Great Newsome Brewery has collaborated with hop merchant Charles Faram on a premium bitter that showcases the best in British hops.
Emperor (5% ABV) makes full use of Godiva and the fittingly named Emperor. These are two new British hops grown as part of Charles Faram’s Hop Development Programme.
“Some brewers, I feel, have a rigid idea of how British hops taste”, said James, head brewer at Great Newsome. “There’s so much to explore here. Both Farams and ourselves really want to show off the brilliant new hops being bred on our island.”
Emperor is also the latest in Great Newsome’s Chrysalis beers, a range of real ales named after British butterflies.
“It’s funny how it happened, really”, said Matthew Hodgson, director at the brewery. “Beth Eaton [Charles Faram’s sales manager for the North of England and Scotland] had said her favourite butterfly was the Purple Emperor. After she pointed out that Charles Faram had just bred a hop named Emperor, we knew what we had to do.
“We are farmers as well as brewers, so we want to do everything we can to support British growers. There are some really exciting new hops being grown right now in the UK and, in my opinion, British breweries need to get behind them.”
Beth said: “Having spent half my life in the brewing industry, I know how it works. It’s all about the people and their passion, whether that be brewing excellent beers, growing the highest quality brewing ingredients, or bringing that all together as a supplier, like Charles Faram.
“My life passion is for nature and wildlife, so I jumped at Matthew’s kind invitation to brew a new beer at Great Newsome Brewery using two Charles Faram British-grown hop varieties, Godiva and Emperor, to be named after my favourite butterfly.
“I haven’t tasted the beer yet. I have no doubt that it will be delicious, and another example of an excellent beer brewed with British hops.”
