Northern_Brewer
British - apparently some US company stole my name
Oh, where to begin?
The first thing to say is that English hops vary a lot depending on the vintage, in the same way that higher-latitude wine regions like Burgundy show much more pronounced variation between vintages than warmer regions. Before I got long Covid I could pretty reliably tell what vintage of EKG a beer was made with, tasting blind. So a lot of the variation people see may just be vintage effects. A lot of English hops can get a bit earthy in really bad vintages, even Goldings, but Fuggle is a lot more prone to it. OTOH in sunny vintages she becomes a lot more citrusy, as you can see with French Fuggle, Savinjski Golding and Willamette, which are all essentially the same thing but grown in sunnier climates. Indeed, you will get English brewers specifying English Fuggle for the hotside, and French Fuggle coldside.
This is a nice appreciation of her :
https://web.archive.org/web/2020112...2.com/ferment/article/771/a-hop-called-fuggle
Henry Kirk, Head Brewer of Dark Star Brewery in West Sussex, is also a fan. He tells me that he has had both positive and negative experiences with Fuggles, which he says can vary widely in quality, but asserts that when they are at their best, they are a thing of beauty. “Minty in colour and aroma alongside sap, green tea and woody notes. Glorious.”
Even among other traditional English varieties, Fuggle plays a unique role, according to Andy Leman, Timothy Taylor’s head brewer. “The aim of creating and brewing a traditional style English Ale, is to have a juicy malt character, balanced by delicate hop aromas and flavours,” he says. “This results in a very drinkable beer, that always leaves you wanting more. Without extreme New World hop flavours, normally a blend of English hops is used to create layers of complexity. While our WGVs and Goldings provide flavours of citrus and marmalade, Fuggles give deeper flavours of stone fruits (often apricot), slightly earthy notes, and a minty finish. This is why we love Fuggles so much, and are trying to encourage farmers to continue to grow this beautiful English heritage variety.’’
Steve Dunkley of Beer Nouveau and Temperance Street Brewery in Manchester has experimented with larger volumes of Fuggle hops and reports incredible results. Beer Nouveau specialises in brewing historic and heritage beers, rebrewing recipes from as far back as Ancient Egypt and the time of the Vikings. Steve tells me that he used Fuggles in the recreation of a recipe from the 1800s. “The sheer volumes of hops that they used meant that the essential oils that carry the aromas couldn’t escape in steam during the boil, they recirculated back into the bulk of the wort and isomerised there” he explains. “Beers we’ve brewed like this have smelled as fresh 18 months later as they did when we first brewed them.” He goes on to explain that Fuggle is a great hop for understanding the impact of this effect. “When you use it in small quantities, like it has been done recently, it’s pretty average. But when you use a lot of it, you get wonderful mango/stone fruit aromas and flavours.” Steve tells me that the difference is so pronounced that the profile has confused many who have taken a sip. “Drinkers trying it without knowing the hops have guessed that it’s an NZ hop.”
Fuggle was really badly hit by wilt in the 1950s, but Peter Darby's final creation after decades of trying was a wilt-resistant Fuggle, now called Wye Fuggle. You probably won't see her for a while but if you do - that's what she is.
And while I'm at it, she's not spelled Brambling with an extra "b" in the middle, that's a bird in the chaffinch family. The Golding clone is named after a village near Canterbury called Bramling. That hop made babies with a brother of Bullion and Brewer's Gold to make a completely different hop, called Bramling Cross.
And either Bullion or Brewer's Gold would be a better sub than Golding as they have the blackcurrant thing of the early Salmon crosses, although these days Brewer's Gold is only really grown in Germany where they particularly like her soft bittering for helles. But that's a thing - British brewers have started using British hops in lagers and given the problems that Germany is having with climate change, other people might want to look at doing the same. After all, it seems both Fuggle and Golding are close relatives of Hersbrucker - there's a theory that they were spread around Europe by Huguenots fleeing France. I'd also mention Keyworth's Early, which is pretty rare these days but has a good lemony flavour that would work nicely in lagers.
But going back to the vintage thing, in really hot years like 2018, Bramling Cross loses her characteristic blackcurrant and reverts back to something closer to her Golding mother.
The thing she's great for is introducing a little "raspiness" into bittering - everyone these days is so obsessed with "clean" bittering, and to my taste it's just not as nice or interesting as something with a bit of that rasp to it. I've also heard of people using her as a late addition with success, but have no direct experience.
I could go on, I haven't even mentioned all the new wave of Faram hops like Harlequin, Mystic and Jester. We do seem to have a bit of a new style of pale ale emerging of around 5% on cask, anchored on Harlequin and/or Ernest, with other Faram hops in the blend.
The first thing to say is that English hops vary a lot depending on the vintage, in the same way that higher-latitude wine regions like Burgundy show much more pronounced variation between vintages than warmer regions. Before I got long Covid I could pretty reliably tell what vintage of EKG a beer was made with, tasting blind. So a lot of the variation people see may just be vintage effects. A lot of English hops can get a bit earthy in really bad vintages, even Goldings, but Fuggle is a lot more prone to it. OTOH in sunny vintages she becomes a lot more citrusy, as you can see with French Fuggle, Savinjski Golding and Willamette, which are all essentially the same thing but grown in sunnier climates. Indeed, you will get English brewers specifying English Fuggle for the hotside, and French Fuggle coldside.
This is a nice appreciation of her :
https://web.archive.org/web/2020112...2.com/ferment/article/771/a-hop-called-fuggle
Henry Kirk, Head Brewer of Dark Star Brewery in West Sussex, is also a fan. He tells me that he has had both positive and negative experiences with Fuggles, which he says can vary widely in quality, but asserts that when they are at their best, they are a thing of beauty. “Minty in colour and aroma alongside sap, green tea and woody notes. Glorious.”
Even among other traditional English varieties, Fuggle plays a unique role, according to Andy Leman, Timothy Taylor’s head brewer. “The aim of creating and brewing a traditional style English Ale, is to have a juicy malt character, balanced by delicate hop aromas and flavours,” he says. “This results in a very drinkable beer, that always leaves you wanting more. Without extreme New World hop flavours, normally a blend of English hops is used to create layers of complexity. While our WGVs and Goldings provide flavours of citrus and marmalade, Fuggles give deeper flavours of stone fruits (often apricot), slightly earthy notes, and a minty finish. This is why we love Fuggles so much, and are trying to encourage farmers to continue to grow this beautiful English heritage variety.’’
Steve Dunkley of Beer Nouveau and Temperance Street Brewery in Manchester has experimented with larger volumes of Fuggle hops and reports incredible results. Beer Nouveau specialises in brewing historic and heritage beers, rebrewing recipes from as far back as Ancient Egypt and the time of the Vikings. Steve tells me that he used Fuggles in the recreation of a recipe from the 1800s. “The sheer volumes of hops that they used meant that the essential oils that carry the aromas couldn’t escape in steam during the boil, they recirculated back into the bulk of the wort and isomerised there” he explains. “Beers we’ve brewed like this have smelled as fresh 18 months later as they did when we first brewed them.” He goes on to explain that Fuggle is a great hop for understanding the impact of this effect. “When you use it in small quantities, like it has been done recently, it’s pretty average. But when you use a lot of it, you get wonderful mango/stone fruit aromas and flavours.” Steve tells me that the difference is so pronounced that the profile has confused many who have taken a sip. “Drinkers trying it without knowing the hops have guessed that it’s an NZ hop.”
Fuggle was really badly hit by wilt in the 1950s, but Peter Darby's final creation after decades of trying was a wilt-resistant Fuggle, now called Wye Fuggle. You probably won't see her for a while but if you do - that's what she is.
That's a really clear genetic difference though, I'm not so sure about Fuggle, I think that's more about vintage and good/bad examples of her. The OR6A2 gene encodes a receptor in your nose that is sensitive to certain aldehydes in coriander/cilantro, and there is a version of the gene that is super-sensitive and tips over into perceiving soapiness.
Except Bramling is a Golding from East Kent.
And while I'm at it, she's not spelled Brambling with an extra "b" in the middle, that's a bird in the chaffinch family. The Golding clone is named after a village near Canterbury called Bramling. That hop made babies with a brother of Bullion and Brewer's Gold to make a completely different hop, called Bramling Cross.
And either Bullion or Brewer's Gold would be a better sub than Golding as they have the blackcurrant thing of the early Salmon crosses, although these days Brewer's Gold is only really grown in Germany where they particularly like her soft bittering for helles. But that's a thing - British brewers have started using British hops in lagers and given the problems that Germany is having with climate change, other people might want to look at doing the same. After all, it seems both Fuggle and Golding are close relatives of Hersbrucker - there's a theory that they were spread around Europe by Huguenots fleeing France. I'd also mention Keyworth's Early, which is pretty rare these days but has a good lemony flavour that would work nicely in lagers.
But going back to the vintage thing, in really hot years like 2018, Bramling Cross loses her characteristic blackcurrant and reverts back to something closer to her Golding mother.
She was really important in the 1970s, as the first good wilt-resistant variety, so I guess some foreign retailers have locked onto her for that reason. Not just in England either - she got up to something like 75% of the Belgian crop at one point, so is "authentic" for any Belgian style.
The thing she's great for is introducing a little "raspiness" into bittering - everyone these days is so obsessed with "clean" bittering, and to my taste it's just not as nice or interesting as something with a bit of that rasp to it. I've also heard of people using her as a late addition with success, but have no direct experience.
I could go on, I haven't even mentioned all the new wave of Faram hops like Harlequin, Mystic and Jester. We do seem to have a bit of a new style of pale ale emerging of around 5% on cask, anchored on Harlequin and/or Ernest, with other Faram hops in the blend.
