Hop farmer wants to bring the “granddaddy” of hops back to Surrey

A Surrey brewery is bringing the “granddaddy” of hops back to the county where the plants were developed in the early 18th Century.

Matthew King, estate manager at the Hogs Back Brewery in Tongham, said other hops around the world were morphed from the Farnham White Bine.

The brewery has now revived the heritage hop in its eight and a half acre garden, looked after by a team of volunteers.

“Traditionally, hops have been growing here in Surrey for centuries,” Mr King said.

The area was previously the commercial centre of hop growing and drying, with dozens of hop farms around Farnham.

The brewery has been cultivating its hop garden, which includes the Farnham White Bine and two other varieties English cascade and Fuggles, for 10 years.

“We decided to bring it back, put it back in its traditional place,” he said of the Farnham White Bine.

The brewery said the variety was developed by local farmer Peckham Williams, of nearby Badshot Lea, in the early 1700s.

The team is now preparing for harvest towards the end of August, but work on the plant is year-round and supported by a group of volunteers known as the Hogs Back Hoppers.

Ian Dixon is one of them, and although now retired, had a career working for breweries.

“I retired 16 years ago,” he told BBC Radio Surrey.

“I moved to be close to our family, and I suddenly realised I was next to the brewery.

“It’s one of the few breweries that actually grow their own hops.”

He said the busiest time for the hoppers was around the harvest, with the volunteers driving tractors, getting the plants on to the trailer and into the brewery’s machinery.

“This goes on eight hours a day for about a month,” he said.

“We all chip in, and we all help.

“It’s all done because of our love for the hops and our love for this brewery.”

Michelle Mackie started volunteering in 2024 after going on a tour of the brewery.

“I came straight into the harvest, which was the great fun part of being in the harvest and hopping. It’s great fun,” she said.

She said the volunteering was an opportunity for a change from her office job and to do something “completely different and out of her comfort zone”.

Mr King added: “It’s marvellous to have the brewery and the hop field just next to each other, so that we get the freshest and the best Surrey hops, cut down and put into the into the brew, literally on the same day.”