So...You Want to Breed Your Own Hops.

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Hi folks-

Just ran into this thread as a new member. I live on a farm in NJ and have tons of hop vines across the property-- I'm guessing there used to be hop production many years ago. I'm guessing this because most vines produce very nice large cones and just seem 'commercial'. It's a 290 year old property so there might be a lot of history attached to them.

Over the years, I've selected one very vigorous and disease resistant clone-- I'm not a hophead but I get a an extremely intense peach aroma from them-- definately some passionfruit and maybe some very ripe mango. It's incredibly intense and pretty intoxicating. Only problem is the out of control growth-- absurdly vigorous. I've found it 30 feet up in a large ash tree.

I'd be willing to send out material to any folks interested with established breeding programs-- I've experimented with hop breeding and find it extremely fascinating but I've only made it through about half the thread.
 
Yes, I've definitely seen some male flowers, but I think they're coming off a female plant. Funny thing is I've only brewed with them fresh, but I've never found seeds in the kettle. I didn't have the idea to check them for seeds, I just figured "free hops!" I call them redneck Citra. Actually haven't brewed with them for a few years, I've been back at college before the cones come ready.


It's a mess of old vines all tangled together down a 30' section of fence and I can't tell whether it's all one plant or not. It's probably one big heap that's been there for a century or more.

I got a few PMs. I'll happily send out donations/make trades for any interesting selections. My only request is if you don't have an interest in hop breeding, please don't PM me looking for a free rhizome.
 
Yes, I've definitely seen some male flowers, but I think they're coming off a female plant. Funny thing is I've only brewed with them fresh, but I've never found seeds in the kettle. I didn't have the idea to check them for seeds, I just figured "free hops!" I call them redneck Citra. Actually haven't brewed with them for a few years, I've been back at college before the cones come ready.


It's a mess of old vines all tangled together down a 30' section of fence and I can't tell whether it's all one plant or not. It's probably one big heap that's been there for a century or more.

I got a few PMs. I'll happily send out donations/make trades for any interesting selections. My only request is if you don't have an interest in hop breeding, please don't PM me looking for a free rhizome.


haberlet, how do you know it's disease resistant? Have you been inoculating? Do you have disease pressure? There are numerous factors that go into determining whether a plant becomes diseased or not, so I'd be hesitant at stating something without first showing some evidence.
 
Hey Blue-Frog,

Wow! so here's my thoughts cuz I've received a half dozen or so requests.

1) I don't want to overly excite folks. Although I'm a fairly experienced homebrewer, I drink very little beer. I like to think I have good sensory abilities, but the very juicy peach and passionfruit I get might not exist in another micro climate or to another nose. I think it's a very exciting wild cultivar but don't want folks to be dissapointed.

2) I'd love to ship to Japan but slightly concerned about cost, and moreso custom laws. I'm not a freak about legality but don't want some ridiculous fine for shipping a rhizome. I'd have to do some research first, but the idea of spreading it to another continent seems awesome and I'd love to.
 
Hey Blue-Frog,

Wow! so here's my thoughts cuz I've received a half dozen or so requests.

1) I don't want to overly excite folks. Although I'm a fairly experienced homebrewer, I drink very little beer. I like to think I have good sensory abilities, but the very juicy peach and passionfruit I get might not exist in another micro climate or to another nose. I think it's a very exciting wild cultivar but don't want folks to be dissapointed.

I've done a number of hop rubs and single hop tastings...its pretty funny how much people's flavor perception changes with suggestion. If you say, "Do you taste the grapefruit?" 90% will taste grapefruit. Hand them the same sample and say, do you smell the banana?" and about 90% can smell banana. There are very few people who experience a beer the same.


2) I'd love to ship to Japan but slightly concerned about cost, and moreso custom laws. I'm not a freak about legality but don't want some ridiculous fine for shipping a rhizome. I'd have to do some research first, but the idea of spreading it to another continent seems awesome and I'd love to.
There are a lot of laws regarding shipping plant material. Do you research before shipping anything international.
 
There are a lot of laws regarding shipping plant material. Do you research before shipping anything international.

You have to do your research with shipping plant materials between states as well.
About 10 years ago two USDA agents showed up at my door looking for an orange plant I bought on Ebay. I had no idea at the time there was a citrus quarantine out of Florida but the USDA was going to put the seller in prison. THEY DO NOT PLAY AROUND. I was lucky only having to provide a formal statement, the USDA was tracking down each of the few dozen plants to be destroyed and criminal case being built against the seller.
 
I've done a number of hop rubs and single hop tastings...its pretty funny how much people's flavor perception changes with suggestion. If you say, "Do you taste the grapefruit?" 90% will taste grapefruit. Hand them the same sample and say, do you smell the banana?" and about 90% can smell banana. There are very few people who experience a beer the same.

Dan, I'm all over this, and have been for many years. It seems to happen with many things 'beer related' as I just saw this from another site: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/108283875356362018119. Then I looked up a description of the beer: http://www.stbcbeer.com/live-pale-ale/. Do you think the description of that beer had any influence on the commentator's analysis? Sorry for getting off the topic but marketing is magic . . . and sensory perception is quite variable from one to another. Best bet is to rub and sniff and get an idea of what they have to offer, then taste a beer brewed with them and then make your final decision.
 
Hey Blue-Frog,

Wow! so here's my thoughts cuz I've received a half dozen or so requests.

1) I don't want to overly excite folks. Although I'm a fairly experienced homebrewer, I drink very little beer. I like to think I have good sensory abilities, but the very juicy peach and passionfruit I get might not exist in another micro climate or to another nose. I think it's a very exciting wild cultivar but don't want folks to be dissapointed.

2) I'd love to ship to Japan but slightly concerned about cost, and moreso custom laws. I'm not a freak about legality but don't want some ridiculous fine for shipping a rhizome. I'd have to do some research first, but the idea of spreading it to another continent seems awesome and I'd love to.

Re 1)
Don't Worry; I have no greater expectation than the possibility of an entirely new experience!
It would be interesting to cross it with the Japanese plants I have though....

About aroma quirks,
one of my German hops gave me really intense "car tire" the first season I grew it here....
Luckily, the second year things changed and "Bridgestone Brewery's Tire Beer" was never brewed.

Some bad things do just go away.

Re 2)
To my knowledge, (I did actually check!) there is no specific quarentine nor prohibition on hops entering Japan.
There is however a general pest inspection for rhizomes... I have seen the inspection at Narita and it goes very smoothly with clean plants.

There is no requirement that the plants be inspected stateside; commercial entities seem to feel obligated to do this but it is not requied by the US goverment; it is designed to make things flow more smoothly at the destination. (It states so in black and white.)

If things go well and you do decide to send something, I could send a pre-addressed envelope/box with my name as both the sender & reciever... and pay postage via pay-pal.

Anyhow, despite whatever, I guess there is still lots of time before spring.
It probably won't happen, but there is a tiny chance I might attend the History of Beer conference in Colonial Williamsburg next year, if so that is another option.

Best wishes,

bf
 
Happy Valentine's day folks ! Love is sprouting here... first Canadian Redvine crosses are popping right now. I took the seeds out of the fridge Friday night. Next batches to be taken out will be Neomex, 1 single Willamette seed, Mathon. And plenty of other crosses that still have at least 1 more month in stratification. 2016 will be a great year !! :tank:
 
Agreed, 2016 should be a great year.
I plan to start my seeds in the greenhouse in 3 or 4 weeks. That should given them time to grow a bit before my May 1 target outdoor planting date.
 
I am also excited to pull my seeds form the fridge, but have decided to wait until early March.

For the past few years, I have been sprouting way too early and end up with plants outgrowing their containers before the temps are ready outside.
 
I am also excited to pull my seeds form the fridge, but have decided to wait until early March.

For the past few years, I have been sprouting way too early and end up with plants outgrowing their containers before the temps are ready outside.

Well, way too early here too, but I just cannot resist. I need a couple of them to help me to forget that winter is not over yet. I think that I am addicted to sprouting hops seeds. Should start an association, something like HBA (Hops Breeders Anonymous), with a meeting every week during winter.
 
I just sowed a few containers. I still have some seed left fir later but im getting a litttle ancy for spring. I hope i didnt start them too early. Cant wait to attempt to create my own variety. I obtained seed from usda last summer. Seeds been in fridge since. I was starting some stuff for my garden and figured why not get some hops started. Now im hoping they dont take over my living room before spring.
 
I just sowed a few containers. I still have some seed left fir later but im getting a litttle ancy for spring. I hope i didnt start them too early. Cant wait to attempt to create my own variety. I obtained seed from usda last summer. Seeds been in fridge since. I was starting some stuff for my garden and figured why not get some hops started. Now im hoping they dont take over my living room before spring.

They will probably invade your living room, but you will surely enjoy it anyway ! :)
 
Remember how I said I was going to wait until March? Turns out the hop seeds had other ideas.

Over 100 seeds decided to sprout inside the fridge.

image.jpg
 
Remember how I said I was going to wait until March? Turns out the hop seeds had other ideas.

Over 100 seeds decided to sprout inside the fridge.


Yeowza, what temp and how long were they in there? Shouldn't have been peeking so much, that light probably set them off?
 
I've seen seed germinate in as few as four weeks or take as long as ten weeks. I imagine part is related to sampling, unless you sowed all thousand seed produced from a given cross. Some of it is likely related to seed maturation as well, since the seed is not fully mature until after the cones will have been dried and brown on the plant.

Anyways, which cross did this originate from?
 
Yeowza, what temp and how long were they in there? Shouldn't have been peeking so much, that light probably set them off?

They were placed in damp vermiculite, bagged, and thrown in a darkened crisper drawer at the bottom of the fridge last October. This is the same process I have used for the past few years - with 2 exceptions:

1) I previously used perlite rather than vermiculite. I thought the white roots might be easier to spot on the darker material.

2) I normally pull the seeds out in early Feb.

Not sure which one made the difference, but I am glad I caught them in time. Found 20+ more sprouts this morning. Most are now greening up under lights and looking good.

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I've seen seed germinate in as few as four weeks or take as long as ten weeks. I imagine part is related to sampling, unless you sowed all thousand seed produced from a given cross. Some of it is likely related to seed maturation as well, since the seed is not fully mature until after the cones will have been dried and brown on the plant.

Anyways, which cross did this originate from?

There are 5 various, non-related crosses. Some are 2nd generation from my plants and others are open pollinated samples nice people have sent to me.

Some of the seed was 2-3 years old. Some was just harvested.

Wish I could pinpoint the exact cause. These are the best germination rates that I have seen to date.

My best guess is the switch to vermiculite (vs perlite, sand, or wet paper) - it seems to hold the seeds at the perfect moisture level.
 
I just looked at mine for the first time since putting them in the fridge in December. Before stratification, I has soaked seeds2 hours, then 10 minute soak in 1% bleach solution, rinsed, and placed in barely damp paper towels inside ziplock bags.
To my horror, all bags had developed mold and many seeds had started to germinate. Despite the large loss, I rinsed germinated seeds and planted in sterile seed starting media.
Ohh well, at least I have some survivors from two of my crosses, and wild seeds given to me from other members.
 
Popping in the fridge already. Planned for 3 month stratification, so I started on 12/19/15.

Some sterilized in 1 part household bleach to 8 parts distilled water in perlite moistened with distilled water. Some not sterilized - just in perlite moistened with distilled water.

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Spring never seems to cooperate here, so I wait to put mine anywhere. I might try placing some outside in the back yard next year and see what happens.
 
Popping in the fridge already.

It's crazy that everybody's seeds are popping at the same time - and in the fridge no less!

In previous years, it took weeks to coax a 10-20% germination rate. This year, I'm already approaching 80%. The only problem is, with nearly 300 healthy seedlings, I am running out of room!
 
After reading through this, I checked some of my seeds that I had in stratification. A lot of them sprouted in the fridge. I tried planting them in starter pots but none of them survived, I'll take it as a learning experience and never stratify for that long. Most of the seeds that I have left I'm just stratifying now, so should be ready for spring!!!
 
After reading through this, I checked some of my seeds that I had in stratification. A lot of them sprouted in the fridge. I tried planting them in starter pots but none of them survived...

I'm curious to know why they didn't make it. How did they compare to the sprouted pics I posted?
 
I'm curious to know why they didn't make it. How did they compare to the sprouted pics I posted?


I think there were a few factors with them, first there were mold spores in the damp paper towels, second they were rooted in the towel which I'm sure I damaged extracting. I also had them in the house fridge which runs about 4 degrees Celsius.
After the new seeds finish soaking, I'm putting them in a damp soilless medium, in my keezer, which I run at 1 degree Celsius.
 
Good plan. I prefer vermiculite/perlite for its ability to retain a good moisture level without clumping, but soiless "soil" should work too.

Wow, you like you beer cold! I keep mine at 42F (5.5C).

Keep us updated.
 
With all of the early risers dying off, I was still able to germinate some seeds from that batch. They're not only doing well, they're thriving. A couple of them are approaching a meter in height!!! I'm starting to run out of room for them and it will be a couple of weeks before I can plant them outside. How's everyone's plants doing?View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1459722293.189067.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1459722320.983512.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1459722341.910680.jpg
 
Slowly getting there. Not quite ripe yet, and that's among the most ripe cones. A few more weeks still, at least.
 

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Well, there's a number of threads that exist for this topic, there's a bit of redundancy. Late season is also a bit of a lull, we've already seen the plants grow, make flowers, and had plenty of time to share on those things, but haven't yet harvested and/or trialed flavor and aroma profiles.

If you've got a question you can always ask away, though. ;)
 
Due to my climate and soil, I've been holding off planting any hops, figuring they wouldn't do well here. Just discovered the neomexicano strain, and figured this one will work! Ordered some plants from GLH (not received yet) (Neo-1) and thought I'd give it a try, possibly in raised beds.
Where I live it is mostly hot and dry, but we do have a late summer monsoon season. Soil is mostly caliche, (think clay brick) hence the raised beds.
 
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