Homestead Hops Variate

[Freedom]

Hi everyone, I live in the mountains of Montana at 5300ft. There was an old homestead cabin near me that probably (?)dates back to the late 1800's- early 1900's

The old farm cabin is just about gone, but the hops plant is still growing strong and totally buries what little there is left of the little cabin in the fall.

I brought home a couple rhizomes in 2015 and they grow so well and smell fantastic after a couple years to establish.

Is there any way to test the hops to see what strain it might be?? Or does anyone know what hops may have been available or was common in SW Montana at the turn of the last century?

Thank you all.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Is there any way to test the hops to see what strain it might be?? Or does anyone know what hops may have been available or was common in SW Montana at the turn of the last century?

It is possible to do DNA fingerprinting to ID hop varieties, but it costs. Someone who's familiar with the local hops could have a good guess based on characteristics like the colour of the mature stem (ie not the freshest green bit just behind the tip, but lower down on this year's growth, including the colour of any flecks or stripes), the colour of the leaf stalks if different, the shape of the leaves (very variable), shape and size of the cone, harvest time and so on.

There's three main possibilities of what it could be.

The most likely is one of the Cluster family - before Cascade and friends appeared in the early 1970s, the US hop industry was >95% Cluster, particularly on the West Coast. So I'd take a close look at Cluster and see how it appears/tastes in comparison to yours.

It's possible it's one of the mess of mostly European varieties grown on the East Coast up until the late 19th century, an industry that was finally wiped out by Prohibition but which had been losing ground to the better conditions on the West Coast for some time before that. But if you know that you had settlers come direct from the East then it's possible they brought hops with them, especially if they had eg German ancestry. I guess the big question is whether your plants came direct from the east or via Oregon/Washington.

It could be a genuinely wild hop - I don't know what species you have around there.

But without knowing anything else I'd say there's probably a 75% chance that it's a Cluster.

It's worth talking to your local agricultural extension people to see what they know, otherwise most of the heavy-duty research on hops and hop history out your way is based in Oregon, especially Oregon State in Corvallis which hosts the Oregon Hops & Brewing Archives etc who have done a fair amount of research about the spread of hops west.

 

[bonecitybrewco]

It very well could be var. Neomexicanus depending on where in Montana you are. If the bush where it’s growing is original, it's worth a closer look. Being near a farm and around an old farmhouse COULD indicate it is a cultivated variety from Europe as well. Easiest way to tell without DNA testing is from the leaves. Neomexicanus leaves are thinner and the blades are more individualized than common hop varieties (lupulus, pubescens etc). Also, there will be mostly 5 blades instead of mostly 3.

Photos:

var. Neomexicanus

VS.

var. Lupulus

 

[mashpaddled]

Cluster might make sense if you took the rhizomes from an old hop farm. In an old farm it is extremely likely they kept one or two plants for homebrewing which might be derived from anything from something they found growing native to something they bought that came from any number of European sources. It might be a European variety that is no longer grown widely anymore or an older Hallertau.

 

[Freedom]

Thank you guys.. I really appreciate the pictures and information!

My plant defiantly looks more like the Neomexicanus picture. The plant I transplanted was most likely homebrew or decorative.

I live in the SW corner of MT near Bozeman, and I am not aware of any "wild" hops...but I could be looking in the wrong spots?
My family homesteaded here in 1860 from Ireland/Belgium and the only old plant I know of on our farm died in the 1980-90's after my aunt died, before I had interest in hops. It was decorative according to my aunt that tended it. I remember she told me in the 70's when I was a kid that "it's what makes beer bitter". ;-)

 

[bonecitybrewco]

Here's another neomex picture. It helps illustrate the 5 bladed leaves.

 

[Apimyces]

Leaf shape is not a great help to identify strains.

 

[bonecitybrewco]

Leaf shape is not a great help to identify strains.

With Neomexicanus it is. If you’re talking Var. Lupulus vs Lupuloides vs Pubescens then no.

 

[Apimyces]

Little identification game then?

Samples 1 to 8

 

[Apimyces]

Little identification game then?

Samples 9 to 16

 

[Sylvain]

Neomexicanus or not Neomexicanus ?