Green Hop Days dates decided.

Friday's are always production planning days, those that involve stock level checks and forethought given to coming events. This time of year the 'planning' remains fluid, subject to the vagaries of the hop harvest and Humphrey the Hop Grower's strange decision making process - exactly when will he begin picking our East Kent Goldings so we can brew Green Hop Ale?

Well I dropped by this morning and spoke to him. "Monday" he announced. "We start with Northdown and we could be in the Earlies by Thursday". (Earlies are 'Early Bird', one of 6 sub-varieties that make up East Kent Goldings and our preferred green hop, for it's perfume).

So it's Thursday 6th and Friday 7th for Green Hop Ale '12. If he's late, we'll have one brew in Northdown, and I'm sort of hoping he will be, just out of interest.

 Early Birds, looking fine with 6 days to go.

Close up - those cones are nearly there.

The crop is looking big, though the recent windy weather has caused a little unsightly bruising on the garden edges. Vintage remains a possibility.