The Raw Materials
The Process
JANUARY 2012: Sale now on!
DECEMBER 2011: Ruddy Darter now available in bottles
DECEMBER 2011: Pret! A porter!
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Hops
Hop growing was introduced into the UK from Flanders in the sixteenth century. Although Hampshire used to be one of the key hop-growing areas in the South of England, production reached its peak in Hampshire in the second half of the nineteenth century. Since then demand for home-grown hops has fallen but today, although a handful of commercial growers remain in Hampshire, some commentators have predicted that English hop growing may be on the brink of a revival following renewed public interest in local products and an appetite for English micro-brewed ales.
Once picked, hops were traditionally taken to oasts or oast houses for drying or ‘kilning’, as it is known in the industry. Today, they are dried industrially using electric fans and some varieties are pelletised for ease of storage and transportation.
Hops have two main functions in the beer production process - creating aromas and bittering. All of our hops are sourced from Herefordshire-based Charles Farham & Co Limited, hop factors and merchants since 1865. We use a variety of English, Continental and American hops, each with different bittering and aroma qualities - to create the distinctive flavours and aromas which characterise Andwell’s real ales.
