If you’re a regular walker at the Ventnor Botanic Garden, you may well have noticed over the last year or so that one of the fields near the cliff edge has been planted up with crops.
Now you might have been wondering what the crops were and why they were there.
Well, in an initiative to bring hops back to the Isle of Wight, the Botanic Garden have teamed up with Island brewery, Goddards, and will be producing the first hops on the Island for decades.
Fifth largest grower
It was news to us that the Isle of Wight was previously Britain’s fifth largest grower of hops. That was until production slowed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and eventually stopped altogether.
The hops being grown at the Botanic Garden will produce a bitter called ‘Hoppiness’, which will hop(e)fully go on sale in late September.
Boost for Green Food Miles project
It won’t just be the hops that are used in the bitter. We’re told that many other local ingredients will make up the recipe too, helping support Island producers under a project called Green Food Miles.
Simon Goodenough, Curator at Ventnor Botanic Garden, says the attraction instigated this initiative to produce an exclusive beer made largely from Island ingredients. He said “When you buy a pint of bitter in a pub for example, you probably don’t realise how many of the ingredients have to be imported from much further afield, this is obviously not environmentally friendly.
“We are keen to support a scheme to highlight the importance of hop growing and bring the tradition back to the Isle of Wight, because we used to be one of the main areas in the UK for its production.
“We are very happy that Goddards Brewery wish to be involved in this seasonal project and thank them for working with us”
We’ll let you know nearer the time when the bitter is available (estimated date end of September).
