After decades of disuse Bob set about reinstating the old overgrown hop garden on Larkins Farm in Kent - once the largest hop growing region in the UK. The time seemed right to secure a continuous supply of hops for the brewery, as well as to answer the call of the hop, which the family have had a hand in growing since Tudor times. Today 3 well established varieties grow on the 4 acre site – Early Choice Goldings, Bramling Cross and Whitbread Golding (with some new hedgerow hops planted most recently) yielding nearly 1500kg of hops annually.
The hop garden is expertly tended to by number one hop man Robbie Neate - his hop stringing skills are nothing short of mind boggling!
Every September locals, friends and family volunteer for the hop picking event which lasts 2-3 days, some of whom have happy memories coming to pick hops by hand at Larkins in their youth. All are rewarded with a hearty feast at the brewery and of course plenty of Larkins. And of course, not forgetting the tireless and deafening work of the Bruff Hop Picking Machine. A feat of English mechanical engineering circa 1960. At 25m x 10 x 5m and weighing 20 tonnes it’s a bit of beast!
Timelapse Video © Matthew Killet