Over the last few decades, there has been a rapid decline in the acreage of Fuggles hops grown. This is due to the susceptibility of Fuggles to Verticillium Wilt, a soil borne fungus that eventually destroys whole hop fields.
Following a meeting at JW Spilsbury’s Farm at Orleton Court Farm in Herefordshire, Tom Spilsbury agreed to plant two new hop yards of Fuggles, specifically for Timothy Taylor’s. They are planted on soil that has not grown hops before, and is elevated from the river and so flood free. This means the soil is Wilt free, and not susceptible to being infected from land upstream.
2017 saw the first crop of these Fuggles, and they will be used in our beers in 2018. And in their first year of harvest, they won best Fuggles in the Annual Hop Competitions.
