hops

“Go forth and act like locusts.” So said our commander, the bomber-jacketed Peter Haydon, as we began picking hop shoots in delightfully dry conditions on Friday.

Thus the first phase of Operation Hop Shoot Festival began: the picking of several dozen bags of hops to share among 18 London pubs and restaurants that evening. Peter, renowned beer and pub historian, owner of the Florence Brewery in Herne Hill, and brewer of the fascinating historically tinged A Head in a Hat beers, had once more gathered a motley crew of brewers, pubbers and other hop lovers for this year’s London Brewers Association Hop Shoot Festival.

Matt Clay, seen here with JJ, a fellow Drafthouse GM, was feeling particularly peckish.

"We called the hop Jester because when Peter [its creator] came in and talked about its New World appeal, we thought he must be joking,’ So said Will Rogers, of specialist hop merchant Charles Faram as we crowded round our dark wooden table, enjoying time with the brewer of Jester’s first beer, Justin Hawke of Moor Beer,, from Somerset.

Braving the winds and the rain, Justin and his small crew had made it to London from to launch The Empire Strikes Back in a number of hostelries. We were in The Earl of Essex in back-street Islington, a pub replete with a dazzling number of cask ale fonts, several of which were serving Justin’s expressive beers.

“I’m very, very pleased with the beer, and very pleased with the hop,” said Justin, "especially considering the challenges it faced.”

Top of the Hops, a new brew crafted by Yorkshire’s Cropton Brewery and appearing in Nicholson’s pubs, includes 2012 different varieties of English hops.

Grown by Peter Darby, the UK’s unofficial hopfather, each hop is part of his ongoing research to find the most aromatic and best bittering hops suited to the UK’s unique climate. For once the word “unique” truly can be applied: the 2013 edition will have a new range of experimental hops.

Known as Wolf of the Woods in Latin (Humulus Lupulus), hops are a cousin of Cannabis and respected for their soporific properties as well as their beer friendliness. They arrived in the UK from Europe in the 16^th century, causing controversy from the beginning – Henry VIII banned their use in brewing for starters.

In the 1920s, Guinness made a very convincing argument for the fact that Guinness is Good For You by commissioning artists to draw pictures of men, woman and animals achieving great things while (presumably) under the influence. This advertising angle that came from market research – apparently people had told the stout giant that they felt good after their pint.

Of course, implying that alcoholic drink improves physical performance or enhances personal qualities is now quite rightly forbidden. Unless, that is, you’re suggesting that people should turn down their drink in favour of having a healthy frolic around in its raw ingredients.