New research aims to support a sustainable revolution in British hop farming

Asahi UK and the Worshipful Company of Brewers have teamed up with the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) and the University of Warwick to fund two PhD research projects looking at how to develop sustainable approaches to British hop production in a bid to stop the further demise of the UK’s hop growing industry.

Hops are a lesser-known UK crop, which is often not talked about, but they are a vital ingredient in our much-loved British beers, providing the bitterness and more complex fruity and floral flavours.

Despite the significance of hop farming to British heritage, climate change and the prevalence of disease has meant that hop production in the UK has declined substantially since the heyday in the 1800s when it is believed there were almost 3,000 hop growers, and more than 77,000 acres of hops, in the UK.

There are now just 45 hop growers, and only 2,000 acres of hops in the UK, and the total acreage dedicated to growing hops used in our traditional British beers has halved in size in the last decade.

Professor Duncan Westbury, Dean of Land and Property Management at the RAU, who will be supervising the PhDs, said: “Going forward, we need to support British hop growers and this includes developing approaches that make hop production more environmentally and economically sustainable.

“As well as the problems caused by a changing climate, growing hops in the UK is now also more difficult due to the increasing incidence of fungal pathogens in the soil, particularly a disease called Verticillium wilt which can significantly reduce yields.

“Hop growers currently do what they can to prevent disease and this includes the use of chemicals and regular cultivation of the alleyways between the hop bines.

“However, these practices not only significantly impact biodiversity and soil health, they are also carbon intensive meaning that, while they may support the short-term production of hops, they contribute to the long-term problem.”

The two PhDs, for which the RAU is now inviting applications, will look to develop sustainable approaches to enhance UK hop production by increasing resilience to disease, through the implementation of wildflower alleyways, and the use of biochar, a carbon-rich, charcoal-like material.

It is hoped that use of these methods could also lock up more carbon in the soil thereby helping growers to address the climate emergency, enabling the sector to progress towards its goal of net zero.