Early Choice Hops

Early Choice stands as a historic, specialized English aroma cultivar that functions primarily as a localized heirloom jewel within traditional British hop gardens. Bred by the renowned Professor Ernest Salmon at Wye College in 1927, this variety was created by combining an open-pollinated male parent with classic Bramling Golding genetics, eventually seeing its formal release to growers in 1948 under the selection code FF21. Developed during an era when British researchers desperately sought to buffer the agricultural calendar with early-maturing varieties, Early Choice offers traditional Golding-style aromatic properties while sprouting and maturing significantly earlier in the season. Though its active acreage suffered a sharp decline due to a high susceptibility to Verticillium Wilt (a destructive soil-borne fungal disease), it remains a prized specialty variety for estate breweries and heritage craft designers seeking authentic, mid-century British character.

The profile of Early Choice is a quintessential, old-world British sensory experience defined by soft restraint and classical balance. The aromatic bouquet projects a refined, clean canopy rich with sweet meadow floral notes, delicate lavender, and a distinct background of warm, woodsy kitchen spice. Completely lacking any intense or aggressive modern fruit or diesel-dank properties, its presentation on the senses is remarkably smooth and gentle, leaving a faint, noble-adjacent trail of earthy herbal tea and a subtle whisper of sweet orange marmalade. This exceptionally polite and harmonious oil composition ensures that Early Choice seamlessly mirrors a beer’s complex malt profile, providing a clean baseline bitterness without ever overpowering the grain.