Central California Hops Growers

[Puddlethumper]

Anybody in central California growing hops?

What varieties have you tried?
What is growing well?
Any varieties you'd avoid?
Are you growing commercially or for your own use only?
Are you in the valley or the foothills?
Got pictures of your hop-yard you'd like to share?
How do you cultivate and irrigate?

 

[steloco]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/first-small-hop-farm-help-please-questions-400725/

I am growing hops in cali

 

[Puddlethumper]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/first-small-hop-farm-help-please-questions-400725/

I am growing hops in cali

Thanks for the link. Interesting thread, too. Looks like you bit off a big chunk right from the get-go. Next year should be a lot easier since you did such a good job of setting everything up.

The terrain looks like southern Calif. I'm outside of Fresno. Where are you?

 

[maierhof]

Fwiw I called one of the major farms up in Oregon last year when I did my homework. I talked directly to the owner/operator and he mentioned that if I were to choose anything with "C" in the first letter of the name there shouldn't be an issue in my area. I live on the Peninsula in the Bay Area (SF) and I grew Cascade and a Nugget with great success this year. Hope that helps!

 

[Puddlethumper]

Fwiw I called one of the major farms up in Oregon last year when I did my homework. I talked directly to the owner/operator and he mentioned that if I were to choose anything with "C" in the first letter of the name there shouldn't be an issue in my area. I live on the Peninsula in the Bay Area (SF) and I grew Cascade and a Nugget with great success this year. Hope that helps!

Thanks! Yes, I'm hearing the same thing about the "C" hops.

I imagine you'd have a better choice of varieties to grow since you are in a cooler more coastal climate. Our challenge here is the dry heat of summer and I'm sure we'll have fewer varieties to choose from.

A couple of sources I've read indicate we might have some success with Galena, Northern Brewer and Nugget in our area. May try a couple rhizomes of each just to see how they do.

Are you growing hops now?

 

[maierhof]

Yes I am still keeping them alive at this point in the season...
This year was my first - did them in a vegetable container with the water well at the bottom of it - just kept the right amount of water in there (which took a while to find btw) and these things took off. I got almost 4 oz off my two cascades and about 1.5 oz off the nugget - they are just calmly waiting in the freezer until I make more room in the keezer =;>

 

[Puddlethumper]

Yes I am still keeping them alive at this point in the season...
This year was my first - did them in a vegetable container with the water well at the bottom of it - just kept the right amount of water in there (which took a while to find btw) and these things took off. I got almost 4 oz off my two cascades and about 1.5 oz off the nugget - they are just calmly waiting in the freezer until I make more room in the keezer =;>

Sounds like yours yielded about what I'm hearing other people are getting their first year. How did you dry them?

 

[maierhof]

I did it differently from most - I have a lot of big plastic bowls (like around 3 gallon for fermenting large bread starters) so I just broke the yield up and put the hops in them about four or five deep in each and then put them in my garage in a hot place. No problems...

 

[Puddlethumper]

Hey, if it works, great!

Since I have a barn to use, and I'll be planting about 25-35 rhizomes right from the start, I intend to build a drying system that can be added onto, and will handle a volume of hops.

 

[HopSong]

There is something going on in Dixon, CA.. Just west of Sacramento. It was an invitation to have small brewers and hop farmers get together to help each other out informationally. So, things are happening in the inland areas. Check out THIS URL and you might be able to get some info on what's happening up here.

Hmm.. don't know what's happening with that url.. It only takes you to eventbrite.com.. My old link.. which is the same, shows the invitation which took place on Oct 3. You might click on the contact and ask about the "hopX" event on Oct 3. They might have a contact. Sorry

EDIT EDIT EDIT.... HERE is where I saw the initial info.. Here on HBT.. You might write HEX

 

[Puddlethumper]

EDIT EDIT EDIT.... HERE is where I saw the initial info.. Here on HBT.. You might write HEX

Great link and (hopefully) some great info to come. I'll stay connected with this because it looks like exactly the information a budding hop farmer will need. Thanks!