Asahi funds future of British hops

Asahi UK has announced it will fund PhD research into the development of sustainable solutions to protect British beer hops.

The total area dedicated to growing hops used in traditional British beers has halved in size over the last decade.

Today there are just 45 hop growers and approximately 800 hectares of hops in the UK. This is a drastic reduction from hop growing’s heyday in the 1800s when there were almost 3,000 hop growers and more than 31,000ha across the UK.

Asahi UK, brewer of British beer brands including Fuller’s, Dark Star and Meantime, has now announced it will fund two PhD research projects looking at how to develop sustainable approaches to British hop production.

In a recent climate-related risk analysts undertaken by the company it found that hops were the highest area of risk. The research found that the content of alpha acid, which is vital for delivering the flavour to beer, is likely to fall by up to 30% by 2050 under the current climate projections of hotter weather and more frequent droughts.

Asahi UK has teamed up with Worshipful Company of Brewers, the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) and the University of Warwick for two PhDs, for which the RAU is now inviting applications.

It is hoped that the projects will lead to the development of robust guidelines on how British hop growers can boost their environmental sustainability credentials and contribute to net zero farming as part of a sustainable production system.

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.

Research projects funded by Asahi UK will 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.

Sam Goodenough, sustainability manager of Asahi UK, commented: “With climate change comes high temperatures and also more rainfall, increasing the chances of droughts and flooding which can lead to a decrease in crop yields. Hops are also particularly vulnerable to pests and disease and the strain these changes in weather put on the crop further lowers their resilience and increases their risk to disease.

The two PhDs, which are expected to each take around three years, are being jointly funded by Asahi, the RAU, and the Brewers’ Research and Education Fund, a major grants fund for the brewing industry which supports relevant scientific research and education.

Other big brewers are also undertaking research into the longevity of hop production, trialling bringing the plants indoors in order to mitigate the impact of climate change. Read more here.

Related news

Kirin brings beer hops indoors

Climate change and biodiversity loss in brewing to be assessed

Oregon hop harvests nosedive 20% as craft beer market declines