TheBreweryUnderground

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So this year I'm stealing some space at a friends farm to try hop growing. I was wondering if people had any suggestions for growing in Northern Illinois and what things to look out for. I'm probably going plant 4-5 different varieties to see what works out and to hopefully have more hop options. I'm thinking cascade, willamette, columbus, saaz, and hallertau unless these varieties are particularly terrible in my area. It should be a good spot on top of a hill (if such a thing exists in Illinois) where it will drain well. If anyone on here has experience growing in the area I'd love to hear from you.

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“… Besides, the Word is the principal part of baptism. If in an emergency there’s no water at hand, it doesn’t matter whether water or beer is used.” ~Martin Luther

mux

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Good luck, are you using rhizomes? I want to grow hops this year in my backyard, I'll be watching for any experienced growers comments.

TheBreweryUnderground

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I was also hoping to start a group buy thread but I'm a n00b. Most places I found do wholesale prices at a hundred. I have a decent amount of space to work with so I could take a good number of them but don't think I could take 100. I found organic rhizomes for $3 wholesale so if anyone is interested and wanted to start a group buy thread that would be awesome.

__________________
“… Besides, the Word is the principal part of baptism. If in an emergency there’s no water at hand, it doesn’t matter whether water or beer is used.” ~Martin Luther

mux

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I'm in. What varieties are available?

BBBF

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I ordered from Freshops a couple years ago. I went with Nugget and Cascade, which did pretty good the first year and gave me way more than I need this year.

mux

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I wonder if they would get citra?

TheBreweryUnderground

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I was looking at this site: http://www.northwesthops.com/
Freshops doesn't offer wholesale from what I can see and I like supporting the smaller farmers although they're still a good option if buying individually. Northwest does wholesale at 100 with a max 4 different varieties in quantities of at least 25 so thats somewhat limiting. I sent them an email so I'll let you know when I hear back. I'm thinking Cascade and Willamette are solid choices that can work for a lot of different styles, plus maybe Mt Hood for lagers/aroma and Centennial for high alpha acids/bittering. But we could take a poll to see what varieties people would be interested in.

__________________
“… Besides, the Word is the principal part of baptism. If in an emergency there’s no water at hand, it doesn’t matter whether water or beer is used.” ~Martin Luther

TheBreweryUnderground

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I haven't seen Citra available anywhere or Amarillo or Simcoe!

__________________
“… Besides, the Word is the principal part of baptism. If in an emergency there’s no water at hand, it doesn’t matter whether water or beer is used.” ~Martin Luther

TyTanium

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Make sure they get as much sun as possible. I planted some rhizomes in different spots in my yard - full sun w/southern exposure did great (though no harvest this year); partial sun barely grew at all. The difference was amazing.

I ordered 5 rhizomes from Northwest Hops last year - 2 Cascade & 3 Centennial. They were all in good shape when I got them, but only 1 of the 3 Centennials made it Probably my error though.

I'd be interested in a wholesale purchase - looking to expand my selection...and I haven't been able to find Amarillo or Simcoe either.

TyTanium

Recipes 

PS - great Martin Luther quote...did you know his wife was a brewer at her convent before she left to marry him? Talk about marrying up!