Manual Picking of the 18th

¶ … Manual Picking of the 18th Century

The Production and Picking of Hops in the 18th Century

The implementation of hops into the brewing process was a revolutionary step in modern beer making. Previous years had not included hops into recipes, and the result was a very different kind of ale that was much thicker and more like malt liquor than the typical modern brews that highlight the flavor of the hops. Hops themselves were originally used as a medicine, but then initially used in beer to help the brews keep longer. During the 18th century, the addition of hops into beers became more and more popular, thus the hop growing industry boomed. All over Europe, and especially England saw large influxes of farm workers that would annually come to manually pick the hops. This process was long and arduous, but had amazing results on the world of modern beer making.

It is strange to think that hops were not always an integral part in the beer making process, yet for thousands of years they were generally not included within brewing beer. Their use was mainly for other ailments and purposes. The Latin word for hop is Humulus lupulus, meaning "wolf of the woods," (Kent County Council:2). It was seen to be used as early as Roman times. Before their addition into brews, they were mainly used as medicine within special homemade tonics. Hops were actually more widely used in medicines and tonics (Fluckiger & Hanbury 1874:496). Their primary use within such elixirs was to help create a bitter taste and make medicines last longer on the shelf. Research shows hops being commonly used in Dutch and German breweries as early as the 1400s (Simmonds 1877:1). Yet this trend did not catch on for some time within European brew making; and "hops were for a long period hardly regarded an essential in brewing," (Fluckiger & Hanbury: 496). Hops created a new category -- beer, before there was just ale, which is basically the same recipe but brewed without hops. They were initially used in beers to help make the brew keep longer, which was a primary use in the medicinal tonics which highlighted hops as well; "The addition of hops to traditionally brewed ales added to their flavor and improved their keeping qualities," (Kent County Council:2). And so, the popularity of adding hops to brews began, and took off, leaving the 18th century to have great success in the growing and picking of hops across the European landscape.

According to research, 18th century hand picking methods were very particular. Hops were grown in chosen locations based on the richness of the soil, "The hop requires a very rich soil, and its growth is promoted by the liberal application of both organic and mineral measures; although excessive manuring is prejudicial," (Chambers's Encyclopedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People 1873:414). Thus areas with rich, fertile soil were chosen above others in the raising and production of European hops for brewing. The plant itself is a hearty plant, that once planted, is hard to remove entirely from the soil itself; "It spreads rapidly underground by its roots and is not easily extirpated where it has once been introduced," (Chambers's Encyclopedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People 1873:414). Traditionally in the 18th century, in hop plantations, there are normally groups of three to four hops planted around xi to nine feet away from each other. Thus, the plants can be easily accessed and worked by many workers when they have fully matured. They are propagated through cloning by using cuttings and raising them in a greenhouse. As the shoots rise from the ground, planters attach them to wooden poles to help them from bowing down. These stalks grow into thick bushels, and so are tied to poles in the ground to make the process of hand picking easier on the laborers. According to research," The stalks, or bines, are taken down from the poles after the hop-picking, and cut and removed, to be used as litter or as manure," (Chambers's Encyclopedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People 1873:414). Previously, the 16th century mound method "consisted of placing individual poles three to a hill," (Kent County Council 2007:2). However, as the popularity of hops grew, this system became obsolete. The 18th century saw the use of the later umbrella system "involved growing the hops up twine, running from the ground to high wires, in a narrow shuttle-cock or inverted umbrella-shape," (Kent County Council 2007:2). This allowed easier access to the ripe female cones, and also cleared much of the working space for the inclusion of vast amounts of more workers within the fields every September. Harvesters during the 18th century and before hand picked the ripened cone off the female plant by hand. Workers had to wait until September to pick the best quality hops, because that was when they were at their ripest point. Hops are best when ripe; "As the quality of hops depends largely upon the amount of lupuline they contain, care is necessary to select those which have been fully matured on the vine before picking, when the lupuline will be found in greater abundance, and of better quality," (Simmonds 1877:4). Hops were manually picked in September, largely by bands of annual laborers traveling through the countryside (Lawrence 1990). Thus, an entire new industry was born and popularized in the 18th century around the seasonal picking of the hops.

Once the hops were manually picked, the drying process could then begin. Hops were traditionally dried by lying out, but the increased demand for hops for commercial brewing made this method obsolete. Hops in the 18th century became a necessary addition to many types of ale, and so their popularity within brewing skyrocketed. To meet this demand "growers began building kilns in which to dry the hops, as well as cool, bale, and store the hops," (Powell 2007:1). Commercial hops were commonly dried in "oast houses" which were typically 9 ft high by 8 ft wide and 13 ft long. There were traditionally three rooms within the oast house, "One room for the collected green hops, one room for cooling the hops, and the oast room which had a brick furnace over which the hops were elevated to dry," (Powell 2007:1). These rooms helped dry and cure the hops which was a necessary element for the proper taste and keeping properties that were essential within the brewing process. The 18th century also a wave of invention in the treatment of hops after the initial picking was done by manual seasonal laborers. The conical cap was invented in England in 1790, which helped revolutionize the way hops were dried and cure in the 18th century. According to research, "These devices protected the hole in the apex while providing the maximum draft possible," (Powell 2007:1). This became the popular way to dry and cure hops all over England and in other areas of Europe. Yet, the New World also saw the popularity of growing and processing hops grow as colonists began brewing their own beer to avoid high importation costs and taxes. In New England "The first hops to be dried in a charcoal-fired kiln were cured in Massachusetts in 1791 in Samuel Jacques, Jrs. Hop yard," (Powell 2007:1). After the hops are cured, there is a long period of storage which helps give the hops the robust flavor and bitter taste necessary within the brewing process. Thus, hops are traditionally left to cure for a period of three years (Simmonds 1877:5). After three seasons of storage, they are removed from their resting places and included within the various recipes of brewers all over Europe and North America.

Hops are grown all over Europe, but England is the prime producer. Other producers on a smaller scale include Bavaria, Belgium, and France (Fluckiger & Hanbury 1874:497). During the 18th century none, however, have ever surpassed England as a grower and producer of hops. According to research, "The cultivation of the hop was introduced into England from Flanders in the time of Henry VIII, but did not become sufficient for the supply of the kingdom until the end of the 17th century," (Chambers's Encyclopedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People 1873:414). Thus, the catch on to hops in England was slow. However, it eventually won over public opinion and because of the rich soil in areas such as Kent, England became the top producer of hops in Europe during the 18th and later 19th centuries. Yet, hops were not always such a popular product within the British Isles; "For some time after hops began to be used in brewing, a strong prejudice existed against the innovation; and parliament was petitioned against hops as 'a wicked weed, that would spoil the taste of the drink, and endanger the people,'" (Chambers's Encyclopedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People 1873:414). This eventually curtailed to popularity as the rising growth of hops began to employ more and more seasonal workers. In England, one of the premier locations for growing Hops in the 18th century was Kent. Kent has a long history with the growing and curing of hops; "The cultivation of hops for brewing was, in fact, introduced to Kent by Flemish brewers in the 16th century," (Kent County Council 2007:2). Once the popularity of hops exploded in England, it was Kent that vastly benefited from the rich soil and close proximity to massive amounts of seasonal laborers available to manually work the fields in the 18th century. Kent alone employed over 80,000 workers in the harvesting, drying, and sale of hops during the 18th and 19th centuries; "thousands of acres of Kent's countryside were devoted to growing hops in fields known as 'hop gardens,' with up to 80,000 people involved in the annual harvest at hop-picking time in September," (Kent County Council 2007:2). The region found great success in the production of hops for commercial brewing. This was based on several essential reasons that helped elevate the growing of hops as Kent's main agricultural product. These were based on the land and its proximity to available work, "Kent was the earliest center for hop culture for a number of reasons: suitable soil, the enclosed field system was established; and there was a good supply of wood for the poles to support the hops and charcoal for drying them," (Kent County Council 2007:2). The popularity of hops production in Kent sparked a surge in the local economy. Local farmers and traveling manual pickers alike all benefited enormously from the September harvest season. According to research, "The conversion rate from bushels into cash depended upon the quality and quantity of the hops picked," (Powell 2007:3). Thus it was important for growers during the 18th century to produce quality hops that could compete with other local farms in the region. However prosperous the industry became, it eventually hit its bubble and slowly receded, leaving it to be a fraction of what it once was today. After the heyday of English hops production in the 18th century, "A combination of developed higher yield of hop plants, lower concentration of hops in beer, cheap imports and blight all served to effectively bring the hop growing Industry of Kent and Sussex to a close," (Powell 2007:2).