Whether you’re local to Sheffield, living nearby in South Yorkshire, or just scouting for your next weekend away, there’s always one big item on the agenda. Finding a spot to enjoy proper beer in a proper beer garden!

But what is that perfect beer garden? We think we’ve got that answered! 

WELCOME TO THE HOP JUNGLE

It all started during Covid, when we were only allowed to operate service outside. 

Our beer garden suddenly became the most important element of our business. So, we started building our dream beer garden with al fresco drinking in mind – all-year-round. 

Come rain or shine, it’s a great place to be. But in the summer is when it really comes alive. 

Every summer our beer garden turns into a giant greenhouse-like hop jungle as we grow our Sheffield homegrown hops. We don’t know what kind of hops they are exactly – but they taste great! And come September, we harvest them, throw them into the hop back and shortly after that, they land in your glass for late-autumn brew!

GREEN . HOPPY . WILD

In the peak summer months, our hops go wild – and we mean feral wild! They shoot up super quickly – up to several inches a day! Climbing onto anything they can find in the direction of the sweet summer sun. Poles, plant pots, furniture... You name it, nowhere’s safe!

So, as you can imagine, we have to spend a fair bit of time keeping them under control. 

So, we train the hops. How? Well first, let’s go back a bit. 

SO, WHAT ARE HOPS?

Hops are dried cone-shaped flowers produced from the (female) Humulus Lupulus hop plant – part of the wider Cannabaceae plant family. They're green, pretty rough around the edges, and the leaves are arranged opposite each other in lobes. Inside the hop cone is the fruiting part of the plant, technically known as the lupulin gland. 

The lupulin gland is like a sticky yellow dust. This is the good stuff. Lupulin glands contain all the active ingredients - packed with essential oils and alpha acids that are key to flavour, aroma, and bitterness in beer. That’s what’s important, right? 

There are hundreds of hop varieties out there. And each hop has distinctive flavours and aromas. Whether that’s pine, citrus or tropical fruit, it all comes from those essential oils.

WHY GROW OUR OWN HOPS?

When we first opened and started doing up the beer garden, we knew straight away we wanted to put some homegrown hops into a brew. It felt authentic. 

But then, when we got into the swing of things, we realised how aesthetically pleasing they really were, and then before we knew it, growing ‘a few’ hops quickly turned into growing a full-on hop garden! 

And this is where our hop training efforts really started coming into play.

LET THE TWINING BEGIN 

First up. The art of twining! 

Twining is the process of attaching the hop bines (the climbing stems of the hop plant) to trellises or string. This provides support and helps the hops grow tall and healthy. Twining typically happens in the spring, when the hops shoots are only just coming through. 

Lucky for us, the infrastructure for twining is already in place. As our beer garden roof is made up of scaffold poles that are perfect for training hops. All we’ve got to do is string up the lines! 

We like to use a thick and rough-textured string made of the natural fibre Sisal, to give the hops something to grip onto. Then we wrap the hops in a clockwise direction, vertically up the string facing towards the sun. When all this is set up, and providing it’s sunny, the hops will race up!

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

At the start, we have to be ruthless. We discard most of the hop bines (yes, we feel mean, but it has to be done!), keeping only a few of the healthiest looking ones to train up the string. The healthier the bines, the more hops we get. And the better the beer. So, this is an important step when growing hops! 

From here on, we check in on them at least once a week. Because once they start growing, it’s like wildfire - they can grow a good couple of inches a day, if not more... it’s mad!

A MIDSUMMER BEER GARDEN DREAM

By mid-summer the hops are in their element. Lusciously green. Full of life. Just looking at them gives you a little dopamine boost and provides the best vibes to all of us enjoying a pint in the sun!

THE UNRELIABLE BRITISH SUMMER

Oh, the infamous British weather. How unpredictable it can be. And this is NOT good when it comes to growing hops. 

Hops ideally need around 10-12 hours of sunlight for a 120 day-long growing season. This consistency can be tough to achieve – especially in the North of England! Because both extreme heat and lack thereof, can seriously reduce hop yield and quality. Too hot? The hops get stressed. Too shaded? They can’t grow. 

Last year our hop harvest was... disappointing to say the least. We had a good start! But then the sun retired for the end of summer. So, our hop yield wasn’t great. 

IT’S HARVEST TIME

Come September, we roll up our sleeves and crack on with the fun of harvesting.

We usually invite some of our locals down to help us harvest and brew the beer. It’s become a bit of a tradition here and is always a lot of fun! 

The whole process can take almost a day. And once picked, the fresh hops head straight to the brewhouse for our annual fresh hop beer. 

Then, we slap on our winter roof, celebrate Oktoberfest, and wait for the fun to begin again next year. 

CHECK OUT OUR HOP GARDEN THIS SUMMER

Our beer garden is open in Sheffield all year-round! Why not book a table and check it out for yourself? 

All our beer is brewed on-site. With some of our core beers pouring directly from tank to tap. You really can’t get much fresher than that. 

Either join us in the Summer to see our hops in full swing. Or join us in late Autumn/early Winter, to enjoy the hops in a fresh hop brew. 

Otherwise, keep an eye on our web shop for our 2025 fresh hop beer! We’d love to see ya!