Backyard Hops

Back in April, I planted 5 hop rhizomes at my parents' place in Excelsior. Chinook, Fuggle, Willamette, and 2 Nugget rhizomes. Because of the cool and cloudy spring, the ground took a bit longer than usual to warm up and the hops subsequently took a bit longer to emerge. Hop bines (that's not a typo, they're actually called "bines") are apparently pretty hearty and resilient, needing only water and sun to thrive.

Per widely accepted standards, I dug holes in the ground that measured roughly 12 inches long by 6 inches wide by 6 inches deep. I then filled each one about half way with loose gravel to allow drainage below the rhizome, filled nearly to ground level with good organic soil, laid the rhizome into that soil, and finally topped with a mound of soil to a few inches above ground level.

Once the bines grew large enough, it was time to begin training them. I inserted plant supports with loops on the tops into the ground next to each rhizome. To the loops I tied twine and ran it to the eave of the garage where I screwed eye hooks in and ran a length of climbing rope through. The bine-training twine just wraps over the climbing rope and down to the ground, anchored with rocks. To harvest the hop cones, all I'll have to do is untie the twine from the rock and the bine will sag enough for me to reach even the top-most clusters. 

I've personally never been much of a gardener, but I've never been disinterested in it; my folks have fairly green thumbs so growing hops at their place works pretty well for all of us.

I'm not terribly concerned with any yield in this first year. It's more important for the rhizomes go get established in their conditions, developing a good root system and plant mass before they begin to focus their energy into cone production. But if I can brew a fresh-hopped IPA this fall, I'll be a happy brewer!!

This is how big the Willamette was when I rigged my "trellis" system.

June 13, 2011. The Fuggle rhizome produced 4 bines.

Willamette. 6.13.11

Fuggles on 6.19.11. They are starting to get a lot fuller and are possibly even growing faster now. My parents measured growth of 7 inches in one week a couple weeks go. Amazing.

My hop Momma with the Fuggles on Father's Day, 6.19.11. They're about 3 feet tall now.

It's been interesting to note that the Fuggle and Willamette bines are growing much faster (and are more healthy?) than the Chinook and the Nugget. Fuggle and Willamette Alpha-Acid (the substance responsible for bitterness) percentages are in the 4 - 5 range while those for Chinook and Nugget considerably higher, 12 - 13...

Speaking of Nugget and Willamette, I drank the second-to-last bomber of my "999 IPA, take 2" while I wrote this. This beer will evolve into a staple for ABC. It's my take on a 90-minute boil, with 9 hop additions, and ideally 9% ABV (I'm working on that, the one I drank tonight finished around 8%). The "third generation" 999 was on tap at my sample party, blog on that to come, and I think I almost nailed what I'm after in an IPA: dry and bitter with full hop flavor/hop "sweetness" throughout, light yellow and clear, and strong with a thick white head. It'll happen. Stay tuned.


I'm Proud Of My Beer And Humbled You're Here