E-Malt.com News article: Belgium: Poperinge - Hop Festival

Poperinge, charming hop metropolis in the southwest of West Flanders, Belgium kindly invites you to its triennial Hop and Beer Festival to be held on September 16 – 17 and 18th.

Poperinge looks forward to hosting you and remember: the next Hop and Beer Festival is only in 2008, September 21st.

Hops found their way into Poperinge through the abbey of St.-Bertin’s, St.Omer (France) as a valuable alternative for the disappearing cloth trade, consequence of a quarrel with neighbouring weaver Ypres about 1322.

The hop plant is a perennial and climbing plant, which reaches along the climbing wire a height of 7m. Its fruit, the hop cone, contains lupulin, a yellowish powder that gives beer its typical taste and which also acts as a natural preservative for our national pride: beer. Hops also found their way into decoration and the food and pharmaceutical industry as a preservative element (hops guarantee a full night’s sleep, counter the effects during the menopause ...)

Until 1964, hops were picked by hand and the harvest – traditionally in September – caused a migration to Poperinge : some 10 000 foreign hop pickers assisted the local population. The harvest had an economic dimension in a not so industrially developed area : the wages were mostly spent on buying coal for the coming winter.

Due to the mechanical harvester, hop picking by hand became a mere folklore and in order to keep this folklore alive a 1st hop pageant was organised in 1956. In order to renew parts of the parade and to work out a more in deep program over several days, not to mention the financial aspect and the hop pageant became as of 1960 a triennial event.

The hop culture also linked Poperinge with various other European hop growing areas : for 40 years we have an excellent twinning partnership with Zatec in the Czech Republic and Wolnzach in Bavaria, Germany. The First World War and the soldiers’club Talbot House teamed us up with the charming beach resort of Hythe (Kent, UK).

The festival starts on Friday, September 16th with a musical opening party in the 25m x 35m marquee, erected at Paardenmarkt, behind the square. Long rows of tables and benches, 0,5 l jars and appropriate music set the pace; the entrance to this warming up is for free. This same marquee is the venue on Saturday, September 17th, for the hop queen election; various tests on the knowledge of the area and its history as well as the presentation of the contestants will finally decide who will be our ambassadress for the next 3 years.

With dignity and charm will she represent Poperinge on numerous official events and also during trips to twinned partners abroad. Musical acts interfere with the various tests. The entrance ticket allows you to bring out 1 vote to the candidate of your choice. Entrance fee: to be determined.

Highlight of the weekend is undoubtedly on Sunday, September 18th. The church service at 10 a.m. at St.John’s marks a moment of quiet and reflection during this hectic weekend in presence of the various guest delegations from our twinned towns which are hosted afterwards in city hall during a civic welcome where gifts are exchanged as a token of appreciation for the hospitality and friendship.
As of 10 a.m. a tourist train transfers you to a hop farm in operation; it is September and hence harvest time; you walk in the hop fields, witness the huge harvester and qualified guides are at your disposal.
The train shuttles between the town square and the hop farm every 30 minutes until 2 p.m.


18 May, 2005