Hop Growing 2010

[Chiltern Brewer]

Looking good MissFlax... that's spot on, but I'd give them a few more days in a newspaper hop pocket.

The external stem should now snap, but if you pull a cone apart you'll probably find that the core (strig) is still bendy. I like to dry out the cones that little bit longer to ensure that the strig dries out and stiffens up.

You'll probably have a few hundred grams of dried hops, so if you think that vacuum packed hops are normally sold in 100g packs - that would be enough for a single 23L batch with generous aroma/late additions. This way you don't end up with a half empty container. However, if you have a vacuum packer... IIRC I manage to get 200g (maybe more) into a 22cm x 30cm bag which can then be resealed after being partially used.

Subsonic - better get a brew on then! I can't compete with you on volume (I reckon about 1Kg) but I have 4 varieties - Challenger, Cobb Golding, Fuggles and Prima Donna/First Gold. I'll probably be vacuum packing the lot sometime this week.

[Hogarth]

I've just picked 944g of Fuggles from my three-year-old plant. Blimey it takes a long time -- especially if you're hanging upside down from an upstairs window.

Before:


After:


Just enough room for them in the 'drying' cupboard:


Should be enough for a couple of brews.

[MartialAnt]

In these pics there is Bramling X & Fuggle. Dunno which are which coz ive mixed up the Jpegs .



















So far the fresh weights ive picked are
Bram X 1.62kg
Fuggle 1.4kg
Ive not finished picking the Fuggle coz it started raining.
The Northdown & WGV got hammered by aphids, black fly & white fly. Couldnt be ar5ed spraying them with soapy water as im not that interested in them any more.
Probably get a bit under a kilo from the Northdown but they are quite small so i dunno if i'll pick them. WGV has nothing what so ever on it.
Cascade has done ok. Theres a few handfuls growing on it.
I'll get Oggys Bar to update the dry weights coz i gave his first refusal on the lot.
If i get chance i'll post some more pics & weights of the rest if i get a few continuous dry days.
If not see y'all next hop season.

[WishboneBrewery]

Look great
Mine look dismal and pathetic!

[pantsmachine]

Its not often i say this but.

Sadly as i live in Scotland(see what i mean). We are a tad far North of the Hop families best growing conditions. Nonetheless, my daughter and I managed to harvest 550 grmms(wet)(2.5 times the glass vessel) of First Gold hops and a few grmms of Bramling X.





I had some cracking big cones but in truth the majority are pretty wee. I'll make up a single hop pale ale with bit of this and that in it once i get the dry hop weight.