Growing beer hops. Anybody done it?

[john70t]

Located in Michigan.

[myamoto1]

No personal experience (yet), but a friend of mine has tried growing a few different types. He planted them last year and wasn't enough to harvest. I haven't been over to check out if this year's "crop" has yielded any more bounty, but since he hasn't said anything about it, I'm guessing the output hasn't really improved.

Overall, the plants look healthy. I just have a feeling you need a LOT more than what he has planted to make it worth your while.

This is all in Portland, OR area, so we're in a much more mild climate than Michigan.

[pwd72s]

Hops are a regular crop near Woodburn, OR....that's what? 40-50 miles South of Portland? Don't know much about growing them...but they do need space.

[teenerted1]

all the good hops come from the pac nor west or germany
http://www.beerinfo.com/index.php/pages/Typesofhops.html

[legion]

Isn't a hop a vine? Do they take a few years before they really yield much?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Had some Cascade Hops growing in a flowerbox garden outside my place in CA for a while - yes they'll grow fine but you have to keep them pretty watered and ideally provide some strings or stakes for them to cling to (yes, they're vines). They're also very sticky and not very pleasant plants to brush against (they're kind of rough and abrasive too). But they smell nice. And they'll create some blossoms pretty quick that can be harvested.

[red-beard]

I grew some in Mass the last summer I lived there. I had planned to use them for aroma, since I couldn't know the IBUs. I use twine tied to a tree branch and staked to the ground, and then trained the hop vines onto the twine.

This was 12 years ago...

[myamoto1]

Originally Posted by legion

Isn't a hop a vine? Do they take a few years before they really yield much?

Hey Chris - it's a vine as previously stated. My buddy had them growing on some twine tied to a tree and some stakes. Last time I saw them, they weren't very high. I have no idea how quickly they grow. He bought them as little 4" starts and by the end of last summer I don't remember them being all that much taller.

Not sure if it's from too little sun or too much (yeah, we can actually have that here in the summer ). I know he has a sprinkler system for his garden, so I don't think it was for lack of water.

red-beard - do you remember how long they took to establish?

[einreb]

My neighbor grows them (Chicago burbs). He has long twine to the top of his garage on the southern exposure and they do pretty well. He bought vines that were already 'started' and I think he got some hops the first year. This year they are really coming in strong.

My understanding is that he still used purchased hops for his brewing process, but intends to use the ones he's growing as a 'flavoring agent' at the end of the process. I may have not quoted that correctly, but he makes good beer.

-B

[dhoward]

I grow Hallertauer and cascade along my fence. Have for 15 years. You have to plant a root cutting in the spring. Takes 2 years to get anything harvestable.

[James Brown]

Man, I have hops all over the place! Can't get rid of them. They die out every fall and I cut them down and every spring there back. They grow 15-20 feet in 3 months, i call them beer plants!! they smell great.

[NutmegCarrera]

Planted them at our previous house. Set up a trellis against our garage exterior (end of the building). They reached the roof within a couple of years. I did brew a batch of beer with them, despite not knowing the IBU. Came out o.k. Harvesting for use is a bit of a PITA, though, as the useful part of the hop is resin - and it gets everything pretty sticky. You need to lay them out on screens to dry out. We were able to freeze ours. Once you get sick of them, they're pretty hard to get rid of.

Have fun!