Chronicle of growing my own.

[Crazy Climber]

Good eye -- yes, that's SWMBO's tomato plant in front. That's growing like crazy, too. She's got a small, organic garden. I "borrowed" a corner of it for my hops.
I've only got a 5-foot trellis this year for the hops, and they quickly grew to the top and then I trained them down again, then back up...then they started going every-which-way. Not optimal, but it works.

[philm00x]

My plants have foliage, but that's it. Nary a cone among either one.

[Crazy Climber]

I had my first-ever fresh harvest brew day this weekend. Brewed an LBK-sized batch of a basic, extract-based IPA.

Back-story refresher: I planted some Chinook and Northern Brewer rhizomes this spring for the first time. Started a bit on the late side. Also planted them somewhat too deep. But, hey, rookie mistakes. The Northern Brewer rhizomes never did anything. From the Chinook, I got two bines, which both grew quite well. No bugs, no diseases, no effort - just healthy growth. Couldn't ask for better than that.

(Click on pics for larger version)

Late July - Chinook cones starting to form:


Aug 30 - harvest day. Ripe for the picking -- literally.


I got exactly 3 ounces from the two bines. For a year-1 harvest, I'm happy with that. Just enough for one good, fresh hop-stand. No drying the hops this year.


Lookin' good...smellin' better:


Gotta do something while waiting for the boil to finish...


Boil's just about done - incoming!!


The magic begins.


Giving them a stir to get the whirpool going, and immerse them fully. After 20 minutes, chilled it all down and racked to the LBK.


Thanks, guys, you performed your duties admirably. Taste you in a few weeks!!!

[FrozenInTime]

Got's ta ask outa curiosity. Using the fresh cone hops, going commando like u did in the pic, did you end up with a lot of floaties like u do using the pellets?

[Crazy Climber]

Got's ta ask outa curiosity. Using the fresh cone hops, going commando like u did in the pic, did you end up with a lot of floaties like u do using the pellets?

Nope.

Well, let me clarify -- I used pellet hops for bittering, so there were floaties from that. But it didn't seem to be any worse than any other beer I've done with all pellet hops.

[philm00x]

Those hops look great, CC!

On a side note, Heady Topper is fking amazing! Can you get it locally or did you trade for it?

Back on topic, my Cascade plant nearly completely died from the extreme heat (110+ heat for a week). The Northern Brewers fared a little better, but still didn't like the heat. Still no cones

[Crazy Climber]

Sorry to hear about your lack of cones this year, philm00x. I'm thinking Florida may be too much for hops to handle. But, maybe next year will turn out better.

Regarding Heady Topper -- I can't get it locally, but I'm not super-far away from where it can be gotten. I live a little over 3 hours from where it's made. As a result, there are sometimes people around these parts that get some. I happened to meet one such person recently, and scored a can in exchange for some of my home brew.

I was going to write a review in the reviews sub-forum at some point, but here's a quickie. I am not sure if the can I got was fresh, because to me, HT seems to be a good double-IPA, but........I've had lots of good double-IPA's. Hell, I've MADE good double-IPA's. I was not particularly wowed by it. I've heard from enough people (in person and on the web) that have very high opinions of it, so I know it must have more going for it than "yeah, it's a good double-IPA." That's why I'm suspecting an aged can. Aroma was somewhat lacking. Bitterness was there, but not overpowering. Flavor was hoppy, but in a restrained way. I'd drink it again, but wouldn't spend 6 hours in the car for a chance at maybe getting a can. I would like to get my hands on another, just to see if my suspicions are correct.

[Ibasterd]

Well, my hops are hanging in there after all. Surprisingly, they are bouncing back and I'm seeing a lot of side growth where the cones should come. Even if I only get one cone, I'm using it! Maybe yours will bounce back too Phil. And by the way, your brew day with fresh hops looks fantastic Crazy Climber! I hope to get to that point one day.

[BlackDuck]

I have a question for you guys that are growing these.....when all your work pays off, and your ready to use your crop, how do you know how much to put in? I am guessing you don't know your AA%, so do you just wing it and see what happens? Or do you have some sort of idea how much bitterness, flavor etc etc your going to get?

[Beer-lord]

Those hops look great, CC!

On a side note, Heady Topper is fking amazing! Can you get it locally or did you trade for it?

Back on topic, my Cascade plant nearly completely died from the extreme heat (110+ heat for a week). The Northern Brewers fared a little better, but still didn't like the heat. Still no cones

The few people who I've heard from that brew this far south tell me the final product just isn't that good. I've thought and thought and thought about growing some and am still waiting to hear back from someone who recently told me they were growing some not far from where I live. The guy at my LHBS said they grow but the quality isn't something to brag about and likely they'll only be good for dry hopping with some other hop.
Ever wonder why there are no hop farms down south? I guess that's why. Still, I'd like to see the hop cones growing in my yard just the the fun of it.

[BlackDuck]

I've been considering growing some too....that's why I asked the question above. I am trying to figure out if it's really worth it or not.

[gwcr]

I have a question for you guys that are growing these.....when all your work pays off, and your ready to use your crop, how do you know how much to put in? I am guessing you don't know your AA%, so do you just wing it and see what happens? Or do you have some sort of idea how much bitterness, flavor etc etc your going to get?

My plan is to use the average AA% for that variety (probably shoot for the lower end of the average). The overwhelming majority of home brewers won't spend the time or money to have their hops tested. Plus, you lose part of your harvest that way. As far as how much to use, I've seen both 5 to 1 and 6 to 1 as the ratio for wet to dry hops. I plan to use the 5 to 1 ratio to start and adjust from there. So if the recipe calls for 1 oz of dry/leaf/whole hops, you would need 5 oz of fresh/wet hops if you aren't drying them. Will probably be a lot of trial and error until I get the hang of the fresh ones.

[DaYooper]

Many home growers I know use their hops primarily for flavor and aroma and use commercially grown hops for the bittering since it aids in repeat-ability.

[BlackDuck]

Many home growers I know use their hops primarily for flavor and aroma and use commercially grown hops for the bittering since it aids in repeat-ability.

That makes sense....thanks!!!

[philm00x]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1426545826.984707.jpg (111.57 KiB) Viewed 1527 times

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1426545817.368735.jpg (109.97 KiB) Viewed 1527 times

My cascades and northern brewers hop plants are sprouting for a new season!