First Year Quality?

**gwood** · 06-20-2008, 06:20 AM

What type of expectations should I have in terms of AAs and aroma properties from first year plants?

I know that measuring AAs is tough but it's of little concern to me. More so than anything I guess I'm just wondering how much of an educated guess can I make with each first year strain based on past experiences with commercial versions? Will there be changes in terms of AAs and aroma potency between first year and second or beyond? Does having jumbo rhizomes impact anything other than just vegatative growth (They ARE more prolific in every sense)?

They are just going nuts lately in terms of cone production and vegetative growth but I seem to recall reading that the first year isn't as viable in terms of gauging the true quality of bittering or aroma. Does this ring true based on experience or things folks have read?

Aleforge · 06-24-2008, 10:53 AM

From what I have learned so far first year production usually means a much smaller crop. Not so much a lower quality one. I would guess if your plant is producing like crazy and your getting good cones. The hops should turn out pretty good and not really lack much of the properties they are suppose to have. Obviously second and third year crops will have an edge, but I think you will still be happy with what you have.

And jumbo rhizomes usually establish a little faster then their smaller counterparts.

I am no means an expert though, I just picked up this information from here before I planted mine. Although mine are not doing to well. Just have a few beers so I sound more right.

**gwood** · 06-24-2008, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taipans

From what I have learned so far first year production usually means a much smaller crop. Not so much a lower quality one. I would guess if your plant is producing like crazy and your getting good cones. The hops should turn out pretty good and not really lack much of the properties they are suppose to have. Obviously second and third year crops will have an edge, but I think you will still be happy with what you have.

And jumbo rhizomes usually establish a little faster then their smaller counterparts.

I am no means an expert though, I just picked up this information from here before I planted mine. Although mine are not doing to well. Just have a few beers so I sound more right.

Sounds about right. I haven't had time to do much in the way or reading as of late and was wondering if anybody was going to chime in.

Danek · 06-24-2008, 10:57 PM

From what I've read ("The Homebrewer's Garden"), the AA% is unaffected by the age of the hop plant. I believe that in the absence of specific AA tests, the best default assumption for home-grown hops is that they will be at the high end of AA estimates for the variety of hops. The reasoning behind that is that store-bought hops will have been stored for a long period, and that their AA will have deteriorated during packing and storage - obviously this is not a problem with home-grown hops.

As I understand it, the biggest problem with young hop plants is that they have an underestablished root stock, which is why their yield is poor, relative to more established plants. The AA value of the hops they do produce is generally at the high end of expected values.

**david_42** · 06-25-2008, 01:53 PM

Flavor and aroma oil levels don't change much year-to-year.