Bumper crop of hops stripped from the bine by workers in time-honoured fashion but just THREE PER CENT of fields remain compared with a century ago Perfect summer weather means 2013 hop crop could be one of the best for growers British hop growing industry has been hit by steady decline since heyday in 19th century In a century, hop acreage has plummeted from 77,000 to just 2,471 German and American farms now dominate beer production worldwide British hop growers are celebrating a vintage crop after the perfect blend of warm sunshine and rain helped farmers produce one of the best batches in years. But the crisp autumn sunlight which was shining as farmers brought in the harvest cannot hide the dark clouds which have gathered over the country's once great hop growing industry. From its heyday in the 19th century, when around 77,000 acres were dedicated to growing the beer making ingredient, just 2,471 acres are now farmed for hops. Mists and mellow fruitfulness: Ali Capper family's farm in Suckley, Worcestershire, grows enough hops to make 46 million pints of beer Sweet delight: Warm summer weather has resulted in a perfect crop of aroma-rich hops Ripe for harvest: Workers inspect the hops in Suckley, Worcestershire, to ensure they are in the perfect condition for harvesting Today, British hops account for just 1.6 per cent of the world's production, while the two giants America and German of the industry have each managed to grab around a third of global production. Ali Capper, who grows 100 acres of hops, from her family run farm, in Suckley, Worcestershire, said: 'British hop aromas are delicate, complex and brew the most interesting and balanced beer in the world. Fact. We are famous for it. 'Because of our maritime climate - we're the only maritime climate growing region in the world - that's what makes our hop aromas so distinct. But there has been a gradual decline in production since the 80s. 'One of the biggest factor's in British hop production decline is down to the explosion in popularity of lager, which uses far fewer hops.' Balancing act: Once the time is right, workers spring into action to cut down the bumper crop of hops Hard work: Workmen get stuck into the arduous task of harvesting the 100 acres of hops at one of the country's biggest producers of the plant Harvest: Hundreds of miles of hop bines are brought into a warehouse to being the painstaking process required to make beer Reaping rewards: Within a few days of harvest starting, workers will have reaped the crop from the fields and begin the process of making beer Sorting: The rush is on to get the hops, pictured left up close, from field to fermentation as soon as possible after harvesting in order to preserve their freshness Still going strong: The giant Bruff Hop Picking Machine was built in the village in 1960 Taking the strain: The aging Bruff Hop Picking Machine resembles a giant threshing machine and helps the farm sort millions of hop flowers from the leaves and wood 'She added: 'We've been less adept at exporting our hops, probably due to the vertical integration of our industry - i.e., the grower doesn't sell directly to the brewer, he sells to a merchant.' Brewing starts with barley which is malted, or soaked in water until grains germinate, to unlock the starches. The grains are heated in a kiln, which stops germination. The malt is crushed into a powder, and then mixed with hot water. Hops were introduced to Britain in the 16th century by Dutch brewers; they add bitter flavour and aroma to the beer, but also act as a preservative. The porridge-like mixture, called Wort, is boiled with hops in a vessel called a copper for at least an hour. The most traditional brewers use the whole flowers of the hop. After boiling, the hopped wort is run over a bed of the boiled hops as a filter. The wort is then cooled and run into fermentation tanks, where yeast is added. Yeast is a microscopic fungus which feeds off the fermentable sugars, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide. Leftovers from this process might be turned into Marmite. There are four merchants currently operating in Britain - two are German/American owned. Much of Britain's hop production is still based in two traditional growing areas of Britain: the Midlands and the South East. Mrs Capper explained: 'Herefordshire and Worcestershire grow the largest proportion of crops - just over half of the country's production. Kent, and neighbouring counties produce the rest. The reason for those two areas is purely labour. Pre-mechanisation, from the 1950s back, all hops were hand picked and that involved thousands of people. And they came on hop picking holidays from Birmingham and the Black Country factories and the factories of the East End of London. But it is not all bad news for British hop growers. In the past few years the humble plant has seen a resurgence, in part thanks to the growth in micro-breweries and customers seeking a more local and unique product. Last month alone, 187 micro-breweries were set up - bringing the total number of niche producers to well over 1,000. And this year's fantastic harvest means beer drinkers are in for a tasty treat as the weather caused an increase in the aroma levels in the hops. The yield will be slightly less than average because the bines stopped growing at the height of summer, but this helped to concentrate the exceptional flavours. Mrs Capper's farm has grown enough of the plant to make a dizzying 46 million pints of beer. But all this crop was not harvested with the latest, state-of-the-art technology. Instead, the same machine, which has been helping process the harvest for more than 50 years was, again, hard at work at Stocks Farm. The giant Bruff Hop Picking Machine, built by in the village in 1960, resembles a giant threshing machine that you might see at a vintage machinery fair or on the pages of a history book. Over the five-week harvest the noisy machine separates 80 tons of hop flowers. The hops are separated from the leaves and stalks as they move around an elaborate system of pullies, conveyor belts and open spinning wheels, before being dried and bailed. Laborious: The ripe hops are painstakingly raked into a thin layer to be dried Hard work: Despite the advent of more modern machinery, human toil is still a vital part of the hop harvesting process Mrs Capper said: 'It's all very Heath-Robinson. But we prefer to use this old machine " it's really quite gentle on the hops. Bruff machines, built here in Suckley, were shipped all over the world. 'They're still in use today in farms as far a field as New Zealand.' Stocks Farm supply their hops to many large British regional breweries including Marston's, Fullers and Greene King and also ship to thousands of craft brewers across the country and round the world. Mountains of work: A staggering 80 tons of hop flowers will be processed during just a few days of harvest Putting your back into it: Each refreshing pint of beer is the result of hours of labour and hard effort Ready for brewing: These hops are destined for many large British regional breweries including Marston's, Fullers and Greene King The 19th century was the golden age of the hop industry. Hop acreage continued to increase until 1878 when it reached its peak with 77,000 acres. Families would flock from the industrial heartlands of Birmingham and the East End of London to help harvest hops, in a scene similar to the one pictured right, in nearby counties. Tastes changed and a decline in the demand for porter and a surging demand for a lighter beer known as Indian Ale or Pale Ale, became fashion. Pasteurization arrived in the late 1870s and fewer hops were needed as a preservative. Clean water became more available and this may have reduced demand for beer. There were only 32,000 acres of land growing hops by 1909 and a renewed import of foreign hops. This was due to breweries being contracted to brew foreign beers under licence, and thus being required to use the hops stipulated in the original recipe. Twenty-three years later and acreage had fallen to 16,500. The producer-controlled Hops Marketing Board was created to control the flayling industry. The Board would negotiate a guaranteed price with the growers and the brewers would indicate their expected demand to the Board, resulting in allocated quotas to each grower. This brought stability and by 1968 acreage had slowly increased to 17,900 acres. However, in 1982 EEC rules led to its disbanding and the introduction of independent producer groups for the marketing of English hops. Today, the current acreage given over to hops is just 2,471. Source: www.britishhops.org.uk