Hop plants/rhizomes - growing report

[prog99]

Moved house last year. Bought a new hop plant this week, let’s see how it goes.
View attachment 64596

Picked and dried this weekend. 83g which isn’t bad for a new plant in the north of Scotland.

 

[531Man]

Actually in hop growing areas they tend to get "tidied up" as brewers and hence farmers prefer their hops not to be fertilised -> seeds, so hops get weeded on the assumption that there's a 50:50 chance they are male and so can fertilise the female hops grown commercially. There are some, but actually the best place seems to be places where hops used to be grown, as there's plenty of seeds/pollen around, but nobody cares enough about them to weed them out.

On the value of the Male Hop.
Journal of the Institute of Brewing.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...AQFnoECBAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3eiGgHPqHdRVAAT9NXmlV_
Ernest Salmon of Wye College would apparently have disagreed.
I came across this paper (sorry, can't attach it on my phone, so you'll have to download it from the link) )
" On the value of the Male Hop"
of his (from 1908) recently whist Googling hop cultivation.
It seems that at least the Golding's family of female hops require male hops fertilisation to produce larger and more lupulin laden cones.
It makes an interesting read, and references American (they advocated males) and European (they outlawed them) hop growing.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

On the value of the Male Hop.
Journal of the Institute of Brewing.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/j.2050-0416.1908.tb02221.x
Ernest Salmon of Wye College would apparently have disagreed.
I came across this paper (sorry, can't attach it on my phone, so you'll have to download it from the link) )
" On the value of the Male Hop"
of his (from 1908) recently whist Googling hop cultivation.
It seems that at least the Golding's family of female hops require male hops fertilisation to produce larger and more lupulin laden cones.
It makes an interesting read, and references American (they advocated males) and European (they outlawed them) hop growing.

Heh, that's interesting, never come across that idea before - but it is very early in Salmon's career. Certainly after WWII brewers really didn't like seeded hops as they felt they were paying for extra weight that didn't benefit them, so the Europeans made a big thing of it.

Presumably Arthur Amos was a cousin of the Amoses of Spring Grove where Amos' Early Bird was found.

 

[531Man]

Heh, that's interesting, never come across that idea before - but it is very early in Salmon's career. Certainly after WWII brewers really didn't like seeded hops as they felt they were paying for extra weight that didn't benefit them, so the Europeans made a big thing of it.

Presumably Arthur Amos was a cousin of the Amoses of Spring Grove where Amos' Early Bird was found.

Found this on Jimsbeerkit.co.uk
:
hazelbrew

Planted - Amos early bird and First Gold :)​

• Quote

Post Sun Feb 07, 2016 10:39 pm
Just planted my first hops this weekend. Wish me luck!

First gold - against the front of the house, west facing, on a brick wall.

Amos Early Bird - against the garden fence, on a south facing aspect.

Amos Early bird is not common any more - it is a kent golding variety, and is used in the shepherd neame "early bird" single hop ale. It is now known just as Early Bird. It used to be used in the Sainsbury's "Kentish Ale" taste the difference beer - though that now says just Goldings.

there is a family connection here - Amos Early Bird was originally picked by my wife's (nee Amos) Great Great Grandad Alfred Amos in Spring Grove Farm near Wye in Kent. he picked it (1887) as an early bine out of the Bramling ones on the farm - all since are direct clonal descendents of that one pick. I believe it has been important in hop breeding since.

 

[Jim Brewster]

I received a kit of seeds for Christmas, doesn't say the variety so should be fun to see what happens.

I quite like the idea of building a big trellis system one day if I ever have a half acre I can use for a hop orchard

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I received a kit of seeds for Christmas, doesn't say the variety so should be fun to see what happens.

Hops don't breed true, so if you have bunch of random seeds then they are not a known variety, they could be ornamental versions with minimal alpha acids etc.

I have managed to grow plants from seeds that have gone through the brewing process, although germination rates are pretty low - at least that way you know the mother was a known brewing variety.

 

[Jim Brewster]

Hops don't breed true, so if you have bunch of random seeds then they are not a known variety, they could be ornamental versions with minimal alpha acids etc.

I have managed to grow plants from seeds that have gone through the brewing process, although germination rates are pretty low - at least that way you know the mother was a known brewing variety.

Russian Roulette then so, do they have to be grown from an existing rhizome ideally?

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

Also, only female plants will produce hop cones.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Russian Roulette then so, do they have to be grown from an existing rhizome ideally?

That or cuttings are the normal way to propagate them, yes. And if you want to be certain that you're getting eg a Fuggles or Golding, then that's the only way.

 

[SMP Brewery]

So mine are starting to sprout as they are in temporary residence in the greenhouse, not sure what to do now, do you think I should just leave them or move them out to there permanent residence.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Goldings progress this year, hoping for more than 100g wet hops this time.
How are yours doing @sifty ?

 

[sifty]

Looking good @RoomWithABrew

Checked mine yesterday, I've been very hands off this year, noticed a lot of withered leaves, been very hot and dry this end of the country. Must step up the watering, and might trim some of the wayward bines snaking across the lawn...

 

[sifty]

Went home for lunch and had a look. No flowers yet...

 

[Bzee]

Im planning to do a covert hop grow in the corner of a field this year, they are just to big for the garden and I almost pulled the drainpipe off the wall one year with them growing up it. They grow in the country round me. Often by the river some wild ones have a good aroma.

 

[SMP Brewery]

Put them outside today.

 

[Erik The Anglophile]

We still have about -15c here so I will probably have to wait a month or so until I can dig mine out of the snow.
Then as soon as the ground thaws I will relocate the hops planted last spring to a better place where they get sun all day.
Summers are shorter but 24h daylight actually makes up for the somewhat shorter growing season...

 

[Sandimas]

Put them outside today.

Glad you did, didn'y see the earlier post, I left mine in the greenhouse too long one year and it died. Thankfully it hasn't been that warm yet.

Mine aren't doing anything, been a very cold Spring so far with little sunshine here.

 

[sifty]

Here's mine yesterday, pretty much ready to go...

Have left them alone this year and yield is down a bit, one died thru lack of watering, been very hot and dry. Still have vacuum packed ones from last year in the freezer though. Ideally would try a green hop brew this week but away on school camp so will prob pick next weekend...

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Here's mine yesterday, pretty much ready to go...
View attachment 83020

Have left them alone this year and yield is down a bit, one died thru lack of watering, been very hot and dry. Still have vacuum packed ones from last year in the freezer though. Ideally would try a green hop brew this week but away on school camp so will prob pick next weekend...

You've still got more hops than me, I've done the yeast starter and probably will do my fresh hop beer tuesday or wednesday.
Think mine might have got a bit dehydrated even though auto watering was set up but very hot against the north facing wall and drying in the wind as well.

 

[531Man]

.......... meanwhile in the other hemisphere, I'm excited because it's only the 15th March and the first of my three First Gold (Prima Donna) plants planted in the Autumn is already showing a shoot.
All three grew 1metre bines after planting and watering in, so hopefully the others will show soon.
I am in Kent, which would explain what I think is this early growth.