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26-02-2018, 07:15
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One of the main reasons I bought the 1922 Brewers' Almanack was this table. Frustratingly, the 1928 Almanack doesn't cover all the war years.
I'd noticed when writing recipes that fresh hops - ones from the most recent season - virtually disappeared aafter 1916. looking at the table, the reason is obvious: hop production had collapsed. The reason? The government ordered hop farmer to grub up some of their bines and grow food instead. Almost overnight the area planted with hops was halved.
I can see the logic. Fewer hops were going to be needed, as the emount of beer being produced had declined. And some of the hop growing areas - Kent, for example - are very fertile.
Bit of a double whammy, as hop imports dried up at exactly the same time. I was slightly surprised to se Amrican hops from the 1914 and 1915 seasons quite regularly in brewing records. But not later seasons. In 1918 and 1919 really ancient American hops appear. Ones as old as 1910. It looks to me like brewers were using up their emergency stocks.
That also explains how in 1917, 1918 and 1919 more hops were used than were available. The number s don't take into account old stocks lying around in breweries.
Aware that there was a shortage of hops, the government stepped in and bought the whole hop crop and distributed it to brewers. The system continued even after war's end, the aim being to rebuild the hop growing industry. To help this, no foreign hops could be imported until the whole UK crop had been sold.
Even with this help, the acreage under hops never got back to its 1914 level.
Table 15- Total quantity of Hops available for consumption in the United Kingdom, and the averages for ten years.
Year.
Area. Acres.
Estimated Production Cwts.
Imports less Exports. Cwts.
Available for Consumption. Cwts.
Consumption (See Table 2).
% imports
1905
48,967
695,943
83,278
779,221
656,792
12.68%
1908
38,916
470,761
257,792
728,463
562,247
45.85%
1909
32,539
214,484
118,568
333,052
548,445
21.62%
1910
32,886
302,675
163,105
465,780
551,248
29.59%
1911
33,056
328,023
102,167
430,190
574,260
17.79%
1912
34,829
373,438
223,566
596,994
549,507
40.68%
1913
35,676
265,641
234,837
490,478
561,708
41.81%
1914
36,661
507,258
73,778
581,031
559,423
13.19%
average 1905-14
38,518
376,803
166,008
542,802
560,549
29.62%
1915
34,744
254,101
191,059
495,160
467,142
40.90%
1916
31,352
307,856
135,385
443,241
450,257
30.07%
1917
16,626
226,763
4,446
230,209
329,334
1.35%
1918
15,626
138,491
6,664
145,155
263,392
2.53%
1919
16,762
187,795
151,485
339,280
400,000
37.87%
1920
21,685
258,042
452,124
710,166
450,000
100.47%
1921
25,186
236,172
214,364
450,536
425,000
50.44%
Source:
1922 Brewers' Almanack, page 119.
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One of the main reasons I bought the 1922 Brewers' Almanack was this table. Frustratingly, the 1928 Almanack doesn't cover all the war years.
I'd noticed when writing recipes that fresh hops - ones from the most recent season - virtually disappeared aafter 1916. looking at the table, the reason is obvious: hop production had collapsed. The reason? The government ordered hop farmer to grub up some of their bines and grow food instead. Almost overnight the area planted with hops was halved.
I can see the logic. Fewer hops were going to be needed, as the emount of beer being produced had declined. And some of the hop growing areas - Kent, for example - are very fertile.
Bit of a double whammy, as hop imports dried up at exactly the same time. I was slightly surprised to se Amrican hops from the 1914 and 1915 seasons quite regularly in brewing records. But not later seasons. In 1918 and 1919 really ancient American hops appear. Ones as old as 1910. It looks to me like brewers were using up their emergency stocks.
That also explains how in 1917, 1918 and 1919 more hops were used than were available. The number s don't take into account old stocks lying around in breweries.
Aware that there was a shortage of hops, the government stepped in and bought the whole hop crop and distributed it to brewers. The system continued even after war's end, the aim being to rebuild the hop growing industry. To help this, no foreign hops could be imported until the whole UK crop had been sold.
Even with this help, the acreage under hops never got back to its 1914 level.
Table 15- Total quantity of Hops available for consumption in the United Kingdom, and the averages for ten years.
Year.
Area. Acres.
Estimated Production Cwts.
Imports less Exports. Cwts.
Available for Consumption. Cwts.
Consumption (See Table 2).
% imports
1905
48,967
695,943
83,278
779,221
656,792
12.68%
1908
38,916
470,761
257,792
728,463
562,247
45.85%
1909
32,539
214,484
118,568
333,052
548,445
21.62%
1910
32,886
302,675
163,105
465,780
551,248
29.59%
1911
33,056
328,023
102,167
430,190
574,260
17.79%
1912
34,829
373,438
223,566
596,994
549,507
40.68%
1913
35,676
265,641
234,837
490,478
561,708
41.81%
1914
36,661
507,258
73,778
581,031
559,423
13.19%
average 1905-14
38,518
376,803
166,008
542,802
560,549
29.62%
1915
34,744
254,101
191,059
495,160
467,142
40.90%
1916
31,352
307,856
135,385
443,241
450,257
30.07%
1917
16,626
226,763
4,446
230,209
329,334
1.35%
1918
15,626
138,491
6,664
145,155
263,392
2.53%
1919
16,762
187,795
151,485
339,280
400,000
37.87%
1920
21,685
258,042
452,124
710,166
450,000
100.47%
1921
25,186
236,172
214,364
450,536
425,000
50.44%
Source:
1922 Brewers' Almanack, page 119.
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2018/02/hops-in-ww-i.html)