The Homebrewers Garden

[crookedeyeboy]

Anyone used/using this book at all? Ive just got a copy and wondered how much anyone might have used it?

Ta

[raiderman]

I can't see the point. Its not unthinkable to want to try your own hops. Look at the number of threads devoted to it. But hops aren't exactly challenging. I dug up a wild hop growing by my old local, its grown happily - rampantly in 2 houses now and self seeded to the extent of being a weed around the area! I pick the hops, dry em and brew and wrap whats left up and they store well.But I can't see the point in trying growing grain, just think of the space it will take up?, how will I get a combine into the back garden? imagine the wife's reaction to me ploughing up the lawn!
I've tried malting I know a farmer who grows barley for Greene King and got hold of a sackful of barley, perfect grain, correct moisture profile low nitrogen, just trying to malt 5kg is bloody hard work, I didn't have the room, tried malting in a bucket, it got too wet, started fermenting, which left me putting trays of soggy malt into the oven for drying and roasting - carry on brewing. Amazingly I managed to brew with it, used my own hops and with 5kg of malt produced a fairly weak but drinkable beer. Never again!

[boingy]

I'd love to know if the book actually advocates growing and malting your own barley. That's like recommending that you make your own brew gear by digging for iron ore, coal and whatever mineral chromium comes from...

[raiderman]

According to Amazon "This book is a fantastic resource but for the fact that it is focussed on growing in America and so the resources listed (of which there are many!) are all for the US and many of these don't ship abroad (I am from UK). Despite this the book is an excellent introduction to sourcing, growing, harvesting and preparing not just hops but all major ingredients for brewing your own beer. And it has some interesting recipes to use these ingredients too. Worth buying, particularly since there aren't a great number of books on this subject"
Buy this book and within weeks you'll have poughed up your lawn, converted your shed to a maltings and your airing cupboard into a smoker for producing thoes exotic german smoked malts. Question is can you bring the harvest in and produce you first brew before the wife chucks you out?

[crookedeyeboy]

Well TBH what I should have said is 'has anybody a) tried the recipes in the back and b) followed the hop part'
Im not at interested in the over the top things like growing malt etc!
I know theres loads of stuff on hops I was just curious to see if anyone had the book...

[Befuddler]

How much garden space would you have to dedicate to hops to keep yourself in a decent supply? I would imagine 100g of dried hop flowers is a fair chunk of an actual living plant.

[Wolfy]

Last season I got 1.2kg from the five (1st year) hop plants grown in mum's vegie patch (3 more plants did not produce any cones), other home-hop-growers can get 1kg per harvest per mature (3yo) plant.
So it really depends how often you brew and how many hops you use each time.
I also 'grow' (reculture and save) yeast, but I have no plans to grow and malt my own barley, so not sure what help the book would be be.

[boingy]

Last season I got 1.2kg from the five (1st year) hop plants grown in mum's vegie patch (3 more plants did not produce any cones), other home-hop-growers can get 1kg per harvest per mature (3yo) plant.
So it really depends how often you brew and how many hops you use each time.
I also 'grow' (reculture and save) yeast, but I have no plans to grow and malt my own barley, so not sure what help the book would be be.

Are those fresh weights, Wolfy? 1kg fresh is equivalent to about 250g dried weight I think.

[grmills]

I don't remember exact weights but last year's Goldings was slightly over a kilo dried weight from one 3yo plant.