Hi all--
My great-great-grandfather planted hops on our farm in Montana before or around 1920. I don't know the variety. Probably cluster, if cluster existed then, or maybe they're a rare (or even otherwise extinct) old German variety that some member of the family brought with them. I don't know if he ever brewed beer, but we do know that he had a still and made moonshine before or during the depression. The still is still in the attic of the shop.
I brought a couple hunks or rhizome to Illinois a few years ago, mostly to plant for shade and privacy around our deck. I've not yet brewed with them, (in fact, I've never brewed at all) but will be doing so very soon.
I'm not looking for identification--I know it's not possible with these (or any) pictures. I just feel like sharing the photos. This is only a small part of the harvest, which was several paper grocery bags full--and I left probably half the cones on the bines due to badly timed rainstorms and a flooding basement. They smell great--hoppy, floral, a little spicy--and make your hands sticky when you harvest.
Oh, the tip: use an open umbrella as a picking container. Hard to miss, even if you don't look where you're dropping the cones (unlike a bucket or bag), light, easy to move around. It can be on the ground catching hops even if you're up on a ladder.
If anyone knows a source of info about the history of hops in America, let me know.
Olaf
Here are a few photos of the hops
My great-great-grandfather planted hops on our farm in Montana before or around 1920. I don't know the variety. Probably cluster, if cluster existed then, or maybe they're a rare (or even otherwise extinct) old German variety that some member of the family brought with them. I don't know if he ever brewed beer, but we do know that he had a still and made moonshine before or during the depression. The still is still in the attic of the shop.
I brought a couple hunks or rhizome to Illinois a few years ago, mostly to plant for shade and privacy around our deck. I've not yet brewed with them, (in fact, I've never brewed at all) but will be doing so very soon.
I'm not looking for identification--I know it's not possible with these (or any) pictures. I just feel like sharing the photos. This is only a small part of the harvest, which was several paper grocery bags full--and I left probably half the cones on the bines due to badly timed rainstorms and a flooding basement. They smell great--hoppy, floral, a little spicy--and make your hands sticky when you harvest.
Oh, the tip: use an open umbrella as a picking container. Hard to miss, even if you don't look where you're dropping the cones (unlike a bucket or bag), light, easy to move around. It can be on the ground catching hops even if you're up on a ladder.
If anyone knows a source of info about the history of hops in America, let me know.
Olaf
Here are a few photos of the hops