Harvest has started

The cascade was ready to pick so I cut down 1/2 of the bines yesterday and will get the other 1/2 later in the week after the first harvest has been dried and packaged.



I got two 5 gallon buckets off the first cutting!



Drying time.





I'll post the finished weight on this first harvest after it dries and is packaged.

The Hallertau will be next. It isn't quite ready which is a good thing because my hands are plenty busy with the cascade.

holy hell! that's insane!

Good deal man!

That is fricken beautiful. Wow!

What year are those plantings?

7-9 years old.

Last year I got 3 lbs 4 oz of cascade and just under 2 lbs of hallertau.

The Saaz and the Mt. Hood didn't do well last year but they look better this year and hopefully I can get a 1 lb of each from them.

Those look very, very nice.

Wow that's very beautifully nice. Could you post an overall pic of your trellis setup etc. (I'll check your gallery) How many hills did it take to get that first hop harvest?

Hmmmm now my first year harvest, which I 'was' proud of, seems somehow inadequate!

Schlante
Phillip

The hop plants you see are grown at a friends house. This particular couple loves to grow hops strictly for decoration. They don't brew!

In fact, they used to just let the cones turn brown, cut down the bines and throw everything out in fall!

So naturally I offered to put them to a much better use! In turn, I help them cut back the bines and I keep them in homebrew all year. Pretty good deal for me! :rockin:


The cascade are several rhizomes (3) that grow up strings to a pergola where it then creates a shade canopy for the patio. (Very cool to sit and drink beer on a summer day under the canopy of hops!)

The hallertau grows on a standard trellis until it reaches the top and he then runs several strings to the peak on the house.

You should make your neighbors write a clause in when they sell their house

After sitting out since Monday morning, the hops were ready to be packaged.

The total yield from the 08 harvest of Cascade was 4 lbs 1.6 oz. It's IPA time!

I am so jealous! Can't wait til next season to plant mine.

Let's see, 4 lbs. at $30+ per pound....carry the 1....yep, you suck!

Nice haul!

Wow, that puts my wimpy first year crop to shame. Hey, I'm in Oak Creek too, guess I can't blame the weather... Damn

Glad to hear Cascades are coming ready in southern WI. I've got first year Cascades that I think are ready. Looks like this should further my intuition.

Cookiebaggs said:

After sitting out since Monday morning, the hops were ready to be packaged.

The total yield from the 08 harvest of Cascade was 4 lbs 1.6 oz. It's IPA time!

Click to expand...

If its anything like the IPA you made last year with those hops... yum.

Good Lord! Nice harvest. This really makes me want to plant my own next year...

Yup, same IPA as last year. I've been holding off making an IPA to stretch the hops until harvest.

Thanks Al! I'm glad you liked it.

My cascades are not ready yet. The aroma just isn't there.

But a single 2 year old brewers gold gave up nearly 2#'s wet today...ya!

uuurang said:

But a single 2 year old brewers gold gave up nearly 2#'s wet today...ya!

Click to expand...

Sweet! Let us know the finished weight.

The cascade aroma was out of this world when I packaged it today! Oh if I could bottle that smell!

That's it.

Cascade trellis going in next year. No way around it.

I am itching to start on my final harvest for the year but, I still have lots of burs on several plants that are actively coning. I recognize that burs will form almost continually but, I want to wait it out and let them do their thing.

I am thinking around here I may be able to stretch last harvest into mid or late september.

I harvested yesterday and got nearly 4# wet off 1st year Cascade (one rhizome). I am definately getting more cascade rhizomes in hopes to quadruple my output. These grew a foot a day sometimes, and covered my ten foot trellis wihtout hitch.

I also have 2 fuggle rhizomes that produced very little, but they are yearlings as well. Next Sturgeon Moon will be a site.

Great find in those cascades and what a beautiful crop.

- WW

From what I've seen, Cascades are a very good producing first year hop. Wish mine would have survived.

I picked, dried and packaged the Mt. Hood.



Definately smaller cones.

I got 3/4 of a 5 gallon bucket that when dried, yielded 12 oz.

Hallertau will be picked tomorrow.

I got nearly 2lbs of Cascades dried weight this year off a second year rhizome, and an additional 2 lbs combined from my Magnum and Willamettes. Everyone take a moment to thank the Hop gods for a fine harvest year!

Jeepsn beer said:

I got nearly 2lbs of Cascades dried weight this year off a second year rhizome, and an additional 2 lbs combined from my Magnum and Willamettes. Everyone take a moment to thank the Hop gods for a fine harvest year!

Click to expand...

That's awesome! THANK YOU HOP GODS!!!

It's looking like 2.5 to 3 lbs of hallertau this year!

Thanks for the image Cookiebaggs. I think you have just identified my mystery hop. Small more open than cascade and Nugget. How's the aroma? Seems nice but not real intense more delicate. Not at all like my Cascade and Nugget which blows away my nose...in a good way.

Cookiebaggs said:

I picked, dried and packaged the Mt. Hood.



Definately smaller cones.

I got 3/4 of a 5 gallon bucket that when dried, yielded 12 oz.

Hallertau will be picked tomorrow.

Click to expand...

balto charlie said:

Thanks for the image Cookiebaggs. I think you have just identified my mystery hop. Small more open than cascade and Nugget. How's the aroma? Seems nice but not real intense more delicate. Not at all like my Cascade and Nugget which blows away my nose...in a good way.

Click to expand...

The aroma of the Mt. Hood is as you describe. "Delicate" is a good adjective.

Not quite as "in your face" as the Cascade. I'm thinking about using some of the Mt. Hood in a brown ale.

Cookiebaggs said:

The aroma of the Mt. Hood is as you describe. "Delicate" is a good adjective.

Not quite as "in your face" as the Cascade. I'm thinking about using some of the Mt. Hood in a brown ale.

Click to expand...

good choice brown ale. I'm thinking Oktoberfest. Then again I have enough for both of these and a few other

My first reaction was being utterly amazed, now I just hate you guys.

Looks like I have a project for next year. Where do you guys get good rhizomes from?

Cookiebaggs that looks amazing!

This may sound like a really dumb question, but are you sure those are cascade hops? I only ask because I've never seen cascade hops flare out on the edges like that. Mine are nice and compact looking. You can check out a video here: Homebrew Junkie . The ones you harvested look more like the EKG that I have growing. I'm just curious. That's all.

nystevecf said:

Looks like I have a project for next year. Where do you guys get good rhizomes from?

Click to expand...

Freshops has rhizomes.

are you sure those are cascade hops?

Click to expand...

The first hops I posted at the begining of this thread are Cascade for sure.

dwarvenspirits said:

This may sound like a really dumb question, but are you sure those are cascade hops? I only ask because I've never seen cascade hops flare out on the edges like that. Mine are nice and compact looking. You can check out a video here: Homebrew Junkie . The ones you harvested look more like the EKG that I have growing. I'm just curious. That's all.

Click to expand...

I think the hops open up when they dry down. My Mt Hood has done this. BUT I don't know about the others. I pick Cascade this week and will know more soon. C

Cookiebaggs said:

Freshops has rhizomes.




The first hops I posted at the begining of this thread are Cascade for sure.

Click to expand...

They are out until March 2009, is that normal?

nystevecf said:

They are out until March 2009, is that normal?

Click to expand...

Yes, rhizomes are sold in the spring. March seems to be about right.

My Cascade made it to 1 stem 4 inches high Next year I'm going to dig a big hole and put some better dirt in it and cage it in to prevent the lawn guys from continually weed whacking it.

There are some nice eye candy shown on this thread. Mine are still not ripe enough to pick yet.