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24-05-2015, 08:28
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I’m finally getting to the end of Jeffery’s discussion of hop varieties. Sorry it’s taken so long.

This time we’re looking at North American hops. Starting with Canada.


“British Columbians. Unfortunately, we have only had the pleasure of seeing a very few of these hops, but we were greatly impressed by them. They combine brightness of appearance with a fair size of cone, and, above all, a flavour which could well equal that of the best Kent Fuggles. It is a pity that more are not available. Their preservative value is high, and they could be used with advantage even in the best beers.”
"Brewing Theory and Practice" by E. J. Jeffery, 1956, page 176.
I’ve seen these turn up occasionally in brewing records. Though I’m damned if I can find any examples at the moment. Was Canada much of a hop producer? I feel like a table coming on. I knew all that crap I collected about hops would come in useful sometime. Actually, I didn’t think that, but collected it anyway. Because the crazy obsessive type of thing I do.

As you can see, Canada wasn’t exactly a player on the world stage:



World Production of hops 1951 - 1957


Country
1951
1952
1953
average 1950-54
1955
1956
1957



cwts.
cwts.
cwts.
cwts.
cwts.
cwts.
cwts.


Northern Hemisphere


USA
564,634
546,991
372,786
478,812
329,233
342,705
358,349


Canada
17,339
17,920
15,179§
17,214
12,554
12,902
10,563


United Kingdom
321,821
282,348
266,000
298,216
256,821
184,170
267,670


Czechoslovakia
98,420§
80,705§
98,420§
98,000
120,428
96,304
73,813


Germany
252,795
206,187
280,500
256,688
253,358
277,027
283,473


France
41,330
34,446
48,223
39,660
41,214
33,071
33,696


Belgium
19,366
17,062
19,179
20,750
26,571
16,027
23,821


Spain
t
2,607
3,661
t
5,732
5,812
6,893


Poland
t
t
t
t
24,992
12,580
24,598


Yugoslavia
24,652
23,652
25,589
25,661
36,616
45,866
52,848


Other European
t
t
t
t
875
1,134
982


USSR
t
t
t
t
78,812
57,723
65,196


Japan
9,054
16,241
13,286
11,026
15,187
15,795
16,205


Total
1,349,411
1,228,159
1,142,823
1,246,027
1,202,393
1,101,116
1,218,107


Southern Hemisphere*


Australia
18,384
31,920
28,000§
27,376
34,376
25,902
31,429


New Zealand
7,795
8,036
7,589§
8,946
11,062
8,964
8,929


Union of South Africa
2,482
3,384
3,125§
3,071
2,098
1,625
1,376


Argentina
1,179
1,179
1,116§
1,330
1,571
1,714
2,411


Total
29,840
44,519
39,830§
40,723
49,107
38,205
44,143


World Total
1,379,251
1,272,678
1,182,653§
1,286,750
1,251,500
1,139,321
1,262,250


* crops harvested early in the following year


t not available


§ estimate


Sources:


1951, 1952, 1953: 1955 Brewers' Almanack, page 65.


average 1950-54, 1955, 1956, 1957: 1962 Brewers' Almanack, page 63.




If I show Canada’s share in percentage terms, it’s clear how insignificant the country was as a hop producer:



Canada's share of hop production


Year
Canada
World Total
Canada's %


1951
17,339
1,379,251
1.26%


1952
17,920
1,272,678
1.41%


1953
15,179
1,182,653
1.28%


average 1950-54
17,214
1,286,750
1.34%


1955
12,554
1,251,500
1.00%


1956
12,902
1,139,321
1.13%


1957
10,563
1,262,250
0.84%




This originally Canadian variety is still with us:


“A cross between a wild Manitoba hop and an English hop, called Brewer's Gold is remarkable for its very high preservative value (120-140 on the dry hop). It has a rather strong aroma, but if blended it can be used as a copper hop. It has even been used as a dry hop.”
"Brewing Theory and Practice" by E. J. Jeffery, 1956, page 176.
Now on to the USA:


“United States. Hops from the New York district are usually ranked first in value, on account of their greater delicacy in flavour. Next in order is placed those grown in and marketed as Sonomas, Oregons, and Sacramentos. These hops all have a very distinctive colour, being pale primrose without a trace of a green tinge. This feature is probably due to the climatic conditions under which they are grown and harvested. In wealth of resins they have no equal, the amount being in some cases remarkable. For this reason they have a very high preservative value. Unfortunately, they have some rather noticeable and serious defects, one of which is the large amount of stick and leaf present, which weighs up to a considerable amount. This defect is due to the introduction of machinery for picking, and we fail to see how the defect is to be obviated. In our opinion, it detracts greatly from the brewing value. Furthermore, American hops are prone to attacks from blight and vermin. In some instances the infection is so intense that the insides of a large proportion of cones is rendered black and foul. Even the strigs are sometimes affected. The vastness of the gardens makes the situation even more difficult to handle than is the case when dealing with a scourge in England. Sonomas are supposed to enjoy a certain amount of freedom from attacks by blight. All the same, we have seen specimens of them in a most undesirable condition.”
"Brewing Theory and Practice" by E. J. Jeffery, 1956, pages 176 - 177.
I thought New York’s hop industry was long gone by the 1950’s. Didn’t they have terrible problems with pests and disease?

Sonoma and Sacramento, of course, are in California. We’ll be hearing later about the effect of machine picking on yields and hop quality. All I can say is that it must have saved a stack of money on labour, because it had all sorts of disadvantages. The US industry had abandoned hand picking before WW II.

A recurring theme when British brewers discuss American hops is the horrible blackcurrant flavour. They were saying the same back in the 19th century.


“In flavour, Sonomas are certainly entitled to pride of position because they are much milder than Oregons, and free from that intense and objectionable black-currant flavour. Great efforts have been made in recent years to eradicate or lessen this by planting hills of delicate flavoured Kent and Worcester hops nearby. In some cases a degree of success has been met with, but, whether it is due to the nature of the soil or to the climate, there is always a gradual tendency to hark back to the strong flavour.”
"Brewing Theory and Practice" by E. J. Jeffery, 1956, page 177.
Not sure why planting British hops close by would make the others taste better.

Before WW II US hops were as common as muck in Britain. But, with UK-grown supplies being sufficient after the war, they seem to have disappeared pretty much completely. Whitbread look like they were using up some old Oregons they had during the war, but when they ran out in 1945, they disappear from their records.

It’s one of the biggest changes in ingredients I’ve seen, wartime excepted. American hops had been a mainstay for British brewers for around 100 years. Then suddenly they were discarded, like a lover who’s become fat or bald. Or both.


“The cones of some of the Oregon hops are of immense size, and we have seen some 3 in. or more in length. The bracts are long and pointed, and come away from the strig easily, displaying much resin. Unfortunately, the resins quickly change from soft to hard when stored under ordinary conditions. They emit, in a hard state, a pungent and uninviting aroma. Sacramentos are the coarsest of the series, and compare unfavourably both in resinous content and preservative properties.
"Brewing Theory and Practice" by E. J. Jeffery, 1956, page 177.
Don’t think I’ve ever come across anything specifically called Sacramento. Though they could just have been described as American or Californian. They sound pretty crap – bad flavour and with lesser preservative power.

Unbelievably, there’s loads, loads more about hops in the 1950’s to come. Unless I get distracted, obviously.

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