GEORGE NEWS - The first record of hops having been grown in George appeared in the George Advertiser of 1830.
"A successful trial of growing hops was made in 1829 by an individual named Frederik Stietz, in the neighbourhood of George Town; 6000 plants produced 900 pounds of hops, during the second season of planting. A sample, sent to the Committee of the Exchange, was deemed to have rivalled any English hops ever imported into this colony which had properly cured."
George's Researcher Lynne Thompson dug into the archives to find out when and where the hops industry was started. She did this with a view of presenting the information at an outing of the Outeniqua Historical Society on Wednesday 9 March 2016 to the Waboomskraal farm of Kruisaar Hop Gardens belonging to the Barnard family.
Thompson's research revealed that Stietz's fledgeling industry was started on the farm Genevafontein (it stretched from Bergsig to Eden, north of the present Stander Street). "A visit to the Cape Archives revealed more details.
Lynne Thompson writes: "The Naairs indices give a very rough tantalising outline of Mr Stietz’s endeavours:
He was Frederik Stietz from Germany, who had arrived in the Colony, with permission in 1814. He was before the insolvency court 10 years later.
By 1825 he was in Mossel Bay and appears to have been behind in the payment of a liquor licence. As an entrepreneur he had certainly identified a profitable market in the liquor trade. And he must have been successful as he had been able to buy a number of landed properties which included Genevafontein by 1828 - the year he planted his hop garden.
But in 1828 he must have over-reached himself again as it is recorded that he sent an inventory of his holdings which he was willing to mortgage to the Government. Sadly, in 1829 the demand for hops was so limited, and the prices realized so low, that the producer abandoned the industry and it left him insolvent in 1830. He even had to bail his wife out of prison in the same year.
"What was not appreciated in 1885, was that George has the unique distinction of being the only small patch in the whole of Africa where hops grow successfully. There was a serious resurgence of interest in starting a hops industry in South Africa in 1885. This was no doubt prompted by the large profits Mr Charles Glass was taking from all the miners on the Rand while using the beer recipe of Mrs Glass for his Castle Lager.
"There were many experimental plantings of hops all over the country - even East London and Oudtshoorn. There were also articles in the newspaper on the cultivation of hops to encourage farmers to give the crop a trial. In 1889 Mr Ohlsson took over almost all the Cape Town breweries. Trial plantings at Ohlssons in Newlands in 1902 were ruined after a flood. Plantings in Parys probably failed because of a drought.
SAB was founded in 1895, and Castle Lager launched by a newly commissioned brewery on the Reef. In 1897 SAB became the first industrial company to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and a year later on the London Stock Exchange. By 1902, SAB capital assets exceeded every other non-mining industry in SA.
From 1913 onwards, experimental hop gardens were popping up all over George town and the environs. Managers of both Ohlsson’s and SAB started paying regular visits to George and were impressed with the quality of the George hops.
The Government also got involved and their expert, Mr Shaw Scott was granted five acres in the Ferns, now Fernridge, in 1917, to conduct experiments. SAB rented 2 ½ acres from the Municipality with hop-sets from Dr St Leger’s hop gardens which were in Davidson Streett Heatherlands.
Mr Ernest Baker has been called the father of the South African Hops Industry. He was in the Forestry Department in 1920, and noticed the hop- growing efforts in George, but the cuttings proved to be uneconomic producers. Baker suggested to the Department of Agriculture that commercial hop growing in the area might be possible. The Department’s first serious experiments started in 1924 with Imported cuttings from many overseas countries.
Carried by ship, most were dead on arrival, or failed to grow when planted. However, three cuttings planted in 1917 - of the cultivar Golden Cluster from New Zealand - survived and flourished at Fernridge. Other farms also started having good harvests over the next 10 years.
The Union Hop Growers company was founded in 1936. It amalgamated wtih SAB and Ohlssons Cape Breweries.
The new company purchased their first hop farm Afgunst near Herold. A second farm, Rob Roy, a neighbour of Fancourt, was purchased in 1940.
Mr Stietz’s legacy of 1829 came to fruition, and the prediction that hops would be grown here commercial came to pass in 1936.
Gerrie Brits - the Brewing Legend
The internationally renowned brewing legend Gerrie Brits, who is retired and living in Heatherlands, on Wednesday 9 March 2016, was introduced by George's historian, Lynne Thompson to the Outeniqua Historial Society as being "Without any doubt, Gerrie Brits is the highest qualified guide for our day’s visit."
Reading from his illustrious CV she said "In 1981 Gerrie Brits started his career at the SAB Hop Farms in George.
He took over the breeding programme for the hop industry, with the aim to develop hop varieties exclusively suitable for this region’s climate. As a researcher for the Hop Industry he laid the foundation for hop research and development - and succeeded in breeding varieties with high bittering value for SAB.
By 2012, Gerrie had released six new varieties which created huge benefits, and importance for the George hops industry. He will also mention his role of acting as liaison between the public and the SAB and his numerous overseas trips to Europe, USA, China and Russia.
"But what Gerrie may not mention is his long list of accomplishments and awards: he organized two international events in SA - in 2004 a tour, the first ever outside of Europe, for the Economics Commission of the International Hop Growers Association. In the next year, as vice president of the Scientific Commission of the same association, he arranged a conference in George. He received two Awards from the SA Hop Growers Association.
"In 2005 he received an award from Germany, the Hallerauer Hopfensiegel. The highest accolade from the German Hop Industry, only the sixth time this award has been given. And at the international conference in China, he was awarded the Knight of the Order of the Hop for the development of the unique varieties adapted to short days and mild winter climates in SA.
In 2006 Gerrie received the highest accolade for an SAB employee - the Brewing Legend Award. All this can only be described as an illustrious 30 years of service with his retirement in 2011. But he is still active. In concluding her talk Thompson said "So without any doubt, there is no higher qualified guide for our day’s visit."
The capabilities of the district are today firmly, established and there can be very little doubt that the soil and climate of George is as suitable to the growth of the hop plant today as it was 50 years ago. There seems to be no reason why the cultivation of it should not be as successful, provided due care and attention be paid to details. The nine local farmers produce hops under contract to SAB who buys up their entire stock."
Besides the legitimate use of hops for brewing, there are numerous other uses of this valuable plant. The bine (flexible stem) and leaves can be used as an excellent substitute for oak bark in tanning leather. Bines can be used as binders for corn sheaves.
The prunings can be cut up and stocked for provender for cattle and horses, which are very fond of them, when grass is scarce, and the young shoots are even used as salad. A rich dye is also made from the young leaves. It is to be hoped that the great advantages which would be reaped by this Colony by the successful cultivation of hops, will induce many farmers to make the experiment.
This photo was found in the George Museum archives - although it did not identify the elegantly dressed people in the photo, Lynne Thompson, George's historian says it was apparently taken in Blanco. The first attempt to grow hops commercially was made in 1830. Although the plants thrived under the ideal climatic conditions - the venture was not profitable.
ARTICLE AND PHOTO: PAULINE LOURENS, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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