East Kent Goldings

East Kent Goldings, often abbreviated to EKG, is an English hop from the east of the county of Kent. According to the protected product specification, a certain Mr Golding selected it around 1790 in West Malling from the old variety Canterbury Whitebine. In East Kent it was regarded in the early 19th century as better than hops from around Maidstone. That is why it was sold as an 'East Kent' hop, and that is how the name came into use.

Goldings is really a group of clones: in the 19th century, local variants were selected in East Kent, such as Bramling, Cobbs, Petham and Eastwell. Since 2013, East Kent Goldings has been a protected designation of origin (PDO), according to the British government the first protected British hop. That name may only be used on Goldings from a defined area around Faversham and Canterbury, among others. East Kent Goldings was not the first hop with such European protection: Czech Saaz from Žatec had already been protected in 2007.

Brewing author John Palmer describes the aroma as spicy and floral, earthy, round and mild, with a spicy flavour. The British Hop Association mentions floral, lightly spicy, honey and earthy, and a soft, honey-like bitterness. According to the product specification from the growers' group East Kent Goldings Growers, the hop smells of lightly sweet lemon and flowers, and the flavour in beer is reminiscent of rich marmalade.

The hop oil contains a lot of humulene, according to the specification 33–45%. According to a review article, that compound smells spicy and woody. There is hardly any farnesene, less than 1%. That sets Goldings apart chemically from Fuggle, which according to the same specification has about 7.5% of it.

The bitterness has character too. In a British study, beers with Hersbrucker, East Kent Goldings or Zeus were brought to the same level of bitterness. Even so, a trained panel tasted a different kind of bitterness in each beer.

East Kent Goldings is an aroma hop with a modest alpha acid content: 4–6% according to the specification. Palmer calls it suitable for bittering, for late hop additions and for dry hopping in British ales. It comes as whole cones in bales and as pellets.

• Substitutes: Palmer mentions BC Goldings (from Canada) and Whitbread Goldings Variety; Hopsteiner mentions First Gold. Conversely, Palmer mentions East Kent Goldings as a substitute for Fuggle.
• Family: according to the specification, Northern Brewer is a seedling of the Golding, and Bramling Cross has the Golding clone Bramling as a parent.
• Grown elsewhere: Goldings also grow outside East Kent, for example in Oregon. Under the European and British protection, those may not be called East Kent Goldings.

According to the product specification, the Golding was selected around 1790 and was grown in East Kent in the early 19th century. A book from 1838 already describes its sale as an 'East Kent' hop. In the 19th century, local clones followed, from Bramling (1865) to Eastwell (1889). The Goldings now growing in East Kent go back to collections of Wye College and East Malling Research Station.

According to beer historian Martyn Cornell, Fuggle was called 'Fuggle's Golding' when it was launched. According to him, later researchers assumed that the two could not be related, because Fuggle contains farnesene and Goldings does not; the product specification also calls Fuggle an unrelated variety. But Czech genetic research from 2019 showed, according to Cornell, that they are in fact closely related. In 2013 East Kent Goldings received European protection; since the end of 2020 the name has also been in the British register.

A good starting point is an English bitter or pale ale. For bitter, the BJCP calls English finishing hops the most traditional, with a hop aroma that can be floral, earthy, resinous or fruity. An English IPA or an English brown ale is also a good choice; the BJCP mentions English hops there, with in an English IPA a hop aroma that is often floral, spicy-peppery or orange-like, and in a brown ale a light floral or earthy one. Look for soft spicy, floral and earthy notes, perhaps with a touch of honey or marmalade, and taste how soft the bitterness is.