Champion Hop Announced for the IBD British Hop Competition 2023

The Institute of Brewing & Distilling (IBD) is pleased to announce that Hawkins Farming Ltd. has won the prestigious ‘Overall Champion’ award for their sample of Harlequin hop in the 2023 IBD British Hop Competition.

Sarah Hawkins, hop grower and owner of The Farm, Bosbury, near Ledbury in Herefordshire, and farm manager Matt Bailey received the award at the ceremony on Friday 19th January at Renegade Brewery in Berkshire.

The 2023 British Hop Competition, organised and judged by the IBD Southern Section, saw 166 hop samples from a range of varieties. The standard of entry was extremely good and the judges were pleased to see such a high level of presentation and pick quality across all six categories, which were judged back in November by an expert group of leading brewers. The ‘Overall Champion’ was announced from the six category winners at the Berkshire awards ceremony.

On receiving the award, Sarah Hawkins said, “We are absolutely thrilled to once again secure this prestigious award. Winning is testament to the dedication and hard work of everyone at Hawkins Farming Ltd, and it brings us immense joy and pride, especially for Matt and his exceptional team, who have invested an incredible amount of hard work and effort into cultivating these beautiful hops.”

“As a brewer and lover of cask beer, it was a great honour to be asked to brew a beer with this year’s champion hop.” Will Twomey, Head Brewer from Renegade Brewery in Berkshire, had brewed a small batch of beer with the winning hops to celebrate the occasion and the beer was enjoyed by the brewers and growers attending the ceremony.