What one hop should I grow?

I live in the midwest and want to find the best one to grow probably just for dry hopping. I am a big IPA fan so something floral and grapefruit like. I am leaning towards Cascade or Columbus so far.

I'm growing cascade and colombus. If your wanting them for dry hopping your on the right track. Combus is like super cascade. Combus would be the higher alpha 14-16 aau compared to cascade's 4-7 aau they both have similar flavor/aroma.

Centennial/ colombus.

Just a sidenote (perhaps you know this already): plant your hops away from the rest of your garden. They can quickly overgrow other plants and are really difficult to remove. Keep an eye out for any 'seeking' branches which are looking to grab onto something.

My mom had hops in her garden and they overgrew some plants she was really fond of. I had to painstakingly unwind every single branch. Then I dug it up and discarded it. Years later, it stills pops up every so often -.-

Cascade hands down for a first time grower. Great first year producer.

Cascade and Columbus would be good to start. I have good success with Nugget, which can bitter just about anything.

That's a tough (Cascade) question. There are so many (Cascade) hops you could grow (Cascade), it's hard to pick just one (Cascade). What kinds of (Cascade) beers do you normally (Cascade) drink? What (Cascade) hops do you normally (Cascade) brew with? Is there a certain (Cascade) hop that your local (Cascade) brew place is out (Cascade) of? If I were in your (Cascade) situation I would probably (Cascade) go with (Cascade) Columbus.

If only one... I concur... Cascade. Columbus might be better for bittering but Cascade fills a lot of criterion. It is one of my favorites.
But, from what I have read on home grown hops, unless you send some off for an analysis, it is best to use the hops as late additions for flavor and aroma. Use commercial hops for bittering.

When growing hops, you need to be aware of disease and insect issues.
Cascade hops are moderately resistant to mildew but highly susceptible to aphids. Check with any hop growers in your area and see which varieties do best with the least amount of chemicals.

My greatest yielding hop has been Cascade. Zip code 10573 to compare growing ranges. Mt Hood and EKG have not produced well, but that may be location driven; their trellis structures get less light. Halletaur seems to like the same area enjoyed by my cascades. Just make sure they have plenty of loose soil to spread, trim to the best 3-4 runners and create a way for them to climb over 20 feet. Mine are capped at about 16' and they flop over and intertwine. Harvest gets complicated and becomes a single event when they lop over on themselves.

I would mix it up with a couple of different types if you have the room. I planted hops that were 1, 2 and 3 year old plants and older plants were well worth the money. Bugs and diseases may make one hop out do another. I use my hops for bittering, late addition and dry hopping. Cascade a great hop but my slowest growing one I have. It is shocking how bugs may tare up one plant and mostly ignore another.

I'm gonna go with Cascade then. Thanks all!

If you need Rhizomes I will sell again in the spring.

cascade and/or citra

spagnot said:

I live in the midwest and want to find the best one to grow probably just for dry hopping. I am a big IPA fan so something floral and grapefruit like. I am leaning towards Cascade or Columbus so far.

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Centennial would be my suggestion. Cascade is nice but not a great IPA hop (APA maybe but not IPA), IMHO. Plus, cascade can have some grassy character associated with it when used in quantity. BUT, you'll get twice the yield (or more) from cascade than you will from centennial.