Hop Growing 2009

[Jymbo]

My fuggles were well dried out after a few days in the attic so I bagged them and stuck them in the freezer today. I must say the aroma from them was excellent. Before I dried them I was a bit worried that they didn't smell like the commercial hops I'm used to. Lets hope they taste as good. Ended up with 116g in total after drying.

[legion]

I stumbled upon some hops growing in west malling in kent near the end of a pub hike yesterday. They weigh 134 grams before being dried but lots of them are turning brown and I discarded many Are they still okay if they are a bit brown?

[Aleman]

Those hops look fine to me . . . perhaps just a bit past prime picking condition still OK though . . . . . . And a lot better that hops from Youngs

[pantsmachine]

Picked my hops today. 1st year.
325g prima Donna
100g Northdown


Should be enough when dried for 2 brews or so. Really surprised at the 325g off the prima donna 1st year in!

[MartialAnt]

Picked my hops today. 1st year.
325g prima Donna
100g Northdown


Should be enough when dried for 2 brews or so. Really surprised at the 325g off the prima donna 1st year in!

My 102g of Northdown weighed a bit over 500g when fresh so i dont think you'll be making a very hoppy Northdown brew with what you got
The WGV i had filled 2 carrier bags bulging but only got 217g dried. And a carrier bag & half of B x gave me 125g. I was also expecting to be able to make lots of beer with em. Bit disappointing for all the effort it took harvesting.

But i shouldnt grumble for a 1st year crop..

[delboy]

The harvest is in 0.45 Kg of first gold and a nice decrative hop garland for the missus, hoping this should dry down to no less than 100g (late in the season and hops very papery already) shoud be able to squeeze two brews out of my very own terroir hops.

Its certainly a labour of love though, i can understand now why all those cockneys swapped hop pciking in kent for benidorm

[oblivious]

Its certainly a labour of love though, i can understand now why all those cockneys swapped hop pciking in kent for benidorm

[Belto]

I harvested 1KG approx from my first year Progress hops Wednesday this week, trying to dry them in a vented cardboard box (shaking box every day) in the green House and the weight is gradully decreasing..
I believe that light should be excluded, am I correct?

Also how is the AA % caculated,
from commercially supplied Hops it seems they vary from year to year

[Chiltern Brewer]

I harvested 1KG approx from my first year Progress hops Wednesday this week, trying to dry them in a vented cardboard box (shaking box every day) in the green House and the weight is gradully decreasing..
I believe that light should be excluded, am I correct?

Also how is the AA % caculated,
from commercially supplied Hops it seems they vary from year to year

Yes keep them in the dark! Don't shake them too violently or you'll find all the resin at the bottom of the box.

By trial and error I've found the amount of hops to use to reach the bitterness I desire. I make the assumption that I'll get roughly the average AA% for the variety - a percent +/- isn't going to make too much difference - there are other factors at play anyway. Alternatively you could just reserve your hops for flavour and aroma additions at/near the end of the boil.

I'm sure AA% must vary across a commercial crop? How many samples do they take to get a reading? Bines in certain areas of the hop garden must get more sun and warmth than others?

[coatesg]

Finally finished harvesting my 1st year Golding this week. I have 100g dried already in the freezer, with, I reckon another 100g or so after drying the current lot off (so that's a total wet weight of about 8-900g assuming they lose 75-80% weight in moisture). Not too bad at all for the first year in the ground - with luck enough to make a decent hoppy IPA (Durden Park probably), and then I needn't worry too much about not knowing the AA%

[fivetide]

Excellent thread as ever.

All my own hops are now dried and stored too!



Check out the update and a load of other pics if you fancy it.

[Chiltern Brewer]

So, this is what you can achieve after a few years and a good season...



From left to right: 435g Cobb Golding, 420g Challenger, 85g Prima Donna, 40g Unknown.

That's getting on for 1Kg or roughly £50* worth of hops!

This year the weather was so good in September that I was able to spread the harvest out over several weeks and get two pickings from my Cobb and Challenger bines. Next year if I get the Fuggle to crop I shall be pretty much self sufficient (much as I would love to, I don't think I fit in a Saaz or Hallertau bine ), as it is I think I will be making huge aroma/late hop additions!

For final packaging I decided to invest in a vacuum sealer. Brilliant! I wish I'd had one years ago. I can see that my hops could easily keep over 12 months should there be a poor crop next year for example. They will also take up far less room in the freezer.

* I've spent more than that just on new bines, supports and fertilizer this year. Then if you count the hours tending, picking, drying and packaging... oh well.

[fivetide]

So, this is what you can achieve after a few years and a good season...

Great isn't it? You beat me, but i was still pretty please with the free brews my 833g will give me!

Not without its hassle, admittedly, but rewarding hassle!

[Chiltern Brewer]

Yeh, but I have more bines so it's not a fair comparison - at least seven which sounds like an obsession!

That said I was picking on my own, and got to the point where I thought "do I really need to pick all of these?" so perhaps I could have picked even more.

I would definitely recommend the vacuum sealer if you are getting a sizeable crop. I don't think I would have had the patience to stuff those small bags, it was bad enough filling 22cm x 30cm bags with 80g of voluminous hops. When I told my sister tonight that I had a "new toy" her reaction was "what on earth did you get one of those for... oh let me guess - hops!"

Next year the challenge will be to get some hops off the Fuggle, and see if the "unknown" hop can be coaxed into to producing more. For now I just need to spend some time brewing this autumn/winter to start using them up. I fancy doing an autumnal ale with the Prima Donna/First Gold to get a nice orangey flavour. Your Bramling Cross might be nice for a Christmas/Winter brew?

I'll leave my bines alone now until the end of October and then cut them back to the ground and earth them up for the Winter.

[fivetide]

I've already brewed with the Fuggles and the WGV, I've just been too busy to tell anyone.