Arcadian Hops

[Kaz15]

I’m starting this Arcadian specific thread as a resource to anyone curious about this varietal. There is incredibly little information out on the web about Arcadian. I just harvested my first round of hops off my second year Arcadian. Looking forward to brewing with it sometime in the next few weeks. I will report my impressions.

I’m hoping other Arcadian growers will also contribute to this thread.

 

[evenrude]

I just harvested my first year of Arcadians. Hoping to learn more also.

 

[Kaz15]

I finished Packaging my last Arcadian harvest yesterday. Grand total of 8.8 oz dry for a second year plant. Should be perfect for a 5 gallon batch. I think I’ll brew that batch in about 3 weeks

 

[NitrogenWidget]

my second yr with Arcadian.
last yr 95% ended up with black mildew from an aphid infestation.
this yr i've been vigilant with the neem oil and insecticidal soap.
every 2 weeks spraying.
sprayed early last week and I think i'm done spraying because according to last yr, next week is harvest time.
this week cones have started to get that paper feel and are getting tiny bits of brown.

majority smell like hops with a little cut grass mixed in when picked and ripped open.
So I think they will be ready early next week.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I believe it is harvest time this weekend. (i'm a newb so i'm still unsure)
I have a few that are small and brown and didn't see much sun at all and those will not be used because they don't smell good.
there are a few that still smell like grass also so they will be left for later.

but majority are starting to open, smell like hops, flake apart easy, and the lupulin glands are dark yellow.

 

[Kaz15]

Regarding ripening, my impressions of Arcadian on the vine is they start out smelling grassy, then as then ripen and get papery, they develop a stronger citrus smell. And then that turns into a garlic/onion smell as time goes on.

Educated guess would be that the citrus phase is when they are ready to pick.

For my entire harvest I probably grabbed a few grassy one and a few garlic ones. Vast majority were a lovely citrus aroma. IMHO I don’t think they all have to be perfect.

 

[Ruint]

Centennial and cascade hops do the same thing. Citrus/grapefruit bouquet and if you don't pick them in a timely fashion they go to garlic (mostly) and onion.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Regarding ripening, my impressions of Arcadian on the vine is they start out smelling grassy, then as then ripen and get papery, they develop a stronger citrus smell. And then that turns into a garlic/onion smell as time goes on.

Educated guess would be that the citrus phase is when they are ready to pick.

For my entire harvest I probably grabbed a few grassy one and a few garlic ones. Vast majority were a lovely citrus aroma. IMHO I don’t think they all have to be perfect.

then it sounds like i'm picking my Arcadian's this weekend.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Arcadian picked.

kind of a mess because they were so crazy thick and because my trellis fell a few weeks ago in a wind storm so dropping them like I normally would wasn't an option.

forgot to wear long sleeves. death by a 1,000 scratches.
I got about 3 gallons of hops from my two plants so that leaves 3 drawers open for my hartwick plants.

 

[Ruint]

Yes, they are indeed an unforgiving plant as far as user friendly! LoL!!! Unfortunately, we had a mini storm come thru yesterday that broke my trellis. I was still waiting on them to mature, as when I would break a cone open it still has a green grass, or vegetal, smell. The citrus was coming in nicely and the lupulin glands were starting to get really dense. They are still not where I would consider them to be mature enough to bother trying to harvest. I was still working on my new and improved drying rack, and not ready to jump through the hoops trying to scramble a "rescue" together either. Oh well.....always next year.

 

[Kaz15]

Sorry to hear that. You can’t prop the plant up until they’re ready to harvest?

 

[Ruint]

No. Those plants have bines as thick as your fingers, with 4 bines per string, x's 6 coirs, at 17 plus feet long. Critical failure on the existing trellis and I don't have the equipment or manpower to be able to "right" it. Hops don't like to lay down much either.

 

[Kaz15]

That makes sense....bummer.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Yes, they are indeed an unforgiving plant as far as user friendly! LoL!!! Unfortunately, we had a mini storm come thru yesterday that broke my trellis. I was still waiting on them to mature, as when I would break a cone open it still has a green grass, or vegetal, smell. The citrus was coming in nicely and the lupulin glands were starting to get really dense. They are still not where I would consider them to be mature enough to bother trying to harvest. I was still working on my new and improved drying rack, and not ready to jump through the hoops trying to scramble a "rescue" together either. Oh well.....always next year.

oh man.
I'm in WNY and it was windy AF yesterday. I kept checking my trellis with my other 2 plants on them.
My trellis fell a few weeks ago in a flash storm.
I was able to get one side back up but the Arcadian had to be horizontal for the last two weeks.
I lost some of the crop because some withered and died and some were buried under itself the last few weeks not getting any sun.
I don't think would of matured out of the sun and trimming it after picking the ripe ones without killing the sidearms just wasn't possible.

mine are 3rd yr? 2nd yr crowns? IDK how to classify them and in sun pretty much all day. interesting they matured faster.

next yr i'm building a 13-14ft high trellis the width of my plants and 8-10 feet deep from 16ft 4x4's sunk in the ground.
I will train them horizontal after they reach the top of it.
will be a bit of a pain but they won't be so high and majority of sun comes from the direction they will need to grow.
will make it easier to spray them and harvest plus provide some shade for the patio.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

oh and FYI, just shuffled my hops around in my dresser oast.
grabbed one and rubbed it between my hands.
it smelled SO damn good!

 

[Ruint]

Very nice! I live over by Rochester (but work in Buffalo). Right after the trellis came down, it was calm for the rest of the day! WTF....lol. I bought a little giant ladder that is called sky scraper. Ouch!! It wasn't cheap!!! But I can easily reach things 18 feet tall. Really would like to put a more permanent trellis in.....should really look at a larger place to live in first though!

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Very nice! I live over by Rochester (but work in Buffalo). Right after the trellis came down, it was calm for the rest of the day! WTF....lol. I bought a little giant ladder that is called sky scraper. Ouch!! It wasn't cheap!!! But I can easily reach things 18 feet tall. Really would like to put a more permanent trellis in.....should really look at a larger place to live in first though!

I bought one of those ladders that can be an adjustable step ladder or a standard ladder.
I use it to support my biab on brew days.
bought it over a decade ago for the house.
expensive but worth it.

however I don't go much higher than 14-15ft. hate heights.
that's why i made it so my hops could be lowered.

this yr the hops exploded and grew like nothing i could of ever expected.
I was afraid my twine holding them up would break, but once they reached the top of the 18ft trellis then grew along that wire another 5 feet they were holding themselves up.

I guess the weight of the hops plus the water weight and wind was enough to make the galvanized chain link fence rails bend.
I never would of believed it if I hadn't seen it.

 

[Ruint]

You can probably expect your hops to do the same thing next year. Most plants I have worked with, really take off in their 3rd year. Most people discredit how much weight mature plants can get to. Then mix the rain and wind in the equation. Gotta love multi purpose ladders!!! LoL!!! I will be thinking on how to make a stronger "movable" trellis that won't break the bank.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Little over 7 oz dried.
did Small packs for test brew.

 

[Kaz15]

I brewed a batch of Arcadian pale ale about 6 weeks ago. I'm sad to report that it's been pretty terrible. I get very little orange/tangerine flavors, but a ton of grassy/vegetal flavor. It's sharp and not enjoyable. TBH I got the same nasty flavor when I did a Dos X growler dry hop test last year. I was hoping it was due to being a young plant.

I used around 8.5 oz of Arcadian for a 5.5 gallon batch. That is my typical hop loading rate for hop forward beers. Only 1.3 oz of dry hops though. The rest were 0 min, flameout/whirlpool additions.

I'm very disappointed in the varietal. I know from experience with my cascade plant that 3rd year and beyond the hops that my plant produced were much more flavorful. I suppose it's possible that this could be the same situation with my second year Arcadian. However, I know I'm gonna be gun shy about committing time, energy and money into making a beer that I may end up pouring down the drain.

I've only poured one batch of homebrew down the drain; my 3rd batch ever, and it was nearly 6 months before I finally dumped it. This was my 87th batch of homebrew and it very well could be my second drain pour. :-(

It's hard for me to justify keeping this plant in the ground when there's other interesting varieties to consider. Triumph and Cashmere are on my short list. Luckily I have until April to decide. I look forward to hearing everyone else's experience.

Cheers

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I’ve not made an arcadian beer yet. Guess I better make on to see how it goes.

 

[Ruint]

sorry to hear that Kaz. I put a Triumph in this year....didn't get any cones this year, as it was a late planting. Hope that the second year growth goes well, or better for both of us!

 

[Kaz15]

Feel free to start a thread related to Triumph hops or reply back here. I'd love to hear how it goes.

 

[evenrude]

I did a 5 gallon test brew with my homegrown first year Arcadian.

I did a pseudo-lager/blonde ale for a clean malt bill and used Lutra yeast. I used Galena for a neutral bittering hop. I then dropped 2 oz of Arcadian at 10 minutes and 2 oz at flame-out.

The bad: I am getting a lot of that vegetal flavor. There is also some catty flavor.

The good: I aroma is nice and citrus, and I do get tangerine in the flavor. It reminds me of a fruitier Cluster. Some will like that skunky catty flavor and others won't. Personally I will have no problem finishing this keg, but it's far from my favorite.

I think this would be decent mixed with more citrus forward hops as a flavor bridge, but it does not shine on its own. It may be suitable as a substitute for Cluster in more traditional recipes.

 

[Kaz15]

Thanks for the reply. That pretty much seals the fate for my Arcadian. After 2.5 months, my Arcadian pale ale is still gross and unpleasant. 99% sure I’ll be yanking it out this spring and planting something else. Probably Triumph or Cashmere, pending my 2.5 gal test batches this winter.

It’s really too bad because it was very robust for a second year plant. But these plants are fairly time consuming. I’m not going to leave it for ornamental purposes.

On a positive note, I just kegged my Hartwick pale ale. Hartwick is also second year plant and the gravity sample I tried is incredibly tasty. I get a lot of tropical notes from it. Pineapple is the primary descriptor listed on GLH’s website. A friend of mine said pineapple right off the bat, without having any knowledge of this hop.

Once I have a carbonated beer to review, I’ll start a thread on the Hartwick variety for all growers to share impressions.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

old thread but i brewed up an Arcadian wheat beer earlier this summer finally.
got no orange at all from the hops.
to be honest it tasted more like a beer brewed with fuggle with an earthiness.
it was pretty good.

my recipe

5 lb - Red wheat
2 lb - Pale Ale 2-Row
1 lb - Rolled Oats
Hops:
1 oz - Arcadian (Whole) - 9% (26 IBU) 30 min.
1 oz - Arcadian (Whole) - 9% (2 IBU) Flame out
Dry Hops 4 days - 1 oz - Arcadian (Whole) - 9%

Yeast slurry - Voss Kveik

I'm thinking of trying the Arcadians in a Belgian pale ale.