Deal Hop Farm - Season 9th Launch Meeting - Weds 5th Feb 2025 Lighthouse 6:30pm

Thinking of Joining The Deal Hop Farm in 2025 ?

We have our 9th Season Launch Meeting at the Lighthouse on Weds 5th Feb from 6:30pm ..

if you want more details please email dealhopfarm@gmail.com

Come and find out more about our Community Hop Growing project in Deal and surrounding district– the Deal Hop Farm.

In 2017 we launched a patchwork farm made up of peoples’ gardens, allotments, and community gardens & spaces.

In 2024 we had over 260 sites with some 400 people involved. Last year we produced 174 Kilos of hops and six beers with local brewers Chislet, Time &Tide and Shivering Sands

The idea is to work together to grow, harvest, learn, have fun with Hops and produce some quality local beer which is available in local pubs & outlets.

Come to the meeting to find out more or check out the details at Facebook or our website - @Deal Hop Farm/DealHopFarm.org.uk

Deal Hop Farm - Season 8 Launch meeting 7th Feb 6:30

 

Deal Hop Farm - Sandwich meeting Thursday 9th Feb 6:30pm

 

We have a special launch meeting in Sandwich on thursday 9th feb 6:30pm to celebrate the new Time & Tide Taphouse opening in delf Street.

We will do a brief overview of our community growing project and a opportunity for people to join us for the 2023 season

The Deal Hop Farm will also do a couple of stalls at the Captains Garden (opposite Deal Castle) on

Saturday 18th Feb 9:30 to 11:30

Saturday 25th 10am to 12

Another chance to come down and find out what the project is and ahow it works

Deal Hop Farm - Season 7 Launch Lighthouse Thursday 2nd Feb 2023

 

Deal Hop Farm - 6th Season Launch Meeting Weds 2nd Feb 2022 Lighthouse 6:30pm

 

Deal Hop Farm: Public Hop Pick at Captains Garden Weds 15th 3.30PM

 

The Deal Hop Farm has its 2nd harvest of the 2021 season on Wednesday 15th September - ( The first one last week produced a cracking 120kgs harvested from 70 sites in and around the town).

This harvest is especially important as it is the one which Time & Tide (our brewers) turn into a Green Hop Beer. This should be available in the towns pubs in about 2-3 weeks time

The site at the Captains Garden will be harvesting theirs on Weds from 3:30pm - please bring a chair and some gloves and if possible email us at info@dealhopfarm.org.uk so we can check numbers

The Captains Garden is opposite Deal Castle on Victoria Rd

The final Deal Hop Farm harvest will be on Monday 20th September

DEAL HOP FARM: 5th Season Launch in February 2021

Our colleagues in the Deal Hop Farm - Deal's Community Hop Growing Project - is launching its 5th Season at the Beginning of February

The project was started in 2017 and in 2020 had some 265 sites in and around the town (people's back gardens, allotments and community spaces) with about 400 local people involved.

Last year the group harvested an impressive 211 kilos of hops and to date its brewing partners have produced over 65k pints of 14 different beers using its hops 

To kick the season off it has two virtual meetings aimed at new members and those who want to find out a bit more.

Please register at the eventbrite sites for details of the Zoom meetings

DHF Season 5 Launch – Thursday 4^th February 2021 7pm

1DHF Season 5 Launch – Sunday 7th February 2021 3pm

 

Alternatively you can email info@dealhopfarm.org.uk for more information.

Deal Hop Farm Harvest Report 2020

The community hop growing project in the town - the Deal Hop Farm - has had an excellent 4th season despite the drought, aphids and COVID.

The three harvest days in the town produced at total green harvest of 211.3 Kilos of prima donna hops. About 50 kilos of these went immediately into a Green Hop Pale Ale (brewed by Time & Tide Brewing) and the rest went for professional drying at the Berry and Redsell farms.

We got 40kilos of dried hops for beer brews with Time & Tide between now and next September 2021.

In all we harvested across 175 of our 265 sites with some 307 people involved in the harvest. 

The average harvest per rhizome did drop from 925grams to 650grams - and over all we were down by 30% on our 2019 harvest. 

Much of this was put down to the drought and timing of the aphids spread. This does seem to be reflected in many commercial hop farms in Kent who had cut hop production anyhow because of reduced demand from COVID but also either saw drops in harvest or alternatively had to irrigate the hop gardens which for the UK is very unusual.

The range was 9grams to 4kilos from one plant. The largest garden site produced 4.9kilos and our largest community site 11kilos

Lots of good feedback on our COVID secure harvest drop offs and we are very grateful to the volunteers who ran the drop offs, social distanced community hop picking, our marshalls for arranging pickups from sites who could not make it or were shielding.

#DealHopFarm

For details on joining please email info@dealhopfarm.org.uk

Photos

Harvest 1 - 3/9/2020

Harvest 2 - 10/9/2020

Harvest 3 - 17/9/2020

Deal Hop Farm Harvest starts today #hops

 The 2020 Deal Hop Farm harvest starts today.

We will see many of of the members (we have 265 sites this year) later today at Captains Garden or at our next ones on the 10th and 17th.

We are also hop picking the Captains Garden's Hops at 3pm if you would like sample some hop picking

We have about 80 sites booked for this evenings drop off - please follow the social distancing guidance when dropping off #hops

Time & Tide use tonights hops in their Green Hop Pale Ale which should be available in the towns pubs in about 2-3 weeks time

Happy Hop Harvest Day Hopinistas!

Deal Hop Farm Launchs its 4th Season - Thursday 6th Feb 6:30pm

Deal Hop Farm - The community hop growing project in and around Deal - Has its Fourth season Launch on Thursday 6th Feb at the LightHouse Pub, The Strand Walmer at 6:30pm

The project which involved in 2019 over 250 sites & involved some 380 people in the area is a patchwork farm made up of people's back gardens, allotments and community spaces.

further info - email info@dealhopfarm.org.uk or Facebook Page Deal Hop Farm

Deal Hop Farm: New Deal Beers are on the way...

Red Letter day today: We brewed our first new beer of 2019 with local brewers Time & Tide Brewing  . 

This is going to be Pale Ale (4.1%abv) with some our 2018 dried Prima Donna community produced hops as well as Citra & Cascade hops. 

This will be soon followed by a ESB (5%abv) next week just using our hops. 

Both beers will be in cask and can and in the town from Easter. 

Full list of pubs carrying the new beers will be posted in a few weeks

The Deal Hop Farm is very grateful to Sam, Paul, Kerry & Jamie at Time & Tide for moving so quickly to support us and put our hops to good use.

The project is now its 3rd Season and with over 40 new members covers about 250 sites in and around Deal in its patchwork farm comprised of people's gardens, allotments and community spaces.

The group has its last rhizome distribution at the Landmark Garden this Saturday 30th March (10:30 to 12:30)

info@dealhopfarm.org.uk

Deal Hop Farm - 3rd Season Launch - Thursday 7th Feb 6:30pm

Deal Hop Farm 2nd AGM

2nd AGM of the Deal Hop Farm was held the Astor Theatre on Sunday. 

42 sites / 52 people including colleagues from Hythe Hops our sister organisation in Hythe. Special thank you to Dr Peter Darby for his interesting talk on where our Prima Donna hops came from and managing the diseases and pests.

The launch of the third season starts in Feb ...

DHF will have stall at the Market of Green Ideas on the 2nd at the town hall and a launch meeting at the Lighthouse on the 7th at 6.30pm Plus stalls at Landmark on 10/23rd Feb and 2nd March

Deal Hop Farm's Second Hop Harvest has started

Deal’s own community hop growing project – the Deal Hop Farm – starts its second harvest this week. 

The project which started in 2017 has now over 200 sites growing hops in and around Deal. These are grown in people's gardens, allotments and community spaces (like Walmer Castle, Captains Garden, Landmark Garden) and the project has involved some 300 local people this year

It is one of the largest community growing projects in the country and has been recognised by winning the prestigious Horticulture Week's Custodian Award for ‘Best Community Initiative 2018’.

***LATEST NEWS
- First Harvest done on 3rd September 18 sites + 52 kilos of hops. 25 kilos in first brew of Hopping MAD brewed on 4th rest all commercially dried

Members have four days of harvests organised on the 3rd, 11th, 12th and 20th of September with a central collection point of the Landmark Garden in Deal High St from about 5pm on each harvest day.

Working with local brewing partner, the Ripple Steam Brewery, who will be brewing a Green Hopped Beer called Hopping M.A.D: Made Around Deal. This will be available in many local pubs early in October.

"We are trying to be more ambitious this year with the multiple harvests and brews; We are hoping to make the final one a real celebration of our efforts.


It's not just about producing great local beer, although that is of course very close to our members hearts but it’s also about reconnecting to that Kentish tradition & landscape that has been so much shaped by the hop industry.

We will have opportunities for people to try their hand at hop picking and joining in the fun. If people want to experience some hop picking we will picking the hops at the Captain’s Garden at Deal Castle on Tuesday 12th September about 2:30pm or at the Landmark Garden on 20th from about 5pm."

Deal Hop Farm Wins top horticultural award

The Deal Hop Farm - our Community Hop growing project in and around Deal - has been awarded a top national horticulture award - the Horticulture Week Custodian Award for 'Best Community Initiative'

Nominated by Mark Brent, Head Gardener for English Heritage's Walmer Castle Gardens

https://www.hortweek.com/horticulture-week-custodian-award-best-community-initiative/parks-and-gardens/article/1486144

Deal Hop Farm has 70 new members

The second season of the Deal Hop Farm -  Deal's Community Hop Growing Project - has seen the project grow with 70 news members.

The farm has Saturday rhizome pick up stalls at the Landmark Garden, Deal High St, on Saturday 17th and 24th between 10:30 and 12:15. The farm will also host a open day at the Historic Captain's Garden at Deal Castle where it has been invited to grow hops on Easter Monday

If you want to join you need to get your skates on ... drop a email to info@dealhopfarm.org.uk for further info.

Deal Hop Farm - New 2018 Season Launch

Deal Hop Farm - a Community Hop growing project in and around Deal is Launching its second season this week.
We have a Launch Meeting at the Lighthouse Pub on the Strand Walmer on Thursday 8th Feb at 6pm plus there will be two information stalls at the Landmark Garden 10:30-12:30 on Saturday 10th and 17th Feb. Anyone wanting to find out more about the project are very welcome.


In 2017 we had 130 gardens, allotments and community gardens/spaces involved (with over 200 people actively participating). Our first Harvest produced 75kilos of hops which out Brewing partners Ripple Steam Brewery produced some 5,600pints of Hopping M.A.D - Made Around Deal (green hopped beer) which was available in some 35 pubs in East Kent.

Members got a discounted case of the bottled version and the Brewery donated casks to our Oktoberfest celebration of our first season.

For full details see the farm's facebook group and page or email info@dealhopfarm.org.uk

Deal Hop Farm - The Harvest is In

We had an absolutely marvellous result on our first harvest day. 

Thanks your amazing work we harvested 75kgs of hops from 95 sites (one more today!)

This is three times our top end expectations!

The activity in and around the town can only be described as frenetic and we engaged so many others - we had some sites with 10-15 people getting in the harvest with neighbours, children, grandchildren and in many case passers by press into action.

Our guestimate is that we had about 250-400 involved on the harvest or at the Landmark on Thursday.

My favourite image of the day was of our Pre-School site bringing in their crop from the school allotment. The kids were only a little bigger than the basket!

Some photos from the day here

The Landmark Garden, especially between about 4:30 to 6:30, was manic and had that heady hoppy aroma - we had music, pickers, a Hop town crier and a fantastic team managing the process, weighing and looking after our precious crop. And it did not stop really until about 8pm and we final delivered everything to Ripple Steam Brewery at 9pm

The brewers are blown away with the quantity and quality of the harvest. Photos here and videos on Facebook

I am happy to report that our first run of  Hopping M.A.D (Made Around Deal) is in the fermentation tanks ready to be transferred to cask on Tuesday. The Aroma in the brewery is amazing. The beer looks, smells and tastes amazing - David is a happy brewer. He used about 25kgs on Friday

As we have more hops than we expected what do with the rest? We have taken advice from some local Professional hop farmers how to manage the hops. The plan is to do a second brew on Tuesday but this is contingent on the condition of the drying hops by Monday evening. We are hop sitting over the weekend. So keep your fingers crossed. The final decision is with the brewers. I will let everyone know what is happening on Tuesday morning.

I know a few of you may be feeling not as elated as the rest of us - people away, hops late or not at all.

But you are part of what we have achieved.

Our 'Crop' is not just hops or even beer but learning, friendships, fun and a community that can do anything #Deal@ItsBest

Deal Hop Farm - Harvest Date Thursday 14th Sept

Deal Hop Farm has its first harvest next Thursday 14th September. 

The next day Ripple Steam Brewery will be using the hops in to brew a Green Hop Beer.

The project, launched in the town in January, has grown to a patchwork farm of 130 sites in peoples’ gardens, allotments, community gardens and spaces, including English Heritage’s kitchen garden at Walmer Castle.

In a little over nine months the group has become one of the largest community growing projects in the country with nearly 200 people involved

Steve Wakeford, of the Deal Hop Farm said “The project has gone brilliantly and thanks to our enthusiastic ‘hoppers’ we are well placed for an excellent first year’s crop.

The harvest is going to be great fun as well as quite challenging; as we are attempting to harvest on one day across all our sites.

The idea is to pick our hops on Thursday 14th from 3pm and have then available for brewing very early on Friday 15th by our partners at the Ripple Steam Brewery.

The Landmark Garden on Deal high street will be our main base for people to drop off their picked hops for weighing.

We will also have hop pickers in the garden picking hops off bines where people are away.

Volunteers hop pickers are welcome - long sleeves advised but cockney rhyming slang is not mandatory.

As we don’t have an Oast House, just yet; Our hops will not be dried but used as ‘Green Hops’ to give a massive flavour burst to our beer – named by members as ‘Hopping M.A.D {Made Around Deal} which will be available in the town from the end of October.”

Deal Hop Farm - Results of 1st Beer Name

Mark Robson presents Sophie Chadwick

We had the results of the poll for our first beer tonight at the Deal Hop Farm meeting at the Just Reproach.

We had a long list of 25 names and 93 of our members voted. No one selection got more than 10% of the vote.

We took the first three position nominations to Ripple Steam (RSB) for the final decision - this included 8 names for the shortlist:

Shingle Shore                                          Roisin Murray
Deal Ale                                                  Michael Wyatt
Deal Green Hop Beer                              Liz Harding
Deal with the Devil                                 Gill & Simon Beechey
DHF No1                                                 Graham Bush
Goodwin Gold                                         Philippa Butler
Real Deal Beer                                        Cathy Tyce
Hopping M.A.D (Made Around Deal)    Sophie Chadwick

The Decision of Judges at RSB was to go for Hopping M.A.D (Made Around Deal) – so Congratulations to Sophie in Sandwich who was awarded the display set of new 3 bottled beers from Ripple Steam (ours will be the fourth!)

All the runner ups on the shortlist will receive two bottles for their suggestions. The Judges gave some great feedback on the names suggested and were impressed in people’s creativity.

I will contact all the runners up in the next couple of days. Next step is the design of the bottle label which we need to complete by the end of June.

Thank you everyone who participated from the Deal Hop Farm and our colleagues at Ripple Steam