Hops! Stocks Farm & Hop Shed Brewery

Humulus Lupulus in Latin - the 'wolf of the woods'.
Originating in SE Asia, hops made their way to Europe in the 9th century and to Britain in the 15th century.  Historically used to stop beer going sour, they now determine the bitterness and aroma of most of our beers.

...And we had the great opportunity to visit a hop farm and learn more about them.
On a sunny September morning we set off from Oxford to Stocks Farm, situated just west of Worcester.
We were running a little late thanks to a bit of heavy traffic near the M5 and several wrong turns on Worcestershire lanes, in order for Tony to practice his mini-bus reversing skills.

When we did arrive we were met by our guide and led out into the fields where the workers were busy harvesting the hops.

Farming Action Shot. 

We walked through several fields, past cider apples and on to different varieties of hops grown on shorter hop poles.  All in a fabulous bit of countryside, with the Malvern hills in the distance.  Stocks Farm is one of the largest hop farms in the UK, growing enough hops each year to make a staggering 46 million pints of beer.  The farm dates back around 200 years and has been owned and cared for by the Capper family since 1962.

They're generous enough to let visitors like ourselves tour the farm.  The next stage of that tour - and the hops journey - is the Hop Shed, where the 'Bruff' gets down to business.

This hunk of locally-made farming machinery discards all the unwanted bits of stalk and leaf and sends the hops on a series of conveyor belts towards this big tank of glorious green-hoppiness...

Despite being in close proximity to all the heavy machinery, no-one pressed any buttons they shouldn't; Charles' tie didn't get caught in any cogs or wheels; and I resisted the urge to climb into the tank above and wallow in the hops.

The final stages of the process take the hops into a kiln where they're carefully dried, before being packed into bales and distributed to breweries far and wide.

 

All this learning about hops was thirsty work and it was high time to go and sample some of the end product that they go into...

The Hop Shed Brewery Tap (Stocks Farm, Suckley, WR6 5EH - web)

Right next door to all the hop-harvest-action is this independently-run micro brewery and tap room.  They've been brewing since 2016, with a name change (from Unity Brewhouse) to Hop Shed in 2018.  The name reflects the fact that they're the only UK brewery located on a hop farm.
As this was once a chicken shed, all the beers are named after breeds of chickens.  Four to try on cask on this visit, which we diligently worked our way through - the 'Sultan Gold' probably being my favourite of the lot. 

Leaving the brewery and hop fields behind, we drove a short distance to the village of Knightwick, which had a promising looking pub for us to visit.

The Talbot (Bromyard Road, Knightwick, WR6 5PH - web)
The Talbot proved to be a pretty magnificent, sprawling, multi-roomed pub.  Great for the good weather, with a garden to the side complete with pigs and more seating just across the road next to the River Teme.

The Teme Valley Brewery beers are brewed just behind the pub, appropriately for our trip today, using local hops.  All three on the bar ('This', 'That' and 'T'other') were pale-golden ales - I'm not sure they needed three of such similar beers at the same time, other than the pump clips making for a good picture.

But this was undeniably a great village pub. There were lots of individual areas within, but I liked the basic bar-room to the right of the entrance, which had stone floors, dogs sprawling in prime positions to be tripped-over and a pool table on a raised section.

Driving back in the direction of Oxford, we broke our journey at Cotswolds tourist hot-spot: Broadway.

Crown & Trumpet (14 Church Street, Broadway, WR12 7AE - web)
The last time I was here, a couple of years back, it was super-busy and I didn't really get to appreciate the interior.  It has a proper pub carpet, wooden beams, brass instruments hanging from the walls and lots of old advertising signs.  Cluttered and characterful.

Two hand-pumps dispensed Stanway Brewery 'Artists Ale', a locally brewed 3.9% ABV golden ale, which was a pleasant enough pint.
A decent choice for cider enthusiasts, too, with three on offer as well as the Black Rat perry.

Making the most of the warm, sunny September afternoon, we took our drinks outside to the garden in front of the pub.  This was a peaceful and thoroughly relaxing spot...well, it was until we arrived.
All in all, a lovely day out - the hop farm proved to be a wonderful place to visit, topped off by the brewery tap room a couple of good pubs.  Cheers!