Side Arms Already?

I was tending to the hop plants yesterday afternoon, and I realized that a couple of plants (Saaz and Hallertauer) are already putting out side arms just 7-9 inches above the ground. I know these varieties are early finishers, but is something like this normal? They're only a few feet high. I'm certainly not worried or anything like that, just curious. This being their first year, I'm pretty much going to let them grow wild anyway, though I will be trimming the lower foliage once the plants are tall enough.
Upon reflection, I wonder if I didn't somehow coerce them into putting out sidearms. After my Crystal took a beating in some wind, I attached the young bines to some sticks to give them a little strength. We finally got into some good weather, and the bines quickly grew beyond the tops of the sticks. I was a little late in getting the trellis up, so for a week or so the bines were flopping around a bit before getting trained onto their ropes. I wonder if this didn't trigger some side arm development, as they're coming in right above the tops of the sticks.

Chris

Nope! They will put out side-armlets (not a word, but seems to fit) at the leaves as they grow. They will get longer and longer the farther up the bine you go. They'll stay this way until around the equinox, then spring out and (hopefully) produce flowers. My four-year-old cascade is doing it at 12+ feet the same as my baby centennial and mt. hood are at 18 inches. Don't worry about wind damage. As long as you have a growth tip they should stay small until July.

Thanks for the info!
As far as the wind damage, it seemed like the bine had all but broken below the soil surface. It was still attached, but barely, and was just flopping around in the breeze. After I tied it to a stick, it was pretty much dormant for a couple weeks, but seems to have mended itself and is growing again.