The rise of Brit-hop: the best beers made with British hops

Modern British hops are my favourite subject in beer. There’s a 500-year-old history of hop-growing in the UK, predominantly in the South East and the West Midlands, and Britain is famous for hops that give a distinctive character to classic beer styles like best bitter and stout. There’s Golding with its honey and lemon flavours, Fuggle with its herbal, minty qualities, blackcurranty Bramling Cross and more.

As beer tastes evolve towards more fruity hops, especially those from the US, Australia and New Zealand, traditional British hops are out of fashion with modern beer styles. But that’s changing, and it’s exciting.

For a decade there have been British hop breeding programmes looking to find new hop varieties with abundant fruit aromas, and the work is finally coming to fruition. We’re now getting new varieties with aromas like pineapple, mango, peach, apricot, lemon, lime, grapefruit, strawberry, gooseberry and much more, as hops with names like Harlequin, Jester, Olicana, Godiva, Admiral and Endeavour transform the flavour of British beer. I hope you like these beers, filled with new British hops, as much as I do.

The best beers made with British hops

Good Karma Mantra, England 0.5%
This alcohol-free lager is brewed in Kent with Harlequin hops. Its herbal bitterness and aromas of gooseberry, passion fruit and tropical fruit will go well with houmous. £12 for 6 x 330ml, available from Good Karma; also available from Amazon

Buxton Brewery Girl From Mars, England 4.8%
A brilliant example of a modern English IPA. Hazy, soft in texture and full of Harlequin’s pineapple, apricot and peach aromas, it’s a winner with these turkey smash burgers. £3 for 440ml (4 for 3 with Clubcard), available from Tesco; £3.75 for 440ml or £21.38 for 6 x 440ml, available from Buxton Brewery

Timothy Taylor’s Hopical Storm Pale, England 4%
Six Brit-hops go into this Yorkshire ale, leading with Jester and Ernest, giving aromas of orange and pineapple – great with a chicken kyiv. £44 for 12 x 440ml, available from Timothy Taylor’s

Theakston Brewery Peculier IPA, England 5.1%
Harlequin, Jester and Olicana go into this IPA with tropical and citrus aromas, toasty malts and a crisp finish. Try with this smoked sausage stew. £26.95 for 12 x 500ml, available from Theakstons

Utopian Brewing Wondrous Isles, England 4.4%
Akoya, Harlequin and Godiva hops give this Devon pale aromas of citrus, soft stone fruit and a peppery bitterness – great for this green gnocchi cauli cheese. From £3.39 for 440ml, available from The Epicurean Beer People and Inn At Home

Discover more of Mark’s top beer recommendations.