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Hops?
Dec 21, 2010 7:50:41 GMT -5
Post by daylilydude on Dec 21, 2010 7:50:41 GMT -5
Do you buy them or grow them yourself, and are they lots of trouble as far as growing space?
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grapenut
Pro Member
Posts: 146
Joined: December 2010
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Hops?
Dec 22, 2010 2:02:33 GMT -5
Post by grapenut on Dec 22, 2010 2:02:33 GMT -5
I have as of yet, never grown them...but I plan on ordering 4 roots of 4 varieties this year, I think that at the very least should get me started.
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Hops?
Dec 22, 2010 3:54:25 GMT -5
Post by coppice on Dec 22, 2010 3:54:25 GMT -5
I've never grown hops DLD. Its a pretty robust vine. Commercial trellis I've seen are tall. Like two storey tall... I'm just sayin'
John Best is a pretty clever fellow (and he posts here), nothng would suprise me less than that he's grown 'em as he likes DIY stuff (and brews). I dunno maybe pm him?
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Hops?
Dec 22, 2010 9:27:02 GMT -5
Post by bluelacedredhead on Dec 22, 2010 9:27:02 GMT -5
Dude, Flowerpower is another ask about growing Hops and brewing.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Hops?
Dec 22, 2010 14:42:59 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2010 14:42:59 GMT -5
I know FlowerPower grows her own hops. I was gonna, but, as you know DLD, I just pretend to garden. They are a robust grower and will cover a shed given the chance. You want a robust trellis or rope trellis system. They take a year or two to establish, but, will rapidly grow and provide many hops.
I buy hops for bittering, as they come with the lab analysis that allows me to know what amount to add to get a specific result. I have used unmeasured hops for wet-hopping and I plan on doing a fresh hop ale, where the flavor and aroma is driven by fresh hops. The Bittering hops will be from the store though.
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rintintin
Pro Member
Posts: 150
Joined: December 2010
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Hops?
Dec 23, 2010 0:47:23 GMT -5
Post by rintintin on Dec 23, 2010 0:47:23 GMT -5
Bert Grant's Brewery used to make a "Fresh Hop Ale" each year just as the hops were harvested. It is by far, my favorite seasonal brew. Bert built his brewery in Yakima, WA, which stands to reason, as over half of all commercial hops used in the US come from the Yakima Valley...what better place to put a brewery? I believe that his brewery is now closed. He never had to sell beer, as he owns patents on many techniques that most micro breweries use...he got a small percentage off of each keg that rolled out the doors...poor guy.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Hops?
Feb 26, 2011 10:27:08 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2011 10:27:08 GMT -5
I have grown my hops for several years now. I have two un-named varieties. They came from my grandmother(Indiana) and my aunt(Wisconsin) who didn't know the type. Mine have been growing next to a "parts" tractor that my husband can't seem to part with. They grow up and over the tractor and make it somewhat decorative in the summer. They do grow very well once established. They spread by underground rhizomes which could be a problem trying to contain. I don't have that problem, though. The tops die back to the ground every winter which does help contain them for me. Since they grow vertically, they don't need to take up a lot of space. I have seen the commercial vines and they do look massive, but that may be due to the climate in the northwest. Mine don't get nearly that large.
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mohoghead
Junior Member
Posts: 26
Joined: February 2011
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Hops?
Apr 22, 2011 16:22:37 GMT -5
Post by mohoghead on Apr 22, 2011 16:22:37 GMT -5
My fuggles didn't do anything last year, figured they were dead, i was about to throw it away when some green showed up this spring, now it's growing fast enough i'm scrambling to get a hop string strung. so i'll order some saaz and hallertau rhyzomes and plant, belgians are our specialties and favorite to drink.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Hops?
Apr 23, 2011 9:52:12 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2011 9:52:12 GMT -5
My fuggles didn't do anything last year, figured they were dead, i was about to throw it away when some green showed up this spring, now it's growing fast enough i'm scrambling to get a hop string strung. so i'll order some saaz and hallertau rhyzomes and plant, belgians are our specialties and favorite to drink. Once they get established they take off. I ordered two varieties last year that I didn't get put into the ground. They went into one gallon pots. They are already taking off. Need to get them into the ground, fast....!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Hops?
Apr 23, 2011 15:21:41 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2011 15:21:41 GMT -5
I've found hops quite easy to grow. You can start from a store bought plant or just take a cutting off a friends. Just dig up a little guy from the base. We home brew with ours. I've got a book here somewhere that tells all about hops growing and it's history in the USA. In Washington State it used to be (may still be) a big revenue. It was grown up nearly 30' tall wire and harvested by men who wore stilts. Those must have been some tall stilts. Here we just grow them on a 4x8 lattice as I don't own stilts. The plant will fill the lattice and then some. Most comercial growers will train to one vine but that vine will grow quite long. I never did much for our hops other than to cut it down in the fall and pee on it a few times in the spring. If you are looking to store your hops it's best to let them dry slowly. If you use heat or a dehydrater keep the setting low as heat will begin to release or harm the oils where all the hops goodies come from. Iowa humidity does not make for good open air drying so I let them sit for a week or two them finish with a very low setting. Once dry I like to put them in the freezer to wait for my winter raspberry imperial stout.
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