How are all your hops doing that you're growing?

Head First

Head First

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My 3rd season of growth on the Centennial is up 6 feet and we have only had a few days over 70F.
I have some Cascade starts from a friend in pots that need transplanted and still have 2 more varieties to get rhizomes from friends and get going this year.
 
Wish I had some have thought about it but just haven't put them thoughts to action. Hear they are a temperate plant not so suited to the subtropics where I live. When you harvest the buds do you need to dry them out before you brew with them?
 
Mine have yet to be planted. I don't have the space to grow them at my house so my parents are planting them but I kept forgetting to give them the rhizomes. They finally got them last weekend so I'm hoping they will go in the ground this week.
 
Trialben said:
Wish I had some have thought about it but just haven't put them thoughts to action. Hear they are a temperate plant not so suited to the subtropics where I live. When you harvest the buds do you need to dry them out before you brew with them?
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I don't have any growing but there are some wild hops growing close by.Picked a load last year and dried them out,made a bitter with some.Was ok .trouble is the AA is unknown!
In answer yes,dry em out.However they can be used green.We have a brewery or two over here that brew green hop or wet hop beers:cool:
 
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Trialben said:
Wish I had some have thought about it but just haven't put them thoughts to action. Hear they are a temperate plant not so suited to the subtropics where I live. When you harvest the buds do you need to dry them out before you brew with them?
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Yes dry them out to store(vacuum seal) but you can add green hops. Some say they get grassy but to me the citrus wipes that out. The fresh Cascade were awesome.
It is difficult to guess the IBU of homegrown hops. There are places to send off samples to get exact results but what fun is that.
Last year we grew several pounds so with exbeerimentation we have an IPA(which I'm drinking right now) that is bittered with the HG Centennial(4oz in 10 gal), and finished with Amarillo & Citra. YUM
 
Myndflyte said:
Mine have yet to be planted. I don't have the space to grow them at my house so my parents are planting them but I kept forgetting to give them the rhizomes. They finally got them last weekend so I'm hoping they will go in the ground this week.
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Dig way below where the roots will be and put good compost down there to give them a reason to shoot roots down and bines up. I've been gardening for over 40 years:)eek:wow it has been that long) and haven't found a plant that doesn't like good compost.
 
Head First said:
Dig way below where the roots will be and put good compost down there to give them a reason to shoot roots down and bines up. I've been gardening for over 40 years:)eek:wow it has been that long) and haven't found a plant that doesn't like good compost.
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Yep i try and make my own as with everything:rolleyes: it takes time for everything to break down but if you persevere youll end up with nice rich fuel for your plants.
 
Mark D Pirate said:
Great use for spent grain , I don't have a compost bin at home so give them to neighbors to feed chickens and compost
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Yep they dont last long afyer brew day 2 days and youve got a putrid smelly ness on your hands. At that hombrew comp i went to they has some bread that was made out of spent grain it was delish i couldn't get enough of it definitly worth a go at.
 
Head First said:
Dig way below where the roots will be and put good compost down there to give them a reason to shoot roots down and bines up. I've been gardening for over 40 years:)eek:wow it has been that long) and haven't found a plant that doesn't like good compost.
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Agree
i was always trying to get customers to either allow me to form a compost heap or get them to do it,most just said oh nooooooooo i will smell:rolleyes::)
Suplemental feeding is important as well.
 
they used black and red clay as fill dirt here so I added a bunch of black dirt and manure but the issue is it still packs together like cement ,not good for weak roots so I have to dig a big hole for each plant and add a puddle of water with a cal-mag plus mixture in the bottom then store bought compost on top and to fill in around the plant, once the roots get started they seem to bore through the thick soil, the good thing is my soil holds water very well
 
Trialben said:
Yep they dont last long afyer brew day 2 days and youve got a putrid smelly ness on your hands.
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I am always impressed at how "bad" my spent grains smell the day after brewing. I generally brew afternoon/evenings and toss the grains the next day...and they already smell distinctly off by that point, ~12hrs later.
 
sbaclimber said:
I am always impressed at how "bad" my spent grains smell the day after brewing. I generally brew afternoon/evenings and toss the grains the next day...and they already smell distinctly off by that point, ~12hrs later.
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If I were going to use mine in bread (or cookies, or even dog biscuits, all of which I've seen), I'd pull them out and, if I weren't mixing them into the dough pretty much immediately, get them into a refrigerator or freezer. It's amazing to me how quickly spent grain goes stinky. I usually either chuck mine into a composter or if it's cold enough they won't stink badly, mix them directly into the mulch in my yard.
 
the bad news is spent grain is just the perfect temperature an food for bacteria to grow and it will sour your grain in as little as an hour if its humid longer if not, it also seems to attract earth worms in my yard and that attracts birds and moles, moles will destroy my yard in a day so as soon as mine cool I add to a sealed garbage bag and it’s in the trash hopper immediately
 
Ozarks Mountain Brew said:
attracts birds and moles, moles will destroy my yard in a day so as soon as mine cool I add to a sealed garbage bag and it’s in the trash hopper immediately
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i had to giggle at this , to an aussie birds and moles are both terms for various types of females ....moles being the very unpleasant type and would destroy my house , yard and my life quickly !
 
Amazing how diverse a places we all live moles ive never herd of them except for on me back dam it! Ha ha i tell ya nosey that spent grain bread was soo tasty i took some to bed with me. I had had 12 pluss hours tasting hombrews though but mmmm it was yummy.
 
I throw my spent grains into the hog yards. They don't eat it, too low in anything but fiber. They do work it into the soil better than I care to bother with.
 
I recon if you were to make bread out of it youd need to wash the husks off? Maybe submerge grain in water mix it and the husks should dloat to the top decant that then bake on.
 
Trialben said:
Amazing how diverse a places we all live moles ive never herd of them except for on me back dam it! Ha ha i tell ya nosey that spent grain bread was soo tasty i took some to bed with me. I had had 12 pluss hours tasting hombrews though but mmmm it was yummy.
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Might have to try some. I have just the right sourdough recipe for some spent Helles grain.
 
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