Red Bine? Anyone see this before?

Got this one from my local brewery. The guy said it was some sort of Cascade hybrid that only grows in the shade. Well, I planted it in partial shade and it's doing fantastic.

But it's unlike any hop I've seen. The bine is probably about 4 times thicker than anything I've ever seen (almost the size of a US dime!) and it's red with light green leaves.

Anyone know what variety this is or have seen it before? (It's about a 3 year old rhizome)





And just for ****s and giggles, here's a 4 year old one that I received as well (Possable canidates for the type: Cascade, Mt. Hood, or Saaz)

My Mt Hood started off real thick and a little red like yours, but yours being the size of a dime is huge. Mine were about pencil thick. Once they got about a foot high, they started greening up

Possibly Sunbeam as that's the shade loving one and has the lighter colored leaves.

I ran across this thread, it's the only time I've seen anything about a red vine. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/any-one-use-canadian-red-vine-hops-17294/

Canadian Redvine.

..........

I hope it's Canadian RedVine instead of Sunbean...Sunbeam sounds kinda crapy.

Would you guys say the leaves in the picture look lemon yellow or light green (I know color will vary from monitor to monitor).

Hard to say, it's close between light green and yellow.

Light Lemon Green?

I'd say wait it out. Let it flower, dry em, and try em. Maybe your soils will give it something different and make it worthwhile. Maybe not.

Anything at this point would be speculative.

My Centennial bine has started out red. Looks like a medium size red asparagus right now.

dontman said:

My Centennial bine has started out red. Looks like a medium size red asparagus right now.

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My Centennial, Cascade and Willamette all started off red.

As have my Brewers Gold, Crystal, Tradition, Magnum, Zues, and Sterling.

I think most all of mine have started red and eventually greened up after some sun exposure.

The only variety that I grow that has broken ground and is green is Hallertau. The Cascade, Mt. Hood, and Centennial are all red now. They'll green up as they mature. Except for maybe the cent. Last year was it's first and it had some pretty red bines with some green areas all the way up.

Ok, so the verdict is still out then it seems. If they are still red into the season I'll have two ideas for what they will be. Thanks guys.

Okay, gotta ask.

What's with the bits of white string?

Could the soil pH affect the colour of hops?

GilaMinumBeer said:

Okay, gotta ask.

What's with the bits of white string?

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The hops wanted to remember something so I thied the string around them as a reminder.


I'm starting to train them so I am bundling the together so they twist around each other.

The string looks like more of a hinderance than a help, they will mostly train themselves. Kind of like a cat.

anderj said:

The string looks like more of a hinderance than a help, they will mostly train themselves. Kind of like a cat.

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It'll come off soon. I just did it today since they were coming up a little bit aways from each other. Once they start to wrap the string will come off. It's loosly tied on there

I have 2 mt.hood vines, 1 has red shoots and the other dark green

Highlandsbrew said:

I have 2 mt.hood vines, 1 has red shoots and the other dark green

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Are they in different locations/soil/lighting?

Plants in the Spring often sprout with a red color because the ground temperatures are too low for it to process minerals in the soil that aid in photosynthesis. As soon as the ground warms, the plant turns green.

This is what Sunbeam looks like. Note the bine and the leaves are almost the same yellow-green.

I thinjk the red comes from a P or maybe K defiency. It probably is P because a lot gets used up during root formation.

My bine that is red does get shade from a privacy fence on the west side of it later in the day, the other is in full sun all day.

anderj said:

The string looks like more of a hinderance than a help, they will mostly train themselves. Kind of like a cat.

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Cats don't train themselves. They train you.

My Mt. Hood did the exact same thing.
The bine is now about 3 feet tall and very thick.

Liberty is also red, maybe a little more purple, and persists throughout the season, not just yound shoots. Many plants have young shoots that are redish due to anthocyanins produced in the tender tissue for protection. Anthocyanins are antioxidants

Well, bummer news, it turns out that this is a Sunbeam which is "ornamental". Anyone ever use them before in a brew? How do they taste?

According to the USDA and Freshops, Sunbeam is

an ornamental diploid hop which is not intended for commercial production. However, the cones could be suitable for flavoring beer and ales especially of a Saazer-type aroma profile is desired.

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In other words, it should be delicious, but YMMV.

So what do you guys think? Should I use it with a Pilsner, probably should skip out on an IPA with it though.

Just an update: The hops are growing faster and faster (about 6 inches a day):

Main hops:


Shade hop (Sunbeam):


I've noticed that when it starts to get moiste out (like when it's about to rain) the coco coir really sags (as seen in the first pic), anyone have this problem?

It sags but when it dries it goes back to its shape. It is one of the notable characteristics of the stuff.

anderj said:

It sags but when it dries it goes back to its shape. It is one of the notable characteristics of the stuff.

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*few*. I was getting worried.