BRITAIN’S BEER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 May 1939, Page 6

BRITAIN’S BEER

SOME FACTS ABOUT HOPS. For the information of those who say “there's very little hops in beer nowadays,” the April number of “The P.L.A. Monthly” gives some interesting facts about hops. “The character, flavour and keeping qualities of beer are of course influenced tremendously by the origin and quality of the hops, and an important part of the brewer's job is to select and blend such hops as will enable him to maintain the ‘palate’ of his beer and so retain the custom of the connoisseurs who drink it.

“Most oi the hops used in this country are home-grown. Only 15 per cent of the total used annually is allowed to be imported; about 14,000 bales per annum come from the United States and British Columbia, and about 4,000 bales are imported from the Continent. All hops are press-packed in what are known as ‘pockets.’ They are extremely susceptible to any alien smell, and •are themselves liable to impart their aroma to other goods. “On arrival at the Port of London, most of the imported hops go to hop merchants’ own warehouses in the Borough, but some are taken to the bonded warehouse at St Katherine Docks for weighing and sampling. Special care is taken in storing these hops well away from any possible source of contamination, and they are given the consideration which is their due as one of the chief ingredients of Britain's national beverage.”