Fuggles & the Goldings Family
Popular throughout Europe, but particularly in the United Kingdom, you can usually detect Fuggles and Goldings hops sitting side-by-side in some of the best known British ales.
The kingpin of English beer is the Fuggle hop. A great all rounder, it is used for bittering but it's especially useful as an aroma hop. The nose can be described as soft, grassy or floral.
Another useful aroma hop is the Styrian Golding. Although it is called a Golding, it is actually a seedless version of the Fuggle and has almost the same characteristics. Immensely popular throughout Europe and is found in lots of European beers.
The Golding hop family contains many varieties all derived from the same stock. Perhaps best known and probably the most widely used is the East Kent Golding. Grown in the UK with an alpha content of 5% it can be used for both bittering and aroma purposes. It has an earthy, aroma and a slight spicy flavour. If you've tasted Bass Pale Ale then you've tried EK Goldings.
Other Golding Hops derivatives include the Canadian grown B.C. Golding, which again can be used for all British ales. First Gold, which is a dwarf variety with an intense Golding character and a higher alpha content of 7.5%. First Gold is especially good in ESB and strong ales.
A lot milder and a bit more rounded is the Whitbread Golding Variety. Much better know as WGV, this hop was developed in 1911 by the Bates’s Brewer at the hop farm in Beltring, Kent later owned by the London brewer Whitbread. While it lacks the full Golding aroma it makes up for it with higher alpha content.
Look on Ebay for more examples of Fuggle and Golding Hops
