Yorkshire's latest beers are backing British hops

East Yorkshire’s Great Newsome Brewery has pledged support for British hop growers by creating a new “Love British Hops” series of beers.

The farm-based brewery, inspired by the UK’s rich heritage of hop-growing, has created a new “Love British Hops” series of six cask beers for 2026, showcasing the very best hops that the UK has to offer.

“We were inspired to come up with this idea after visiting a hop farm in Herefordshire a couple of years ago”, said James, head brewer at Great Newsome, “We had noticed a field there where the hops had been grubbed out. Although the hops had been growing there for around 70 years, the grower was considering replacing them with apple trees as these were more profitable. That seemed a real shame to us.”

That’s nothing new; Britain grows far fewer hops these days. According to the British Hop Association, the UK grew approximately 8,200 Ha (about 10,000 football pitches) of hops in 1962. This had dropped to 1,060 Ha by 2007 and, at the time of writing, is now just 500Ha on 42 farms. Why the decline? Competition from imports, changes in brewer preferences and Britain’s hop-hostile, maritime climate have all played their part over the last few decades.

“The thing is, the UK is now home to an incredibly diverse assortment of hops”, said Matthew, director at the brewery, “Not only does buying British cut our carbon footprint down, but we’re also allowing ourselves the privilege of brewing with fantastic, world-beating ingredients. Why wouldn’t we do it?

“Each beer in this new range uses a single hop variety, allowing us to focus on that one plant, its story and the passionate growers behind it. We’re farmers as well as brewers, after all, so we want to do everything we can to support British growers. Our mission with the “Love British Hops” series is to prove that high-quality, flavoursome beers can be brewed using modern British hops.”

Great Newsome Brewery’s six-beer “Love British Hops” series will be available throughout 2026 in all good pubs. The first beer — Jester, a 4% punchy pale ale — will be available this March. The Jester^® hop, with which it is brewed, jovially takes its title from the time an experienced hop merchant mistook Jester^® for an American hop. He thought a group of botanists were pulling his leg, hence the name.

Great Newsome is an award-winning microbrewery based on the Hodgson family farm in Winestead, East Yorkshire. Winners of multiple World Beer Awards, Great Newsome brews its beers using Yorkshire water, home-grown malt, whole hops and its own distinctive yeast strain. The brewery showcases the best of British beer styles with names such as Sleck Dust, Pricky Back Otchan and Frothingham Best which can be found in all good pubs or purchased from the Great Newsome Brewery online store.

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For further information, please contact Matthew Hodgson, Great Newsome Brewery. Tel. 01964 612201 email matthewhodgson@greatnewsomebrewery.co.uk

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