Concerns over hop growers and beer
Hops hit the news last week which encouraged me to do some research. They were originally imported from France, Holland and Germany and subject to import duty. It was not until 1524 that hops were first grown in the southeast of England (Kent), when they were introduced as an agricultural crop by Dutch farmers. Today there are just over 50 British farmers growing hops in Great Britain, including at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
Hops are the flowers, or cones of a plant called Humulus Lupulus. They help to keep beer fresher, longer, and retain its head of foam. They are the key component of a beer’s aroma, flavour, and bitterness.
Beer, like ale, can of course be made without hops, the main ingredients being malted barley, yeast, and water. Until the 17th century hops were not allowed in English ales; Germany didn’t require hops in its official brewing laws until 1906. For many centuries, a vast majority of the beer made around the world used other spices and botanicals for flavour.
The news that English hop farmers are struggling due to the increasingly hot summers caused by climate change, is a concern for the producers and of course the consumers of British beer. The decline in crop yields has been steadily leading growers to rip out their vines and head in other directions such as producing wine, now more suited to this change of climate.
A legacy and symbol of England’s cultural heritage and hop growing journey are the distinctive pyramid-shaped oast houses, a reminder of our once-thriving brewing industry. The distinctive conical roof of the oast was necessary to create a good draft for the fire which dried the hops. The projection at the peak of the roof are cowls which could be pivoted to create just the right airflow for the kiln fire to draw properly. These were replaced around 1930 with electric fans. It is always a pleasure to see well preserved oast houses across East Sussex and Kent, many now converted into family homes.
British homes could one day be powered by electricity generated in America. It has been reported that there are plans to install up to six power cables across the Atlantic. These would stretch 5,500 miles across the ocean, reaching a depth of 11,000ft. A group of London investors are behind the scheme, who claim technological advances in subsea cables could allow the creation of a global “international grid”.
The idea is to take advantage of the differences in peak demand as the power line crosses time zones. “When the sun is high in London it would be breakfast time in New York where people could use UK or European power to cook breakfast”.
It is believed that long-distance interconnectors will become key in the battle to decarbonise, and that by replacing the movement of molecules – gas oil and coal, with electrons – electricity, the race to slow climate change will be greatly enhanced. Time will tell.
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