Home grown hops 2022

If you have a hop related question about International Bittering Units or alpha acid, post it here!
clarets7
Piss Artist
Posts: 231
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:56 am
Location: Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

Home grown hops 2022

Post by clarets7 » Sun Aug 14, 2022 11:42 am

How are people fairing with their hops given the incredibly hot weather? I've a number of Challenger bines that have survived so far, just a bit of scorching on the leaves, but plenty of flowers on at the moment. Hosepipe ban about to come into force in just over a week though :(
"The paradise of the rich is made out of the hell of the poor" - Victor Hugo

Nitro Jim
Piss Artist
Posts: 182
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2015 6:10 pm
Location: Spalding, Lincolnshire

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by Nitro Jim » Mon Aug 15, 2022 2:40 pm

Mine are looking fine despite not being watered and no/little rain for about four months...
Beer is my drug of choice.
I don't need anger management classes, I need people to stop pissing me off.

No beer, no fun - know beer, know FUN!

Carrots may be good for your eyes but alcohol is better as it gives you double vision!

Storm Brewing
Steady Drinker
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 3:04 pm
Location: Sunny Bedfordshire

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by Storm Brewing » Mon Aug 15, 2022 2:48 pm

Bit of a mixed bag really. I have a 2nd year Fuggles down at the allotment which is looking pretty sad but should yield some cones if i can keep watering. I have a 2 year old Notts Eastwell (Goldings ish) growing up the garden wall - bumper crop coming (but it has been regularly watered.) I have a Saaz planted this year against garden wall which is ok for first year my criteria being survival is good !!! BTW in Bedfordshire (Anglian Water) but not usre how to edit my profile to show this!

User avatar
Cobnut
Drunk as a Skunk
Posts: 758
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2018 4:23 pm
Location: Ipswich
Contact:

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by Cobnut » Mon Aug 15, 2022 4:15 pm

Storm Brewing wrote:
Mon Aug 15, 2022 2:48 pm
BTW in Bedfordshire (Anglian Water) but not usre how to edit my profile to show this!
Drop down arrow by your name in top right corner of screen.

Click "user control panel"

The near top left click "profile"

In there you will find a box where you can enter "location"

Enter the details.

Click "submit" and Robert is your Mother's brother!
Fermenting: nowt
Conditioning: English IPA/Bretted English IPA
Drinking: Sunshine Marmalade, Festbier, Helles Bock, Smokey lagery beer, Irish Export StoutCascade APA (homegrown hops), Orval clone, Impy stout, Duvel clone, Conestoga (American Barley wine)
Planning: Dark Mild, Kozel dark (ish), Simmonds Bitter, Bitter, Citra PA and more!

Storm Brewing
Steady Drinker
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 3:04 pm
Location: Sunny Bedfordshire

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by Storm Brewing » Mon Aug 15, 2022 4:28 pm

=D> Easy when you know how!!

User avatar
Meatymc
Drunk as a Skunk
Posts: 836
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2014 8:36 pm
Location: Northallerton, North Yorkshire

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by Meatymc » Mon Aug 15, 2022 4:49 pm

clarets7 wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 11:42 am
How are people fairing with their hops given the incredibly hot weather? I've a number of Challenger bines that have survived so far, just a bit of scorching on the leaves, but plenty of flowers on at the moment. Hosepipe ban about to come into force in just over a week though :(
Stopped watering mine at the end of June when I stopped using the hose given how things were looking . Hard enough work watering veg, fruit and salad plots by can so the hops were left to fend for themselves.

Whilst all seem to be doing well, progress is markedly different across the varieties particularly bearing in mind I'd usually start picking start of September and be done by mid-month - latest date on last years was frozen on 19th September so picked on the 17th.

Northdown - heavy crop which I reckon ready for picking in about a week to 10 days

Fuggles & Styrian Golding - good crop but more likely end of the month before ready

Cascade & First Gold - don't see any marked drop in crop but these look to be on the usual schedule of mid-September before ready

Santiam - aren't bothering with this one again this year. Didn't find it added anything compared to the others.

Question is how much I'll actually keep. Intend doing wet hopping as they come 'on-stream' - not only as experiments but also to cut down on the cost of drying and storage. I've been running a dedicated freezer in the garage plus using half in the kitchen one - the way fuel costs are going, the garage one won't be turned on for the foreseeable future!

User avatar
Eric
Even further under the Table
Posts: 2873
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:18 am
Location: Sunderland.

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by Eric » Mon Aug 15, 2022 4:51 pm

Living with direct view of the North Sea in North East England, I was surprised to find how well hops grew up here when I was sent one to try. They need no protection during winter and seem totally happy to sit that season out either above or below ground, and when they grow, boy do they go. The problem I have is them producing goodly sized flowers.

Strong winds from the North Sea "come howling in" all times of the year, and while those in early spring are truly cold, they do little damage to small leaves and stems, but in the summer they cause mayhem. But this year we've had only one such event, at the end of June, which unusually came from the west, but was strong enough to bring down a support, shearing off parts of the Northdown, plus break and dump the Bramling Cross into next-door's garden. Since then the weather has been kind and things are looking promising with many flowers beginning to form and some cones already a decent size on the BX. Hoping to get a couple of green hop beers brewed again this year. My attempt at drying hops last year was a total disaster and don't expect any better this year if I try.
Without patience, life becomes difficult and the sooner it's finished, the better.

User avatar
Cobnut
Drunk as a Skunk
Posts: 758
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2018 4:23 pm
Location: Ipswich
Contact:

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by Cobnut » Tue Aug 16, 2022 9:41 am

I am only on my second season of hop growing in the desert that Suffolk is this year.

My gardener (wife!) has done a sterling job of watering the plants that she feel need it (my hops included).

I have:

Prima Donna (First Gold) - did nothing last year, but I will get a small crop this year. Hopefully this will be augmented by an annual "donation" from my wife's cousin who grows these on his allotment, but does not make beer. Instead I make beer and he gets a few bottles. Fair exchange is no robbery.

Cascade: A decent first year crop last year (over a Kg --> 280g dried). It looks to be on track to produce a similar crop this year. I anticipate harvesting in a few weeks time.

Challenger: a small crop last year (74g dried) and it looks like I might get similar this year. This one sits in quite a narrow & shallow bed, so seems to have suffered more from the drought conditions we've endured this summer.

My method of drying the hops is a bit Heath Robinson and I keep meaning to build something more "organised", but this damned thing called "work" gets in the way of "home office" jobs. Roll on retirement!
Fermenting: nowt
Conditioning: English IPA/Bretted English IPA
Drinking: Sunshine Marmalade, Festbier, Helles Bock, Smokey lagery beer, Irish Export StoutCascade APA (homegrown hops), Orval clone, Impy stout, Duvel clone, Conestoga (American Barley wine)
Planning: Dark Mild, Kozel dark (ish), Simmonds Bitter, Bitter, Citra PA and more!

User avatar
Meatymc
Drunk as a Skunk
Posts: 836
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2014 8:36 pm
Location: Northallerton, North Yorkshire

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by Meatymc » Wed Aug 17, 2022 2:39 pm

Hop Garden.jpg
Hop Garden.jpg (538.04 KiB) Viewed 2096 times
Amazing what a 5 minute shower will do!

clarets7
Piss Artist
Posts: 231
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:56 am
Location: Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by clarets7 » Wed Aug 17, 2022 4:06 pm

Well, that puts mine to shame Meaty =D> How long have they been in?
"The paradise of the rich is made out of the hell of the poor" - Victor Hugo

User avatar
Meatymc
Drunk as a Skunk
Posts: 836
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2014 8:36 pm
Location: Northallerton, North Yorkshire

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by Meatymc » Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:27 am

clarets7 wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 4:06 pm
Well, that puts mine to shame Meaty =D> How long have they been in?
Varies from 3 to 5 years I think. I have 2 of each variety grown opposite each other so they can eventually intertwine without getting them mixed up. We live in a bungalow hence I have to train them in a zig-zag pattern which they don't really like and is prone to snapping the occasional bine when forcing it into an about-face but I get more than enough each year for base bittering and the occasional - but so far unsuccessful - clone bitter attempt.

They are almost bomb proof - just a question of getting established to full production from year 3 onwards.

Good luck with yours.

This is from the other end:
Hop Garden 2.jpg
Hop Garden 2.jpg (558.99 KiB) Viewed 2069 times

clarets7
Piss Artist
Posts: 231
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:56 am
Location: Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by clarets7 » Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:59 am

Excellent work Meaty! Mine have only been in their present position for a couple of years and this year much better than last, so high hopes for next year. Like you though I've had to train them quite low, they are now over an old metal pergola. I used to have Challenger and First Gold on a much higher structure, but that collapsed a few years ago and I never got around to re-building it. The First Gold must have died, but the Challenger sprawls everywhere, so I've just been taking root cuttings every winter and trying them in different places!
"The paradise of the rich is made out of the hell of the poor" - Victor Hugo

User avatar
Meatymc
Drunk as a Skunk
Posts: 836
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2014 8:36 pm
Location: Northallerton, North Yorkshire

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by Meatymc » Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:11 pm

clarets7 wrote:
Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:59 am
The First Gold must have died, but the Challenger sprawls everywhere, so I've just been taking root cuttings every winter and trying them in different places!
Interesting that you fear you've lost your First Gold. Mine has become the poorest performer of the lot although 3 years ago was by far the best. Having said that, I moved it when the 'hop garden' came into existence but must have missed a bit which is now rampaging through a long dead Photinia and looks like I can harvest that as well this year. Also now have another Northdown growing through my raspberry canes - again a left over from when I moved the parent plant some 3 years ago.

Cuttings are how I doubled up with the Cascade, Fuggles and Northdown and also have 1 of everything in pots - we were thinking of moving early this year and I needed to ensure I had something momentos to take with me :wink:

Where are you in the County by the way?

clarets7
Piss Artist
Posts: 231
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:56 am
Location: Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by clarets7 » Thu Aug 18, 2022 10:40 pm

Meatymc wrote:
Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:11 pm
Where are you in the County by the way?
Just outside Hebden Bridge, about 600 feet up and south facing. It does get very hot at times in the summer as we're well sheltered from both North and West, which is why I was a bit worried in the recent heat. I need a serious rethink though of the vegetable garden this winter as my raised beds have finally collapsed after 15 years good service, so I might try and incorporate some hop growing structures in there as well. I'll try and stick with dwarf or semi dwarf varieties, including a replacement First Gold, but I'll have to get a Fuggles as well.
"The paradise of the rich is made out of the hell of the poor" - Victor Hugo

User avatar
Meatymc
Drunk as a Skunk
Posts: 836
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2014 8:36 pm
Location: Northallerton, North Yorkshire

Re: Home grown hops 2022

Post by Meatymc » Fri Aug 19, 2022 4:39 pm

clarets7 wrote:
Thu Aug 18, 2022 10:40 pm
Meatymc wrote:
Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:11 pm
Where are you in the County by the way?
Just outside Hebden Bridge, about 600 feet up and south facing.
I'm a Heptonstall lad myself!

Post Reply