Ask a Chef what makes great food, they will say, the finest raw materials, passion, knowledge, and careful planning. Great beer is exactly the same, you start with a recipe and then you find the very best raw materials, each one picked to add a special quality to the final beer. That is the art of brewing great beer, well-balanced, malt, and hops.
Each Autumn the brewing team at Evan Evans sets out to find those raw materials that will make the difference. Hawkins Farms is one of the top growers of hops in the UK and in September the EE brewers had an opportunity of a sneak preview of the 2020 hop Harvest.
Jester, Olicana, Goldings, Fuggles, and a series of new hops still under trial were all part of the harvest. The Goldings were fantastic, a rich aroma of fruity hedgerow fruit, and an oily rub. Jester another Aroma hop ideal for lighter golden and Amber beers. There is little doubt that the UK hop growers are rising to the challenge of expensive US aroma hops, and will provide brewers who are prepared to look with great alternatives to the super expensive Simcoe.
We now have our hop contract in place for 2020, and in January we will be starting our trial brews of new premium beers.
