After the award ceremony on Friday 17^th January at Purity Brewing’s PureCraft bar in Birmingham, Sarah Hawkins, the winner and owner of Hawkins Farming, expressed her gratitude and pride, attributing the farm’s success to the unwavering dedication and expertise of Farm Manager Matthew Bailey and his assistant Philip Fergus. “This win truly belongs to Matt and Philip. Their commitment to excellence and deep knowledge of hop farming are the heart of our success. I couldn’t be prouder of their work,” she said.

The achievement is a triumph not only for Hawkins Farming but also for the broader UK hop industry, showcasing outstanding quality produced by growers after what proved to be an exceptionally difficult growing season and harvest period.

With Charles Faram Farms members taking fourteen of the twenty-six trophies it’s also great news for the grower group. Chairman Richard Phillips was delighted with the results and said, “it has been a record year for us in terms of the number of awards and it is a credit to all the hard work that our growers have put in to continuously improve the quality of the hops we grow. We are also very grateful for these occasions which help to bring together growers and brewers, helping us to form valuable relationships which contribute hugely to the way we grow our hops.”.