Welcome to England's Hopshires
The hopyards of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire produce more than half of the hops grown in the UK, but most beer drinkers are unaware that these farms even exist.
So, in 2013, many of the counties’ hop growers and brewers came together to shine a welcome light on the region’s hop-growing prowess and the vital role it has to play in the future of British brewing.
As a first step, we felt we needed a new, succinct and memorable way to refer to Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire as hop-growing counties, so we decided to call them England’s Hopshires.
Pint of beer made with Hopshires hopsNext, during the hop harvest in September and October, local brewers will each produce at least one beer using only hops that are from the Hopshires.
Over time, we hope to see the Hopshires name become synonymous with all that is good about great British hops and the beers that are brewed with them.
The site goes on to list hop varieties, hop growers in the region, breweries which have signed-on to brew beers containing 100% Hopshire hops, etc.
Some of the world's best (and my all-time faves, for what it's worth) are grown there: Fuggles, Goldings, Bramling Cross, Challenger, Progress, Sovereign, First Gold, etc.
So...I'd love to hear what you guys think. Have you seen any promotions surrounding the Hopshires initiative? Have you tasted any of the featured beers? Which of you live in these shires? Better yet, any of you live there and grow your own hops there?
For my part, I think it's high-time English hops growers show the same terroir pride (and guild organizational prowess) as Hallertau growers, Alsace growers, Australian/New Zealand growers, etc. Heck, in recent years Poland has a better organized public relations front for their hops (no offense, zgoda, I mean that as a compliment.)
Let's get a lively Hopshires conversation going.