Pliny The Elder might have been the first person to write about hops but, centuries later, Saint Hildegard enriched our knowledge of hops like nobody before her. An artist, writer, composer, philosopher and Christian mystic, Hildegard of Bingen is widely considered the founder of natural history in Germany.
Among the myriad animals and plants the polymath observed during the 11th century was the humble hop. Saint Hildegard is the first person to described hops in a scientific manner, even describing the plant’s preservative qualities.
So Pliny be damned (take that you 2,000-year-old nerd!) – who from history is it better to name a beer after than Saint Hildegard? It’s what Hawkers, Pink Boots Society and Cryer Malt did during Good Beer Week, when they all gathered together to brew an XPA. Featuring specialty malts from Oregon’s Great Western Malt and Yakima Chief Hop's Pink Boots Blend – which is made up of Loral, Mosaic, Simcoe, Sabro and Glacier – the beer features a heady mix of hop flavours.
There are some floral and woody notes mixed in with stone fruit and tangerine in a pale and light beer. Profits from the beer are going towards Pink Boots Society and the Asylum Seeker Research Centre too. Two organisations we hope Saint Hildegard wouldn’t mind being connected to one little bit.
Will Ziebell
Published May 31, 2019 2019-05-31 00:00:00