85 year old hop plant...

[pickles]

I think I'd mow that thing down to about 6-8inches off the ground this fall. Build a big ass trellis and train some of the rhizomes up the trellis. Fertilize well with organic matter this fall and in spring. That way you can easily harvest and they wont have to compete for space. Then dig up unused rhizomes (you'll have tons) and give them to us in some sort of lottery

 

[day_trippr]

Wow! It's a Hop Grove!

Good luck with the whole ID thing. I have four different strains growing and other than the outlier Fuggles they all look alike to me...

Cheers!

 

[j_treegirl]

Need to know about the "digging up rhizomes" thing too...always wondered how you propagate them so we could plant more elsewhere...I have grapes, but there you just take a good cutting and dip it in rooting powder...I have alot to learn!!!

 

[j_treegirl]

I think I'd mow that thing down to about 6-8inches off the ground this fall. Build a big ass trellis and train some of the rhizomes up the trellis. Fertilize well with organic matter this fall and in spring. That way you can easily harvest and they wont have to compete for space. Then dig up unused rhizomes (you'll have tons) and give them to us in some sort of lottery

I wondered if it would hurt it to cut it off...that's what I read on the internet and it said to mulch heavily around it, I was just afraid of killing it. I don't even know exactly where the thing comes out of the ground! Should be interesting...

 

[bkelley0804]

yay i'm glad she got the pics posted! we visited the plant area a couple days ago and i finally got to see it for myself. the smell is a bit piney and like she said, kind of a "marigoldish smell" as well. once they are "ready for harvest" i'm going to take some to my local homebrew shop to see if they can help identify the strain, and if not, at least tell me what beer style to brew with them. i'm guessing our big question to everyone on here (besides what you think the strain is) is what we can do to help maximize the hop production for the coming years? we've looked at different trellis pictures online. one that caught my eye is the M shape, where it goes up 5 feet, down 5 feet, then up and down again. any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.... thanks everyone!

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

Hops are pretty durable, as this one has shown through its decades of neglect. Commercially, they are harvested by cutting the bines off several inches above the ground and taking the entire bine in for processing to separate the cones from all the rest of the plant. The plants do fine with that. You'll be hard pressed to significantly harm the plant without chemicals or major mechanical assault on the roots.

If you are feeling insecure you could wait until after a frost kills it back, then clean it up. However, if you or a friend want the cones, it looks like your time is near. Do they feel papery? Crunch like paper when you squeeze them? If so, they're ready for harvest.

 

[bkelley0804]

not quite papery... a few are turning a yellowish brown but for the most part, they look light green like the one in the pic. do we have to put the cones through a drying/curing process before i can brew with them?

Hops are pretty durable, as this one has shown through its decades of neglect. Commercially, they are harvested by cutting the bines off several inches above the ground and taking the entire bine in for processing to separate the cones from all the rest of the plant. The plants do fine with that. You'll be hard pressed to significantly harm the plant without chemicals or major mechanical assault on the roots.

If you are feeling insecure you could wait until after a frost kills it back, then clean it up. However, if you or a friend want the cones, it looks like your time is near. Do they feel papery? Crunch like paper when you squeeze them? If so, they're ready for harvest.

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

bkelley is a faster typist than I, it appears. Hops planted in 1926 might be Goldings, or Hallertauer, or Saaz, or Cluster, or some other old variety. Most of what you LHBS (local homebrew supply) will have are much newer in origin than 1926. Can you get to these folks: http://www.uvm.edu/~pass/perry/hopvars.html for some help with identification?

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

When they are harvested they need to dry, and will drop markedly in weight then. There are plenty of threads here with screens or furnace filters used to create a makeshift "oast", the old term for a hops drier that I suspect "Pappy" would have been familiar with. You might see the stickies above, or the search function on the bar overhead. I just put mine on window screens in the air conditioned basement for about a week with good results. However, my bines are only second year, with modest yields, not 86 year veterans!

 

[bkelley0804]

haha thanks! vermont is kind of far from where we are located, but perhaps we can get in touch with them and get something worked out... determining the strain would be cool seeing as how long this plant has been around.

bkelley is a faster typist than I, it appears. Hops planted in 1926 might be Goldings, or Hallertauer, or Saaz, or Cluster, or some other old variety. Most of what you LHBS (local homebrew supply) will have are much newer in origin than 1926. Can you get to these folks: http://www.uvm.edu/~pass/perry/hopvars.html for some help with identification?

 

[bkelley0804]

so for example, i get around 4oz of hop cones this year, how much weight do you think would be lost during the drying?

When they are harvested they need to dry, and will drop markedly in weight then. There are plenty of threads here with screens or furnace filters used to create a makeshift "oast", the old term for a hops drier that I suspect "Pappy" would have been familiar with. You might see the stickies above, or the search function on the bar overhead. I just put mine on window screens in the air condition basement for about a week with good results. However, my bines are only second year, with modest yields, not 86 year veterans!

 

[B-Hoppy]

You'll lose about 75% of the weight so you'll end up with about an ounce of dried hops. To ID the plant, you might try the hop research center down in Corvallis Oregon. I would drop them a line and explain your situation. A fellow I spoke with was interested in obtaining native plant material and possibly 'older' varieties to add to the germplasm collection. They'd probably need at least 4 ounces or more dried to perform an oil analysis to positively ID your plant. It's worth a try if you're serious about trying to find the variety. Good luck!

 

[Jagdad]

If you're of German descent, I think you can pretty much rule out Goldings and Fuggle , cause they are English varieties. ( A good German wouldn't be caught dead drinkin' and Englishmans beer back in the old days, and vis-a-versa) Floral tones? German? I'd be leaning toward Hallertauer, or a Spalter type. You can compare the fragrance to some Hallertauer - if it doesn't match up, then Spalter is likely. Spalter has a unique floral tone, which may explain why it always took first at the fair. Good luck with it. If it is a old Spalter type, it should brew up some awesome Pilsners and Bocks.

 

[bkelley0804]

thanks for the advice! do you have a phone number or website for this research center?

You'll lose about 75% of the weight so you'll end up with about an ounce of dried hops. To ID the plant, you might try the hop research center down in Corvallis Oregon. I would drop them a line and explain your situation. A fellow I spoke with was interested in obtaining native plant material and possibly 'older' varieties to add to the germplasm collection. They'd probably need at least 4 ounces or more dried to perform an oil analysis to positively ID your plant. It's worth a try if you're serious about trying to find the variety. Good luck!

 

[passedpawn]

Send a message to www.hopsdirect.com with a link to these pics. They might be able to ID them. Also, send to http://www.hopunion.com.

I'd include a quick story in your email to get their interest (they're busy like everyone else, might ignore you if you don't hook them with a fancy story)

The folks at hops direct have some neat newsletters and videos that they occasionally put together. They're into hops!

 

[B-Hoppy]

thanks for the advice! do you have a phone number or website for this research center?

I sent you the info in a message. Good luck.

 

[unionrdr]

I'd like to hear the outcome of this myself. They had some common variety of hops in Germany that were used by poorer brewers. I believe they were domesticated wild varieties. One of which was grown near the Haulertauer region. But Spaulter seems a good bet. I'm happy you decided to do something positive with what could be a great find.
You could even contact slowfoods.com. They deal in rare,endangered,even thought to be extinct varieties of fruits,veggies,farm animals,etc. They have contact with many producers across the country. Might be worth a shot,as they can help you sell the cones,cuttings,etc.

 

[j_treegirl]

Anyone know anything about Japanese hops??? We've found another plant elsewhere on the property (not an old one!!!) that appears to have the same properties as our old hop...but different leaves and not cone shaped "fruit." I found a picture on Wikipedia of a Japanese hop plant, and this really looks like that one. I have some pictures to show, but they are on my other computer which is in need of charging...

 

[bierhaus15]

Looks a lot like Cluster. And considering how old the plant is, I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Nearly 90% of east coast hops pre WWII are cluster or varieties thereof.

 

[COLObrewer]

I'm sort of dissapointed, I was thinking an 85 year old plant growing without hinderance would cover at least an acre?

 

[bottlebomber]

I'm sort of dissapointed, I was thinking an 85 year old plant growing without hinderance would cover at least an acre?

If someone had been separating the rhizomes this whole time, you could probably have 5 acres of hope. There's only so much the plant can do on its own. Ill bet that spot it just a mat of hop rhizomes under the dirt though

 

[DoubleAught]

Subscribed! This is an interesting story!

 

[j_treegirl]

I'm sort of dissapointed, I was thinking an 85 year old plant growing without hinderance would cover at least an acre?

As I said, there was a tree growing up through it a few years ago which my father pulled out with the backhoe. We feared that we might have killed the hops in doing so, but it came back anyway. It hasn't quite gotten as big as it was, but it's getting there.

 

[ThreeSheetsBrewing]

Fantastic story. I'd agree with cutting it back, tossing up some vertical poles and letting it rip next year. When the growth is off the ground, you can more easily determine what isn't the plant and hack it back as well.

Perhaps something like this, smaller scale of course, can help with your trellis questions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yakima-Valley-Hop-Yard.jpg

Perhaps these folks can help you ID them also?

http://www.barthhaasgroup.com/

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

You should overnight me a sample =D. I'd love to propagate it.

 

[ptra1004]

Consider me intrigued! The USDA/NYS DEC list Japanese Hops as an invasive species, I believe they are thought to choke out other plants, hops or not. In the last NEHA newsletter, the NYS Ag Experiment Station is looking for samples.

I can provide you with the contact info for the good folks to your north. They are doing some great things with hops research and working with growers.researchers all over. They may be just as interested as we are, and would maybe have a bit more familiarity with varieties grown regionally in the past?

 

[ascbrew]

My guess that its most likely cluster. The location, time planted, cone shape and aromas are screaming cluster.

Interesting Read:
http://beervana.blogspot.com/2011/06/taste-of-past-cluster-hops.html

 

[Accidic]

Subscribed.

 

[jester5120]

I'm tempted to drive 4 hours to tend to your plant and also try to convince you to give me part of the crown.

 

[Crito]

wow, its a nice plant.

Notice the color diffusion of the hop itself. The bilateral folding of the leaf signifies the family type easily. The edges of the leaves are divided in a strange way. The edges of the leaves show signs that the type of plant is a hop plant.



:fro:

Sorry had to make a funny.


I hope you find out what it is. You might make a new type of hop. think of the coolness there.