HOP
PICKING
IN
THE OAST
Pressing into a pocket
Hop pressing was a strenuous job, especially before electric presses.
This shows a hop press (you can even see the name of the manufacturers
- Drake and Fletcher who now have car dealerships). Suspended
below the press and hanging down into the floor below is the hop
pocket. The pocket is filled with the hops using the skuppet
(what looks like a large tray with a handle at one end). When the
pocket is filled the press would be wound down using the handle on the
left of the press. This process would continue until the pocket
was full.
The person on the right of the photo is Ronnie Weeks.