Modern Art Oxford has come up with some wacky ideas over the years. Some have been mind-blowing; others have left their visitors scratching their heads as they try to work out what the artist is attempting to say.

One of MAO’s latest ventures has been to appoint two Oxford creative artists, Leora Brook and Tiffany Black — who operate under the title brook & black — as artists-in-residence on Plot 16 which is an allotment! The allotment is part of Oxford’s Art in Rose Hill three-year programme launched in 2007, which brings art to the community.

At first they planned to grow vegetables, then the project took on a fascinating twist when Leora and Tiffany began looking into the history of the Pembroke Street building that houses MAO.

Tiffany got very excited when she discovered that it had originally been a brewery in the 19th century, which was owned by the Hanley family and operated as City Brewery, Oxford, until 1954.

This brewery was famed for beers that were advertised as specialities for family use. These included a Family Bitter Ale, a Family Mild Ale, an Intermediate Family ale and a Double Stout.

Having spent some time in the gallery’s archive researching its days as a brewery, Tiffany knew this fact had to be celebrated.

After visiting the Hook Norton Brewery, which dates back to the mid-19th century too, she began identifying various fittings in the MAO building that remain from the days when it housed vats and brewing vessels.

It didn’t take long for Leora and Tiffany’s artistic minds to make a connection between the allotment and the Pembroke Street building. They would grow hops that could be turned into beer and then sold at MAO.

Having decided this, they called on Jim Blanchard, a farmer, who grows hops on his farm near Kingston Bagpuize. They needed plants and advice on how to grow their hops. He provided both.

Jim supplied them with Fuggle hop vines, which add an earthy and sometimes rather spicy flavour to a brew.

Thanks to the many volunteers from MAO, the vines were soon dug in and growing vigorously, and thanks to this year’s weather conditions, they flourished and soon developed the beautiful flowers we call hops.

Tiffany said: “We couldn’t believe it. They were so beautiful. When it became apparent they were ready to harvest we picked bags and bags. Well, 14 large sacks actually, which was far more than we expected.”

They returned to Jim Blanchard with their hops, which he promised to dry for them. And this is where the story takes an unfortunate twist. On September 16, the farm building in which they were housed caught fire, destroying the drying kilns and the hops stored there. Although the blaze was quickly brought under control, all their hops were lost.

Tiffany says it was a dreadful moment for everyone involved. Feeling that all their work had been for nothing, they contacted Ed Murray of Shotover Brewery, a highly successful Oxford-based craft brewery. It was Ed who had promised to turn their hops into beer once they had been dried.

Ed sensed it was a real panic call, so he suggested they went back to the allotment and picked whatever hops were left on the vines. He was amazed when they returned with a sack full of the plumpest green hops he had ever seen.

The hops were of such high quality that Ed decided it was worth experimenting with them. “Green hops are something brewers usually view with suspicion, as the oil content and bitterness has not been assayed, but I thought it would be interesting to experiment with them.”

Ed added the green hops to his Prospect brew, which already contained five varieties of hops, and then left it to mature for a couple of weeks.

The brew yielded more than 1,000 bottles, which are cask conditioned. This means the flavour will continue to develop throughout the year.

He said: “I knew there was no guarantee of success when we began this project, but when we tasted the beer we were bowled over by its intense hop aroma and its flavour. I’ve never experienced anything like it — almost like immersing your head in a pillow filled with hops — amazing.”

The limited edition brew was hand bottled and labelled and will go on sale at £3.50 per 330ml bottle at a launch event,which is open to everyone, at Modern Art Oxford on Friday, December 17, at 7pm.

Tiffany hopes that their beer, which they have named Plot 16, after the allotment, will interest visitors in the building’s heritage.

Their successful crop of hops this year has encouraged them to begin creating a metal structure in the shape of MAO, which will then be transferred to the allotment. They will then train hops over the structure, to create a living green sculpture that encapsulates both the shape of the building and the essence of its previous life.

If you would like to keep up to date with brook & black’s activities on Plot 16, go to www.modernartoxford.org.uk