FAQS

A credit account can be applied for 12 months after you first start trading with us.

All you need to do is phone or email stating that you would like to apply for a credit account and we’ll start the procedure.

Find out more about expired hop contracts here

The HopWalk® is Charles Faram’s own event and an insightful day of hop industry presentations and updates from around the world.

• Time for networking and trade exhibition.
• A full explanation of hop growing and harvesting.
• Current hop market reports from around the
  world.
•  An update on new varieties and experimental
  hops.
•  Distinctive beers available.
•  A chance for like-minded brewers to exchange
  views and enjoy the Worcestershire countryside.
•  Charles Faram supplier partner trade stands
  including malt, yeast, closures, hop products,
  brewing aids, branding, trade associations and
  charities.
•  New Product launches.
• Inspect the crop.

The short answer is “yes” and the longer answer is “please tell us if you think that you won’t be able to take all of your hops”.

Hop growing is a long-term business.  Each plant crops once a year and if you have unused hops then, as a general rule, we may not be able to help you to find another home for them before the next crop arrives.  However, we’re famous for our flexibility at Faram’s and we will always listen to your contract amendment requests to try and find a mutually beneficial solution.  Some varieties will be easier to make changes to than others.

At our discretion, any stock released from a contract will be subject to a 20% charge of the value of the amount released.

Our main office is situated in Newland in Worcestershire at the foot of the picturesque Malvern Hills. We also have offices and cold stores in Yakima (US), Bracebridge (Canada) and Poland.

We do have great relationships with the Kent growers and there are Kent growers in Charles Faram Farms Ltd. You can see what Charles Faram Farms is all about from the Charles Faram Farms button in our about us section.

No, Charles Faram stock hops from around the world. The Charles Faram range of hops includes New Zealand, the USA, Germany, France, Slovenia, Poland, Belgium and the Czech Republic.

The team at Charles Faram are huge advocates for sustainability and are working on projects around the world, but we do fly the British Hop flag in a big way for UK brewers to use in their recipes. There is so much work that the Hop Development team have been doing, so follow us for updates and check out the Hop Development Program page.

Make sure to keep up to date with our brochure.

Our total contract minimum is 40kg and these can be mixed varieties. All hops will be contracted in 5kg or 20kg increments.

The smallest amount of hops that you can buy direct from us is a 5kg pack. However, we do sell 1kg packs of certain varieties and smaller amounts of experimental hops, just ask the sales team for details. Homebrew pack quantities are available from a number of homebrew shops.

The smallest amount of malt that you can buy whether crushed or whole is a 25kg pack. 

Charles Faram does still sell hops grown in New Zealand. Charles Faram has supported New Zealand Hops since 1996. That’s nearly 30 years in partnership with the team at New Zealand Hops and we’re delighted to see it continue into the future.

The range has never been more exciting, and we will have T45 enriched pellets available for two varieties, Nelson and Nectaron®, by the end of the 2023.

We do not have the facility for direct debits however, some of our customers set up standing orders to pay us.

In the UK: orders placed by 11:00 may be sent out that same day for next-day delivery if under 100kgs. Pallets of hops and/or any other brewing items depend on daily pallet limitations. In principle, we will always do our best to get your hops and ingredients to you the next day, but we can’t guarantee it.

For other terriories please contact your sales office.

The brewers and technical team at Charles Faram in the UK have developed a range of recipe cards for brewers to use or even to inspire and get the creative processes going. If you are interested please ask your sales representative for more information.

You can also always call our technical advisors, who are ready to get involved in recipe development and help with advice.

Every single batch of hops that arrives at Charles Faram is graded by the technical and quality team to ensure that it is up to the Charles Faram quality assurance standard. Any hops that fail the grading are rejected.

Hop oil content data can be found in a number of places. The Charles Faram website holds the Hop Oracle which links to view and print technical data sheets of each hop variety.

Hops are diecious (male and female plants are separate). Seeded hops are hops that have been fertilised by male pollen. The UK is the only country where we deliberately grow seeded hops, elsewhere they remove all males (in Germany it is written in law) so their hops should be seedless. 

Seeded hops were blamed for poor head retention in beer due to the lipids in the seed.  Seeds are likely to contribute to hop creep in dry-hopped beers.

Hops sans grain, just means seedless hops.

The intensity score is a comparative measure of a hops potential flavour and aroma contribution to the beer.  The score is subjective. As it is a comparative measure, when new hops are released the scale is reviewed.

These hops are proprietary varieties, with the brand owner’s permission they could in theory be grown in the UK. The UK has a maritime climate and whilst this reduces the requirement for irrigation it presents many challenges from fungal diseases. It is likely that if we had the opportunity to grow these varieties in the UK, there would be a constant battle with disease. Disease pressure in the UK is significantly higher than the arid climate of the Pacific North-West.

Further, these are two great varieties that don’t need to be replicated.  In the UK we’re focused on giving even more choice to brewers by cultivating new hops with exciting and varied characteristics, to stand alongside others from around the world.

Some suppliers may choose to include their delivery charges with the cost of goods. We prefer to be transparent with costs and are happy to facilitate collections. This way customers can choose to collect or organise their own courier services if preferred.

Hops and some other products are VAT free to UK commercial breweries. We will ask for your brewing licence number as confirmation that you are a commercial brewer.

Goldings and East Kent Goldings are genetically the same. East Kent Goldings benefit from a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and therefore Goldings grown outside can’t be given the label East Kent Goldings. The specific area of East Kent benefits from light soils which historically have given good consistent yields. Elsewhere in the South-East and West Midlands, soils tend to be heavier with more clay. These heavier soils help in years of severe drought. Genetically and analytically British-grown Goldings and East Kent Goldings are indistinguishable, differences between the two are increasingly due to climatic conditions during the growing year.