About this time your hop plant should be getting to its full height, soon it will start growing cones and before you know it they’ll be ready to pick. But what is the proper way to pick hops? Most importantly you have to find the right time, though this changes depending on your location and hop variety August-September is usually a safe bet. Don’t worry if you feel the hops aren’t ready straight away, you are best to wait and pick them when they are most ripe. There are multiple ways to test for ripeness The hop cone should feel dry to the touch When squeezed the hops should expand back to its original shape A yellow substance called Lupulin should be visible, but if it turns orange the hop
Fuggles is one of the more common and well-known hops used today. For a time it was one of the most commonly used in Britain. But as more species were introduced to fit certain roles better, it is now mostly used as an aroma hop. It is pretty mild while still being full well-rounded flavour and bittering agent. This is likely part of why it is so common as it is easy to apply to many different beers, often complemented with Goldings as many of our kits do. Fuggles as a known entity dates back to 1861, but before that it was a wild plant discovered by George Stace Moore who found the variety in his garden. It was Richard Fuggle though who propagated the hop which lead to its growing popularit
