Wild hops found growing in fencerow

homebrewme · 10-22-2011, 12:53 AM

I live in a rural area of southwest Ohio and have discovered hops growing in a fencerow on my property that borders a cornfield. We have lived here ten years and the previous owners lived here since the 1940's. I'm pretty sure they were non-drinkers, definitely not home-brew types, so I'm guessing these plants may have been here a while. The cones are light green about 3/4 of an inch with a nice aroma when crushed. Any ideas on how I could identify a variety? I'm wondering whether they could be a native North American species.

**Yooper** · 10-22-2011, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homebrewme

I live in a rural area of southwest Ohio and have discovered hops growing in a fencerow on my property that borders a cornfield. We have lived here ten years and the previous owners lived here since the 1940's. I'm pretty sure they were non-drinkers, definitely not home-brew types, so I'm guessing these plants may have been here a while. The cones are light green about 3/4 of an inch with a nice aroma when crushed. Any ideas on how I could identify a variety? I'm wondering whether they could be a native North American species.

There are lots and lots of cluster hops around my area, probably planted 80+ years ago. Lots of people used them for ornamentals. Identifying the specific variety may be very tough.

**Greatlakeshops** · 10-22-2011, 01:06 PM

There is a slim chance they are native - which would be the Brewers Gold family. More likely they are a remnant of the Detroit brewery heydays. Think Tivoli, Ames, Stroh,Von Beer, Cadillac, Banner, Fritz, Pfeiffers, Goebels, etc.- all had growers in the region.
There were no high alpha types back then, so you can safely assume you have an aroma hop with alphas of 2.5 to 5%, with a relatively low yield. (compared to today's hybrids)
What is interesting IMHO, is that your discovery may be a surviving sport of a noble type that is more resistant to mildew - which is what wiped out the industry in the midwest areas. Natural selection is a wonderful thing - it's how many of our favorite hops were "found". Try to get a chunk of the crown and put it back into cultivation - good find!

hoppymonkey · 10-22-2011, 01:15 PM

I'd pay you to ship me a few rhizomes to experiment with.

I'd love to experiment with something like that.

homebrewme · 10-22-2011, 06:57 PM

Thanks for all the info. I think I am going to dig up some of the rhizomes and replant them in another area so they can be tended to more easily. Is this a good time of year to do this?

**Yooper** · 10-22-2011, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homebrewme

Thanks for all the info. I think I am going to dig up some of the rhizomes and replant them in another area so they can be tended to more easily. Is this a good time of year to do this?

Probably not in Ohio. Spring is a good time.

**extra_medium** · 10-25-2011, 03:30 AM

I found some near Dayton. They are growning near a creek by my house. They had seeds, so my guess is a true native hop, and obviously a male near by.

SALUTE!
~XM~

homebrewme · 10-26-2011, 01:25 AM

I'm not too far from you, between New Lebanon and Farmersville. Yes, I noticed some of my cones had a seed in them also.

mthompson · 12-20-2011, 05:56 PM

Seeds don't necessarily mean there is a male around. Hops can sprout male cones on a female plant when conditions are harsh. It is a coping method....a last ditch effort to have their genes survive. I picture them saying "Well crap, if I'm gonna die this year I might as well lay down some viable offspring to take this place over, where I have lived for the past 100 years or more, and have some fun doing it!"

Hops don't just have the simple XX or XY sex determinant genes, they have many dozens of them. If you remember back to those tic-tac-toe type square genetic diagrams, then stretch it out to 5 checker boards wide and 5 high; that's sort of how many plants determine sex. Newer varieties have been streamlined to have very little (if any) male genes left in them.

I grew wild hops this year. Left some on the fence row, but trellised them up 15 ft. and took some home and grew them in containers with good moisture and fertilized regularly. The container hops were fewer, but much better cone quality and aroma. I am going to dig some more up this spring and put them in the ground. We had a pretty hot and dry summer up here in WI (not compared to other places) and the hops left in place sprouted a few male cones here and there.

Used a few in a batches comparing wild to known first year hops (cascade and EKG). All of the beers were bland, with no hop character. I have yet to use the container "wild" hops and see what they are like.

Grow em, try em, and then decide what you want to do with them.

Hermit · 12-20-2011, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mthompson

Hops can sprout male cones on a female plant when conditions are harsh. It is a coping method.

So, they can go blank themselves?