Stringing 2026 Comes to a Close

Stringing is over for another year!

Estate Manager Matthew has managed to string the whole Brewery hop garden single-handedly, with skylarks for company, right in time for the hop blessing.

There is real skill in stringing. When it comes to harvesting, the tractor must be able to move down the alleys unimpeded.

The process is the same for each hop plant.  Matthew starts by attaching the coconut coir to the top left hook on the top wire, before bringing the string to the ground peg.  This first string is called a “stock”.  Then from the ground peg, it’s up to the next hook on the left hand side as a “half stock”, back down to the ground peg, and across to the top right hook with another “half stock”, back to the ground peg, before another full “stock” to the next ground peg on the right, so he is positioned ready for the next hop plant, moving from one side of the hop garden to the other. In all, it will take about 100 miles of coconut coir to string the garden.

With stringing complete, the volunteer force of Hoppers can twiddle the hops up the supporting strings.  Then it’s over to the hops, which should be at the top of the hop poles by the Summer Solstice in June.

Want to get involved in the hop garden? Find out more about the Hogs Back Hoppers.

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