Happiness is...

[Figbash]

Happiness is five pounds of hops in the freezer, three and a half pounds form this, my third, years crop. The stash consists of Centennial, Nugget, Magnum and Willamette. Now comes the fun parts of converting them all into beer, more than 250 gallons by my calculations!

Next year I need to build a dryer, the wife won't put up with window screens full of hops spread all over the house again next year. I also have some ideas about how to quickly strip the hops from the vines. Picking that many by hand was a real pain.

How about the rest of you guys, what was your haul this year?

Tom

 

[GVH_Dan]

Hand picking we found was faster if you shred them off by hand. Instead of carefully picking each cone, you quickly grasp and tug or yank the bine through a clenched hand. You end up with all the cones but also a lot of little leaf debris. You take the whole mess and lay it out on a screen over a box fan and swirl it a bit. Most of the little leaf debris flies away and you are left with the cones.