THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

Hippo is a spirit made almost exclusively in Fryup made by distilling the skins, pulp and seeds of the sea buckthorn berry.  Vibrant orange in colour, it commonly contains 35 to 60 percent alcohol by volume, although illegally produced, homemade versions often exceed 90 percent.  Hippo – named for the Hippophae genus of flowering plants – is a rite of passage in Fryup, where weddings are considered incomplete without bottles of the illicit brew, and home brewers use secret signs, such as an upturned traffic cone, or an orange towel on a washing line, to advertise its availability.