A record 3,000 people attended Hogs Back Brewery’s Hop Harvest celebration, staged over two days during the last weekend of September.
There was a music festival-style event onthe Saturday and a more family-friendly TEA Party on the Sunday. Guests enjoyed a range of Hogs Back beers, including Green TEA. This is a variation on the brewer’s flagship Tongham TEA, brewed with fresh or ‘green’ hops, straight from Hogs Back’s hop garden.
On Saturday, bands entertained the crowds all afternoon and evening from a stage in the brewery courtyard, culminating in a storming performance from Queen tribute band Majesty.
On Sunday, the live music continued, while a Kids Zone offered child-friendly amusement, including farm animals, a bouncy castle, face painting, the Fred the Shed magic show, and dray rides around the hop garden. Children and adults took part in a hat decorating competition, using freshly cut hop bines.
Hogs Back managing director, Rupert Thompson, said: “Our Hop Harvest parties have always involved the local community, and we were delighted that so many people joined us to celebrate this year’s harvest. And as we’re the only regional brewer in the UK to have our own hop garden, it is a uniquely Hogs Back celebration.
“Hop farming is an important part of Farnham’s history and we’re happy to have brought it back to the area with our hop garden. We know it’s meant a lot to local people who were involved in hop farming in their youth or who remember stories about it.
“We’re grateful for their support, particularly the 50 Hogs Back Hopper volunteers who helped us bring in the harvest. It’s hard physical work over a few weeks, and they certainly earned themselves a few pints!”
He added: “We’re delighted with the quality of the hops this year, which will add wonderful, distinctive flavour to many of our beers. The size of this harvest was half that of last year’s bumper crop. Hops need water to thrive, so this summer’s drought had an impact.
“However, we’re still delighted to be growing hops just yards from the brewery, helping to reduce our food miles and achieve our goal of being an ever more sustainable brewer. On average, the hops we harvest here provide more than 50% of our brewing needs for the year.”
Hogs Back harvested three hop varieties this year:
- Fuggles, used in Tongham TEA;
- English Cascade, used in Hogstar lager and Surrey Nirvana Session IPA;
- and Farnham White Bine, a traditional local variety that the brewer saved from near-extinction.
Several local groups helped to manage the event, with charity Hedgehogs providing marquees and volunteers from the 4th Farnham (Tongham) Scout Group manning the car park and Kids Zone. In return, Hogs Back is making a donation towards completing their new HQ.
Supporting local charities has always been part of the Hop Harvest celebrations, and of Hogs Back’s ethos generally, and over the weekendnearly £800 was raised for Dementia 1st, a Surrey-based charity which provides care and support for people living with dementia.
Rupert said: “This was our seventh Hop Harvest party and our best ever! We were blessed with good weather, and our guests had a fantastic time drinking beer, listening to some wonderful music, or taking part in our activities. As always, there are learnings as we grow, and we will be moving to a whole new level next year.
“The whole event was staffed by the Hogs Back team, so a big thank you to them, as well as to local businesses and volunteers. Everyone involved put in a huge amount of time and effort to make this year’s Hop Harvest celebrations wonderful events.”
