Sussex farmer helps secure future of British beer
Date of alert:
Tuesday, 2 April 2024
Crime Ref:
Force:
National
A farmer has been involved in a trial of new varieties of organic hops that are resilient to climate change in the hope of securing the future of British-grown beer ingredients.
Tom Upton, from Woodlands Farm near Rye, has successfully grown a type of hop that was going to be ditched by conventional farmers.
The variety was susceptible to wilt on conventional farms but has thrived at Mr Upton’s organic one.
A group of cross-industry researchers have been developing crops over the last three years that can be grown organically in warmer temperatures and are more resilient to diseases.
The Innovative Farmers’ Hop Trial aims to bolster the UK’s cultivation of hops, which provide more flavour to beer on top of the base malt, after decades of declining production.
