Does Anyone Grow their Own Hops?

what's up, so i was thinking of growing a few different hops in my garden this year, never made beer before but a buddy is moving up here and has all the stuff so we're gonna give it a go!! 2 of my fav beers i can think of now off the top of my head is SEIRRA NEVADA 'Estate' AND CHATOE ROGUE First Growth 'OREgasmic Ale' both are from organic hops grown on their properties and i think thats why theY taste so delicious.. so thats why we're gonna try..

so, does anyone grow hops? different kinds? beginner level? expert level? i've heard it's a very similiar plant to pot, but i know nothing about it?? similiar as in the way it grows or what? all i know is, i love delicious beer!!..

ALL DISCUSSION IS ACCEPTED, +REP TO THOSE WITH GOOD INPUT

I have a buddy who's parents own a hop farm out here, every summer at harvest time we'd be helping harvest all the hops while smoking on our buds perfect thing is that when I got pulled over once with a bunch of bags of hops and just hot boxed my car the cop thought the "weed" smell was from the hops haha I can't say I know how to grow them or anything, just thought I would share the story, good luck man.

If you like SNPA then you like CASCADE hops. They make for nice privacy cover and grow like the weeds they are but like bud, different regions will grow vastly different quality. I love Cascades but would hesitate to use home grown ones over the ones that I can buy commercially.

AA% is a big componont to using hops. Home grown just don't have the high percentage of glands and one would have no idea how much bitterness they may or may not bring except though trial and error.

Cascades are 12 buck a pound out here. No need to cut corners on the really. But they are great for 'hedges'. They will take about 3 years to hit full maturity though.

oh wow, 3 years? woah, don't know if i'll be here for 3 years and the winters get kinda rough? maybe could do them in some pots? take with? thanks bro, i'll look into cascade.. i do like se pale ale but that estate is somthing else.. i wish everyone on earth could have a bottle delivered to their doorstep for free just so they could try it and taste what incredible beer tastes like!! appreciate ya bro, prolly buy some hops and still try to make some good beers!!

problem is dude, is the mix ur gonna use for the brew. I brew my own beer and ale, and while its all about the quality of ale, at the end of the day its whats else thats in it.

no beer is made just from one kind of hops. id recomend going to a homebrew shop and trying out a few recipies. then when youv got what u wanted,then grow what kind of hops u use.

but in fairness, try just a kit. you can get cheap ones, and the beer would be ready to drink in a month.

back to the hops though, they grow really tall, i doubt ud be able to grow them in a pot.

if u do try tho, fuggles and challenger are two good types.

hell ya, no doubt.. thanks homey.. someone was tellin me to look at the mr beer website and i did, seemed pretty cool, i'll check around online and shit..

100% perfect avatar. lol, i've seen her in some other ad before i think..

They winter well. Just prune them back and bury the stubs. You'll get some hops the first year but it is typically year 3 when they look like a wall of vines.

If you really want to grow hops, I would visit this forum:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/

yo thanks bendbrewer... i appreciate ya bro!

I am on my third season with a Cascade vine. Got it @ the local farmer's market two years ago for 6 bucks. The first year, it yielded a paper shopping bag's worth of green goodies, which I used to make a batch of Hibiscus Stout (my own recipe...g'head and try to find a hibiscus beer anywhere!). Turned out very tasty. Last year, we got mites real REAL bad, but decided to harvest anyway, just to see how much we would have had. We filled 5 bags of the same size! I can already tell that this year's harvest is going to be awesome, but I need to take better precautions to avoid spider mite infestation. Will get you some pics when I can.

Truth B Known said:

i've heard it's a very similiar plant to pot, but i know nothing about it?? similiar as in the way it grows or what?

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not similar more closer than that, they are related to each other genetically and can be grafted together.
Ever wonder why a beer tastes "skunky" when it got left out in the sun ? it's the hops breaking down in the beer.

I am on my third season with a Cascade vine. Got it @ the local farmer's market two years ago for 6 bucks. The first year, it yielded a paper shopping bag's worth of green goodies, which I used to make a batch of Hibiscus Stout (my own recipe...g'head and try to find a hibiscus beer anywhere!). Turned out very tasty. Last year, we got mites real REAL bad, but decided to harvest anyway, just to see how much we would have had. We filled 5 bags of the same size! I can already tell that this year's harvest is going to be awesome, but I need to take better precautions to avoid spider mite infestation. Will get you some pics when I can.

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nice, 5 bags.. word up.. i hope one day, i can be a master and create the best of both of them!!

- to keep my pot happy healthy and bug free i use a mix of:

in 32-40oz spray bottle mix:
1oz dutch masters saturator
1tsp dyna grow neem oil

i spray after suns going down every 3 days (or when lights go off indoors)

and every so often, beginning, middle, 4th week, transplants, i put a 1/4 tsp azamax in there..

from beginning thru 4th week of flower.. maybe you could try the same on your hops this year?

not similar more closer than that, they are related to each other genetically and can be grafted together.
Ever wonder why a beer tastes "skunky" when it got left out in the sun ? it's the hops breaking down in the beer.

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wow, trippy bro, makes sense.. very interesting.. !!!!

You can smoke hops. It gives you a sedative affect. Tastes decent, too. http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/3170487

Then you are going to need one of these:

i really wana try that estate ale...looks insane!

nice setup bendbrewer, dont really know what i'm looking at but it looks like its well done..

and yes lozac, that beer is fucking incredible, look for it on the shelves in west coast nice beer places (whole foods, liquor stores) dec-jan

its an all grain brewing job...a lot of work, but the result is superior. how much did that set you back bendbrewer? i havent ventured into all grain yet...but i have every intention of!

I wonder if they have estate ale over here...

I think the last time I stopped counting I had about 1200 bucks into that rig. I have my beer down to about $3.50 per gallon making 10 gallons at a time. With the pump I am able to perform every step of the process with a beer in hand. I have a pretty productive 1/4 acre.

wow bro, thats f'n amazing.. make good beer for $3.50 a gal, while having a beer in your hand!! sounds like a brewer dream!

If you don't already have the rhizomes, it's far to late this year. Not sure where you are but watch out for mold/mildew.

Hibud Ganjamanjutu said:

I am on my third season with a Cascade vine. Got it @ the local farmer's market two years ago for 6 bucks. The first year, it yielded a paper shopping bag's worth of green goodies, which I used to make a batch of Hibiscus Stout (my own recipe...g'head and try to find a hibiscus beer anywhere!). Turned out very tasty. Last year, we got mites real REAL bad, but decided to harvest anyway, just to see how much we would have had. We filled 5 bags of the same size! I can already tell that this year's harvest is going to be awesome, but I need to take better precautions to avoid spider mite infestation. Will get you some pics when I can.

Click to expand...

magic hat had a hibuscus ale in the 2010 winter odd notion series....damn good i would like to try yours if at all possible.