Recent content by nagmay

Oh, didn't realize the details of you location. I would never want to encourage anyone to do anything that would get them in trouble... but for anyone else reading this post: Koji is required to make traditional rice wines. It produces the enzymes required to turn the rice into fermentable...

Are you specifically looking for koji kin? This is the spores of Aspergillus oryzae - which is used to make the rice fermentable for sake, makgeolli, soy sauce, miso, etc... I have yet to make sake, but I have had success making koji by starting with the Koji Kin Started from Rice Essence. You...

Just want to put this out there: Commercial hops are not cleaned/sanitized If you are not worried about brewing with commercial hops, don't worry about your homegrown hops. In fact, the amount of insect/foreign matter allowed by the USDA can be quite surprising (you may not want to look it up)...

I can only tell you what worked for me. That said, I have observed that fresh roots have an aversion to UV. The beer bottle works so well, that I've used it for propagating other plants, including hard-to-root apple trees. It solves 2 major issues: Evaporation UV With fresh, spring cuttings -...

There are many, many ways to propagate hops. I have had success with all of the following: Rhizome cuttings (duh) Runner cuttings - these are horizontal white bines that 'run' under the surface Layering - laying bines on the surface and covering sections with soil to produce roots Cuttings...

Going well. The 8 contenders from the original crosses are now mature and producing a ton of cones. All taste good, but some of the flavors are really unique. Brewing IPAs about every other weekend to compare and contrast. We are also working with 9 new crosses (out of 500 seedlings) - with...

It all depends on location, but the males need to release pollen just as the female plants are starting to develop burrs. - so look for signs of those. If you do find wild males, try to bag the male flowers just before they open. I have done this with simple brown paper bags. A few days later...

Nah, counting them individually would take too long... Looking up the weight of an aphid shows ≈0.2mg per. That's up to .5g per 10g of cones. So, shake your cones out and corral all the buggers on the scale. Up to 5% aphids to your hop cones? Still good to go according to the FDA :drunk:

May seem a bit gross, but I wouldn't worry about it: Aphids are not inherently toxic Your hops were boiled during the brewing process There are also aphids in the commercial hops you buy According to the FDA, you are allowed up to "2,500 aphids per 10 grams" of hops. Let us know how it turns...

So, funny story. I've been focused on the the main hop yards that were started from seed back in 2013... but we also have another very small, second yard. Nearly 400 seeds were germinated in 2016. Unfortunately, we only had room for a 60' run of trellis. So, we packed the little plants in every...

Half of our experimental yard was first year plants - so I wasn't expecting much volume. Boy was that a mistake! Several of the crosses had piles of huge cones. The volume quickly overwhelmed my homemade oast. Had to lay the rest out and borrow an industrial dehumidifier to get them drying...

It's hop harvesting season!

^ sure, if you want to be exact ;)

Just to keep things clear for people who look back on this thread... The cones we use for brewing are the female part of the plant. Hops only produce seeds inside of these cones. When pollinated, a seed will develop at the base of each bract (petal) against the strig (core structure). The pods...

At room temps, it is hard to over dry, so give them a few days before bagging and freezing. How big was the section you planted - a full crown, or just a piece of rhizome? Planting a bigger piece will give you a jumpstart, but it can still take a few years to reach full potential. One last...