It is a cold, wet miserable day when you decide to visit Hogs Back Brewery in Surrey.
The farm fields themselves are muddy, and with their soppy brown colour and the grey, grey, oppressing sky above, it almost seems a reflection as to what the country – and the beer industry – is going through at the moment.
But, if you had the courage to leave the warm, dry confines of your SUV and walk out in these ancient fields, you would see hop plants growing, for this is one of England’s traditional hop regions. The vines are pushing up light green leaves through the mud and it makes you realise that despite the doomsayers, just how tough and resilient our industry is today and always has been.
The fields that you see belong to Hogs Back Brewery, which prides itself on growing its own, an idea of director Rupert Thompson who believes in not only producing great beers, but also in using local ingredients and being as self-sufficient as possible. It’s not enough to say you want to reduce your carbon footprint – do it!
In this episode we’ll be talking hops, hops, and more hops with head brewer Miles Chesterman and hop garden manager Matthew King, all with a promise of no bitter, just a smooth taste for your listening pleasure.
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Support for this episode comes from Petainer.
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