Bramling Cross

Bramling Cross is a rare breed of hop. It is very tricky to get your hands on anywhere outside of the UK.

It was first harvested at Wye College in 1927 and is the result of a cross between a wild Manitoban hop (a subtle hop from Canada) and historic UK Goldings. It has quite a distinctive taste, with complicated aromas of loganberry, blackcurrant, vanilla and lemon and it is most notably known for its use in fruit and Christmas beers. It is also used in porters, black ale, English bitter and German Dunkel beers.

Just like most things British, Bramling Cross can be understated. In fact, BrewDog Brewery spoke of Bramling Cross and called it “elegant, refined, assured, (boring) and understated”! If you are prepared to work hard for a brew that you can be proud of, Bramling Cross could be the perfect hop for you.

Bramling Cross is a difficult hop variety to grow: all hops require a period of ‘vernalisation’ or dormancy during the winter. This is induced by cold weather after harvest. Bramling Cross requires unusually cold weather to trigger vernalisation, which means that yields can be reduced after mild winters. At Brook House we are always doing our best to make sure we have plenty of this fantastic hop for you to play with.

One of the other problems for the poor Bramling Cross hop, is that it’s used in a lot of traditional cask ales that are not as exciting as the flourish of craft beers on the market nowadays. However, what brewers have tried to do is put a fresh spin on this old hop and they have done an excellent job of it. By intensively hopping their beer, they have created some stunning tastes with Bramling Cross. From plum and pears to blackberries and raspberries, this beer has a lot of depth to it.

Breweries have reinvented Bramling Cross in recent years and that has shown that this hop doesn’t need to be confined to the cask ales of old. Bramling Cross can shine in this new wave of hoppy beer taking the world by storm: it’s time for us to show what British hops are all about!

Brewers of the nation, grab yourself some Bramling Cross and create a beer for the future generations of beer drinkers. Dust off the cobwebs and reimagine this great British hop and make Britain proud of it once more!

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