Been thinking about growing hops, but not sure.

[all_about_stouts]

Hey everyone,

I've been wanting to grow hops for some time, but I'm trying to decide whether it would be worth it. I used to garden a few years ago and I really enjoyed it and got some good results.

I live in South Florida, which I know is not ideal, but some people have been able to successfully grow hops. I have done some research, and have decided that Centennial and Willamette would be good choices if I decide to grow.

Is it worth it? I brew beer as a hobby and this will be an extension of that, since I do like to garden.

Also, is there a benefit to buying plants? I was going to buy a field grade plant from Great Lakes Hops, but they are slightly more expensive than buying rhizomes.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[muybrewski]

Go for it. I was in the same boat about deciding to grow my own hops or not. (Now I don’t have any space left in my yard for any more). If you enjoy home brewing and gardening growing your own hops is the thing to do. Great Lakes Hops is the best place to go. They have awesome customer service, if you have any growing questions they would be able to help you out. Buying a plant that is established versus buying a rhizome is a no brainier. I would talk to them about which plants would be best for your climate. I am not sure how willamete would do being that it is a little picky.

Great Lakes is also having a spring sale on some of their plants.

 

[all_about_stouts]

I ordered a Centennial field grade plant, and I later decided to change it to 2 plants. I called today and the woman who answered was very nice and said she'd try to change my order and they'd let me know whether they could modify it, or just cancel it and make a new order.

I'm excited and can't wait for them to arrive. I have the perfect spot for them. Now I have to get it all set up. Any good resources for preparing the spot where you're going to plant the hops?

 

[Homercidal]

I love growing hops. I highly recommend Great Lakes Hops. A crown would be best to get it going faster. Rhizomes will take a bit longer.

With good fertilization, plenty of sun, and plenty of water (not soaking) they should do ok. That's pretty far south, but they are fairly hardy plants (cascades are anyway...)

 

[sweetcell]

Is it worth it?

how do you define if something is "worth it"? purely financial? amount of enjoyment extracted? amount of work required?

you'll get better answers if you ask specific questions...

and +1 for GLH. you'll be pleased with them.

and before centennial and willamette, i'd got with a cascade. they'll grow anywhere.

 

[all_about_stouts]

how do you define if something is "worth it"? purely financial? amount of enjoyment extracted? amount of work required?

you'll get better answers if you ask specific questions...

and +1 for GLH. you'll be pleased with them.

and before centennial and willamette, i'd got with a cascade. they'll grow anywhere.

Well every hobby has it's worth. The problem is, there's no universal unit of worth for hobbies. I would probably not enjoy stamp collecting too much but others do. And many people would rather buy some beer off the shelf, but we like to brew it and make our own.

So I meant, can I actually harvest enough hops to use it in my beers, despite that I'm in South Florida? It now seems like I can, and I'm pretty good at gardening and do enjoy it. So I've decided that it is worth it.




Ok so now that that's out of the way, I need to decide which one to grow. It seems that Cascade is the most popular for these hot, humid climates. It seems to be acceptable for bittering and aroma, which is what I'm looking for. What are the limitations of the kinds of beers I can use it in? I would like it to be as universal as possible. Most people seem to prefer Centennial and I believe they should also be able to grow in all climates right?

Oh and Great Lakes Hops lists Centennial as field ready, which I understand is a more mature plant that should be easier to grow.

 

[Homercidal]

I grow Cascades like crazy up here. They are like weeds!

But I'd really prefer to have Centennial, myself. The cascades haven't impressed me when I've made beer with them. I've got some Chinook and some Hallertauer that I am trying to get to grow better. I may move some of them to a better location.

I suggest planting cascade for the fact that they are probably the easiest to grow, but you should also grow whatever you will want to use in your beer. For my cascades this year I am seriously thinking about just letting other people come and pick them for me and take them home. I just won't brew with them much.

 

[all_about_stouts]

I grow Cascades like crazy up here. They are like weeds!

But I'd really prefer to have Centennial, myself. The cascades haven't impressed me when I've made beer with them. I've got some Chinook and some Hallertauer that I am trying to get to grow better. I may move some of them to a better location.

I suggest planting cascade for the fact that they are probably the easiest to grow, but you should also grow whatever you will want to use in your beer. For my cascades this year I am seriously thinking about just letting other people come and pick them for me and take them home. I just won't brew with them much.

Yeah that's why I'd rather Centennial. Most people tend to agree with you. I'm only going to grow one type of hops, so I want to make sure it's the best possible choice. Is Centennial much harder to grow than Cascade?

 

[sweetcell]

centennials aren't as hardy and don't produce as much. i have both growing side-by-side, and the cascade produces about 3 times more because it grows bigger & faster.

i've been very happy with the aroma of my cascades.

 

[all_about_stouts]

centennials aren't as hardy and don't produce as much. i have both growing side-by-side, and the cascade produces about 3 times more because it grows bigger & faster.

i've been very happy with the aroma of my cascades.

I actually prefer more of an aroma hop. I'm not a huge hophead and I don't like the super double IPAs. I think I'll go ahead and change my order to two cascade plants. Thanks a lot for the help. I was trying to figure out how much more cascade I would need to equal the same IBUs as centennial, and it looks like I'll need about 1/3 more, but it seems that cascade will outgrow centennial by much more than that, and I think I'll like the citrusy aroma from the cascade.

Thanks for the help. I can't wait until I get them.

 

[all_about_stouts]

I just called Great Lakes Hops to change my order again. They were extremely nice and I asked him to change my order from 1 Centennial plant, to 2 Cascade plants. I told him that we could cancel the previous order and make a new order and he said it was not a problem, that he would tell his shipping department to change it to 2 Cascade plants and the second plant would be free!

Awesome customer service and amazingly nice people. Absolute pleasure to deal with them!

 

[all_about_stouts]

I got the hops today! I planted them already and I'll be setting up the trellis tomorrow or Saturday.

Also, they came packed in rice hulls. I saw on an old thread that that you can use them to brew, so what do you guys think? Should I save them to add them to the mash when I use something like wheat? Not sure if they're safe to use.

 

[temple240]

If they're actually rice hulls go for it! A small handful goes a long way.

 

[all_about_stouts]

Yeah they're rice hulls. The website even says they come with rice hulls. It's a whole box of rice hulls. I'm going to save them in plastic ziplock bags.