Why new organic hops could save British beer from climate change

New varieties of organic hops resilient to climate change are being trialled in East Sussex and Worcestershire. The trials, which developed from the Innovative Farmers’ Hop Trial, are taking place on two farms and have identified varieties of hops that showed promise in coping with higher temperatures and increased disease resistance. Speaking about the experiments, Greg Pilley, managing director of Stroud Brewery in Gloucestershire, said that growing more climate change-resistant organic hops in the UK could supply farmers with a high quality, sustainable crop. He revealed in local reports: “We’re now moving into the fringes of hop growing really. The underlying issue is climate change – our weather is changing. UK summers are becoming wetter and more humid and less reliable, and it’s making hop growing more challenging.” After being harvested, Stroud Brewery used the hops to create new beers, which were put to a tasting trial in its taproom to assess their suitability for ...