The hop has been known in Britain for many centuries, but it was not until the beginning of the sixteenth century that any serious attempt was made at its large-scale cultivation. Since then, the crop has been intimately involved in the island's social history, generating great profit for some and bringing financial ruin to others, and was for centuries the center of a social phenomenon, with thousands descending on hop-producing regions during harvest. What was at times known as the 'wicked weed' has also been instrumental in transforming Britain's thick early ales into something more like the bright beers we know today. No other branch of agriculture has required such intensive labour, and none other been so demanding of human skill; this book examines its history from the earliest times to the present day, describing the traditional tools of the trade, the oats, the growers, the pickers and all those whose versatile skills have through the centuries made the British hop industry a success.