Home grown hops for brewing

I have Cascade and Hallertau growing in my backyard. They grow up lattices right off the edge of my deck. I weave them throughout the lattice and then let it take over the deck. Looks awesome and yields a lot of cones now that I'm a few years in.

It doesn't necessarily change my brews, but it gives me the option to do wet hopped or fresh hopped brews. I usually bag and freeze the rest. If anything, it helps save from having to pick up hops, but at the same time you have a crapload of whatever variation you grew, so definitely grow some you really like to use.

 

Hop growing is a labor of love. It is certainty not easier than just buying them. Expect any planted rhizomes to not produce any usable yield until at least year 2, possible 3 depending on growing conditions. Other than that, they're fun to grow. I dont' know about hyrdoponic or aeroponic since I usually relate those 2 methods with indoor growing. Hops need a pretty tall trellis/twine setup to grow to their full potential, so unless you have a substantial indoor space I'd stick to soil in the backyard. They can also be a very invasive plant so be careful where you plant them and how far away you plant them from each other. The last thing you want is a spiderweb of vines that you can't distinguish which varieties are what. Whatever method you choose, good luck!

 

I have Centennials and they have done very well in the ground. Where I live the soil has a lot of clay so I added sand and manure to the soil before planting. DO NOT plant different hops close together. As dap325 wrote, they will spiderweb their roots. Also, plant in full sun if possible and water, water, water. Also, did I mention, lots of water? Every day watering throughout the summer until harvest.

Hope this helps.

 

These folks know a little about hops.
http://www.freshops.com/hop-growing/hop-gardening

 

Given their root system that, in my case, has spread out at least 20' from the crown so far, and the fact that you generally don't get a usable harvest for 2 or 3 years, I suspect they don't lend themselves to hydro, aero, or any other kind of -ponics. For the same reason, I suspect watering them profusely after they establish themselves is not necessary (when was the last time you watered a mature tree?). But I'm not a Botanist, so take this with a grain of salt - watering certainly won't hurt them. Personally, I think they're more effort than I can justify. I let last year's crop wither and die. I'm thinking about killing them altogether this year. Then again, they're a nice conversation starter.

 

Hops are an invasive species prone to aggressive underground propagation and vulnerable to destructive infestations of aphids and powdery mildew when cultivated in many US locations.

Other than that...a few plantings can produce an over-abundance of cones come late summer which can be used 'fresh' (additions @6x 'normal' weight) or dried'n packaged for long-term storage providing you've enough seal-a-meals on-hand and plenty'o excess space in the freezer.

Then there's the trelissing....

 

well, you're in a good spot for growing..as I've posted before, I've been using my hops almost exclusivly for about 20 years..the vines will take over a space so be careful where you plant them..I use cut off section of 36" culvert set down about 6-8 " below grade and with good soil inside..after a few years you will have to thin the root system..run basically a flagpole up and attach the twine or SS cable ( what i use) at the end of the season you can lower the vines for harvest..no ladders required..they need lots of sun and water as they grow like mad at the beginning of the season..some as much as 12" a day..at harvest, dry and vacuum pack them for use..I built an oast out of an old referigeator that works great

 

Nothing like making a wet hopped brew with cones picked from the backyard minutes before being tossed in the boil.
Well, maybe cooking a just caught fish in a boat. Can't beat fresh. As for growing, I plant them in ground and support them with extended electrical conduit teepee style after driving rebar into the ground helping to support it.

 

depending on the vine and soil they'll do great the first year..contrary to popular belief, I have gotten useable hops in the first year, but second year is usually when they really begin to produce

 

The growers in Yakima WA will get 50% or more of the mature plant yeild the first year. Great soil, irregated, great climate, and they are pros.

 

I do a poor man's flagpole. I insert 1/2" EMT 'poles' into 3/4" EMT sleeves that I drove into the ground at either end of the bed. At the end of the season, I simply slide the poles out the the sleeves and drop it all to the ground. The sleeves stay in the ground for next season. The sleeves protrude about 6" above ground so I can find them in the spring. It's only 10', but I could add height with suitable couplers.

 

I grew one rhizome of cascade in one large ~8 gallon pot for two years. I allowed the bine to travel up my patio pergola. In each of these years, I got enough yield to contribute the majority of of late addition hops for one 5 gallon American pale ale. Not a lot of yield for the effort. As I mentioned in a recent post, my wife did not want these to spread throughout the yard, so pots was the only option available. Because we do a lot of gardening and container gardening, this one pot did not seem like a lot of work to maintain, but if you grow in pots, don't expect to have lots of beer made with homegrown hops.

I left the rhizome in the pot over winter and left the pot outside (in n. WI). The plant did not survive a second winter. Either it got too cold (the rhizome was likely much colder in the pots than in the ground) or it was too wet (exposed to big snow melt) or both. I might have done better to move it indoors, or at least to the garage. Because of the poor yield, I have not been overly interested in returning to hop growing. We planted some grapes adjacent to the pergola instead.

 

What kind of yield (# oz?) did you get from one rhizome of cascade? Cheers!

 

It's difficult for me to say on a per oz basis as those batches predate the entries in my current beersmith logs. I just know I eneded up using them as the flameout additions in pale ales. My guess would be about 1 oz each year. I did dry them, so this is dry weight. Sort of disappointing in terms of yield. The only reason to do it this way is to feel good about using locally grown ingredients.