavours that they add to the beer. Therefore, about five times the amount of hops are used, compared to when it is a dried product. This takes for some really interesting images of brewers just trying to jam as many hops as they can into their brew kettles to get the intensity of aroma and flavour that they want. Here in Kent, obviously, we are growing British hops. The aromas and flavours in British hops are much more subtle and delicate. So it's a real balance of aromas and flavours to get what the brewer wants. The kind of flavours and aromas that you should be expecting from a Green Hop beer if you get the chance to try one are freshness. It's often described as green or hedgerow, really lovely citrus and berry notes or woody and herbal notes. And because the hops have not been dried, these delicate flavours haven't been burnt off by the drying and kilning process. There will be some beautiful, delicate notes in these brews.

What does a hop field look like?

I headed out to a hop field that isn't very far away from me to show you what it looks like.  Hops grow from a rhizome.  The bine then climbs clockwise upwards on strings that are attached to wires above the field.  These are held up by poles.  When harvested, the bones are cut down from the wires and the hops are stripped from them to be dried or put into Green Hop Beer!

The bines growing clockwise up the strings

Poles on the right holding up the wires for the bines to climb to.

Being Kent born and bred, I just find this season so magical. driving past the hop fields and watching those bines grow up the strings is just beautiful. It’s got such history behind it. And it's such a big part of our culture here in Kent. I'm really looking forward to trying this year's green hop beers. Make sure you are following Love Beer Learning on Instagram and Facebook to see my latest updates on the local Green Hop beers as they are released!