When I was writing the last farm report back in the summer we were just getting ready to harvest the hops. It’s strange to think I’m now writing this from our temporary HQ in Sweden (more on this later). Boy, what a harvest we had! As you know, I’ve been banging on about our hydroponic hops for some time now. But this season was our first proper harvest, and they did not disappoint.

For me, one of the main reasons I gave up the city life and desk job to become a hop farmer was for the social aspect and to revive the good old days. Old fashioned hard graft using your hands and grabbing as much help as you can from friends and family. The modern day version of the hop pickers of yesteryear - people embarking on the pilgrimage from cities like London and Birmingham to the hop yards of Kent and Herefordshire to help out with harvest. This year our awesome new neighbours (fresh meat, heh heh) were easily persuaded to help out. They were rewarded, of course, with our standard payment of lashings of lovely homebrew, mostly the Mild from this year’s collaboration brew kits. It’s fair to say that it went down a treat! After a few hours of picking on a gorgeous late summer’s day the kettle was primed and ready for our green hydroponic hopped beer. 

The Hydro Hops

Our test batch - consisting of around 100 Chinook plants or so - produced some monsters! The cones were full bodied; around 60%+ larger than our field-grown hops. We were eager to test them out, but were slightly worried they would be all mouth and no trousers. But in they went - around 150g on the boil and another 500g on flame out (it sounds like a ridiculous amount but you use a lot more fresh, green hops for a wet-hopped brew than with dried hops). The grain bill, for those interested, was the same as the kit from the Australian edition (issue 003) minus the hops. Now, we just had to wait.

And Sweden?

While we wait, I’ll explain the Sweden reference. Our long time readers may or may not know that we close down the farm out of season (not the webshop - don’t worry that’s always open!) and use the magazine as an excuse to visit wonderful places around the world to see what other brewers are getting up to. As you can guess, this year there were slim pickings for travel opportunities, but by lucky coincidence Sweden was at the top of the list. Sweden isn’t a random decision for us; we have a considerable connection to Sweden: my wife’s family is from Sweden and she herself has spent a decade there. Plus over the last year we’ve been looking to expand the farm and business into Europe. The pieces seemed to fit, so we packed our bags and here we are! We’ve been here two weeks and already I have homebrewing withdrawal symptoms. And not just for the craft. Have you seen the price of a pint out here? I cannot wait to be reunited with my brew kettle.

The Results

So how was the wet-hopped hydro beer, I hear you ask?! Well, we like a party and to have a wee drinkie, so what better time to launch the future of Dark Farm than at our end-of-season party in October? It was the perfect occasion to sample our first hydro hops outdoors on the farm where they grew, amongst friends. The first thing that hit us when we cracked open the keg was the aroma. I’ve never smelt such sweet tropical notes from any ale. The golden, single hopped APA produced characteristics not on the Chinook charts: peach and strong tropical aromas. It blew my mind. The bitterness? Somewhat in your face, but still pleasant (though I think I would take this down a notch or two for the next brew). All in all: bang on the money!  

Hydro Hops are the Future

We now want to make these hops available to our Hop Club subscribers and are in the process of designing our new Dark Farm HQ: a fully incorporated hydroponic hop farm and tap house / office. A one stop wonder! Watch this space, and thanks for all your support in 2020. It’s fair to say that it’s been a truly unique and memorable year. Cheers!