Wild hops?

**tchuklobrau** · 07-27-2011, 01:34 AM

What is the general consensus on finding wild hops? can you get lucky and find good ones? or generally are they bo smelling and lost all that they were grown for? and if you get rhizomes from these wild hops can they be "re tamed"?

**Retrofit** · 07-27-2011, 02:32 AM

To many variables to answer this question.

The entire premise of a wild hop is that it's "wild". Specifically, wild hops are not a uniform variety they are hops "out there", not on a farm, or in your yard.

I've spoken with several farmers in Wisconsin. Pre-prohibition, Wisconsin was a large producer of hops for beer for the entire nation. Hops were grown, gathered, put on trains, and moved to where ever they were processed.

It was common for hops to fall off the train and it common for hops to grow around old rail road ways in Wisconsin. Some of these hops are noble hops- specific varieties with a specific alpha, and flavor, and aroma, and if you took a cutting and put it in the ground it would be just like the hop that originally fell off the train.

Other have cross bred and they are... well they are whatever they crossed bred into. Factor into that soil, water, and seasonal weather, then there are just to many factors to say, they are 'good ones' or 'bad ones'. It's a shot in the dark.

The wild hop you find might be terrible, and the wild hop I find might be a noble hop, or some heirloom hop that's been tweaked into something better.

I have a friend growing hops from the Mineral Point of area of Wisconsin. Are they good? We don't know yet. I'm going to try get my hands on a pound or 5 and make a SMASH and see if I can get a general profile of what this hop might have been. Then if I like it, I'm going to get some cuttings from the same public park where he got them.

Hope that helps???

**B-Hoppy** · 07-27-2011, 07:47 AM

Hops are native to North America but the settlers did bring some over on the boat so there's probably some imported types and the native ones. I guess the imports would probably have retained their genetics unless they've been altered by being crossed by some native males. All the ones I've ever found were most likely natives as they were really catty/garlic smelling and this character carried over to the beers. If you take a rhizome cutting from the wild ones, the hops produced will be the same as the ones you picked unless you cross them with a male and use the seeds produced to start your own variety.

It's a cool thought to be able to start your own variety and maybe you can but the chances are pretty slim that you'll come up with something really desirable without knowing at least some of the lineage of the parents. You can do this but unless it has very desirable traits/characteristics, you'll most likely be the only one growing it. I've been growing a volunteer that came up in my compost pile for about 15 years now and I like the flavor and aroma she gives but she doesn't produce very well so I don't see her becoming the next Citra. It's fun, so keep at it if you get the chance.

ErieShores · 07-27-2011, 11:35 AM

Did you find some at the top of Zoar Valley? I was going to walk the ridge several years back and I noticed some clinging to a power line. I was going to take a few cones but decided against it.

**Airborneguy** · 07-27-2011, 12:00 PM

My friend brought me a ton of "wild" hops from the Cooperstown area last year. I dumped them all into a single beer, wet, as aroma hops in the last 10 minutes. It was the most floral, citrusy beer I've ever made. I went around telling everyone it was "wild" and "a mystery", until I went out one night and had a Sierra Nevada PA for the first time in awhile and realized that my beer was full of Cascades!

"Wild" hops are supposedly easy to find in NY because of the farming in the past, but while awesome if you find some, they are more than likely going to be recognizable once you brew with them.

**tchuklobrau** · 07-27-2011, 12:14 PM

no erie i did not mind them in zoar(lol u cant even acess most of zoar any more) actually researching for someone near dunkirk ny.

bierhaus15 · 07-28-2011, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airborneguy

It was the most floral, citrusy beer I've ever made. I went around telling everyone it was "wild" and "a mystery", until I went out one night and had a Sierra Nevada PA for the first time in awhile and realized that my beer was full of Cascades!

Chances are, if it was wild hops from CNY, it would be English Cluster or a similar variety thereof. The ones I've used for brewing were extremely grapefruity, citrusy, and a bit catty. One would almost think they would be west coast varieties, but they're not.

**Airborneguy** · 07-28-2011, 03:31 PM

I'll have to get some cluster and try it out. Any commercial beers you know of that use it?

**lschiavo** · 07-28-2011, 03:48 PM

I have a huge volunteer patch of hops in my backyard. Last year I didn't harvest early enough. The year before I was blaming my lack of brewing skill on the hops. This year I'm going to brew a beer with only my "wild" hops and see what happens. They do have a grapefruit piney aroma. I'll probably shoot for a pale ale. I wish they were ready to harvest now...I wanna brew with them.