Has anyone grown Neomexicana hops?

[cavman22]

Anyone have any info on the neo mexicana's this season? We're in August, looking for some updates. In thinking of adding a multi head here in Colorado from Great lake hops.

 

[eulipion2]

My Neo-1 harvest update:
Date of first 2016 harvest: 9 August 2016
Plant age: 3 years
Hops collected (wet): 16 ounces
Hops collected (dry): TBD

I split my rhizome in the spring, and while the cutting didn't grow very much, I'm hopeful that it'll return next year.

My main plant went nuts! The mature hop cones range in size from about .5"-3". Very loose, ragged-looking cones are somewhat fragile, unlike my sterlings, which are tight, compact, and hardy. The spines that help the plant climb are more pronounced than my sterlings, and irritated my skin.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1470774993.983417.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1470775046.142150.jpg

 

[corkybstewart]

I just ordered Multihead, Neo-1 Amalie and Southern Brewer from Great Lakes Hops. It's good to see some hops suited for hot/dry weather.

 

[AmaliaHopsNeomexicanus]

These are pictures I took a few minutes ago of one of my Neomexicanus fields. These are all Neomexicanus, no idea how many accessions. 1,2,3,4 and 5th year growth, we have been adding to the collection for 5 years. Our DNA lab will be arriving in November. That should help greatly with identification. Then we plan to brew 2.5 gallon single hop batches using a session IPA recipe with our Zymatic PicoBrew system throughout the winter to determine brewing characteristics of each hop. I'm really curious about the vines that starting starting out Raspberry colored. They are late forming. I haven't seen this before. And my luck is changing, at least in this field. Only one hermaphrodite out of 450. Better odds than last year.

 

[corkybstewart]

these are pictures i took a few minutes ago of one of my neomexicanus fields. These are all neomexicanus, no idea how many accessions. 1,2,3,4 and 5th year growth, we have been adding to the collection for 5 years. Our dna lab will be arriving in november. That should help greatly with identification. Then we plan to brew 2.5 gallon single hop batches using a session ipa recipe with our zymatic picobrew system throughout the winter to determine brewing characteristics of each hop. I'm really curious about the vines that starting starting out raspberry colored. They are late forming. I haven't seen this before. And my luck is changing, at least in this field. Only one hermaphrodite out of 450. Better odds than last year.

damn!!!

 

[Austin_]

We've had a warm winter and a few of my Willow Creek neomexican hop Hines have poked up out of the ground. We are forecasted to have a hard freeze later this week. Does anyone know the freeze tolerance of these hops? I'm planning on covering them, but didn't know if I needed to do anymore with Christmas lights.

 

[eulipion2]

We've had a warm winter and a few of my Willow Creek neomexican hop Hines have poked up out of the ground. We are forecasted to have a hard freeze later this week. Does anyone know the freeze tolerance of these hops? I'm planning on covering them, but didn't know if I needed to do anymore with Christmas lights.

I would say a light frost would be okay, but a hard freeze might not be so great. It'd probably be best to cut them back until you can be relatively certain of warmer temps. We had some warmer weather lately, so I was afraid I'd have similar problems. Fortunately mine stayed underground.

 

[corkybstewart]

I would say a light frost would be okay, but a hard freeze might not be so great. It'd probably be best to cut them back until you can be relatively certain of warmer temps. We had some warmer weather lately, so I was afraid I'd have similar problems. Fortunately mine stayed underground.

These hops grow wild at high altitudes, they are very comfortable with cold. The wild patch near me is under snow at 9000' for months. In fact my Neomexicanus didn't come up the second year at all, but that winter we had a storm that covered my hop garden with 3' of snow, the next spring they did very well. Besides, if the do get killed by a freeze, it only affects those shoots, they will be replaced almost immediately.

 

[eulipion2]

These hops grow wild at high altitudes, they are very comfortable with cold. The wild patch near me is under snow at 9000' for months. In fact my Neomexicanus didn't come up the second year at all, but that winter we had a storm that covered my hop garden with 3' of snow, the next spring they did very well. Besides, if the do get killed by a freeze, it only affects those shoots, they will be replaced almost immediately.

Not being much of a gardener, I'm just going by what I've read in books and what "they" say. The common line is to keep cutting back shoots until after the last frost, but I've had shoots live through frost and still give me loads of cones come fall. I'm just not willing to apply my own anecdotal evidence with frost to a hard freeze.

Again, from books, it seems that plants put so much effort into sending up and maintaining new shoots that they're unprepared for a sudden freeze, meaning they may not be able to cope with a harsh freeze.

All that said, my hops have been pretty hardy over the last few years, and again, I don't consider myself a "real" gardener, so take all this with a grain of salt.

 

[corkybstewart]

Not being much of a gardener, I'm just going by what I've read in books and what "they" say. The common line is to keep cutting back shoots until after the last frost, but I've had shoots live through frost and still give me loads of cones come fall. I'm just not willing to apply my own anecdotal evidence with frost to a hard freeze.

Again, from books, it seems that plants put so much effort into sending up and maintaining new shoots that they're unprepared for a sudden freeze, meaning they may not be able to cope with a harsh freeze.

All that said, my hops have been pretty hardy over the last few years, and again, I don't consider myself a "real" gardener, so take all this with a grain of salt.

My situation is different from normal hop growers. I live in the semi desert at 3100'. We'll have weeks of temps no lower than 45 or 50F, with highs in the 80's and 90's, everything is looking good and then we have 3 nights in the teens. All the fruit drops from my trees, my hops bines turn brown and die, but in a week or 2 new shoots appear and all is well. Unfortunately the fruit doesn't come back but there's always hope for next year!

 

[AmaliaHopsNeomexicanus]

I live and grow Neomexicanus in the valley from which the Neo Rhizomes were removed and sold. We have a 7 foot freeze line. It is common for the temperatures to drop below -13. The year I moved there it was still snowing on June 2nd. The snow started again September 5. The hops vines had June, July and August to get out of the ground and produce.

These vines have acclimated to this environment, which is a harsh one, and are best suited for this climate. I do not have proof yet, but I believe that the exquisite flavors and aromas we are getting from these hops can be attributed to the environment, especially the extreme daily temperature swings they experience throughout the growing season.

I have been speaking with a PhD at one of the largest hops growers/distributors in the world and he wrote:

"​No buyers were interested in other neomexicanus populations (Eric Demeras wants to sell his), because the neomexicanus populations are very sensitive to powdery mildew and do not flower well in the growing regions (Yakima Valley). Other populations have been deemed poor stock for industrial breeding locations…"

Because I have not evidenced powdery mildew or any other disease in these vines, which I have been observing and growing in their native habitat since 2010, his comment leads me to believe what I have suspected all along. They will not do well in the "traditional" growing regions.

So, I ordered a DNA lab that is due to arrive at my farm this summer that will help me to truly identify each vine (I have a collection of more than 800 taken from various locations from private ranches where I live). And I have been making single hop brews using a recipe created for me by the PicoBrew machine folks to identify the brewing characteristics of these hops. I have 77 brews to go to until I use up the samples I collected in the 2016 season.

Knowing all of this I would be inclined to say that your hop vine, if it is truly a Neomexicanus collected from this valley, should be able to survive the freeze. I would just heel and cover the shoots up, the same as you do for roses, with some loose leafy debris and mulch. And put a thermal Agricultural blanket over them. Don't pack too tightly.

 

[epierce7]

Nice hop yard!

Four years ago I planted two Neo1 rhizomes. One failed the other thrived and has been going strong since year one. The one plant I have really likes it here in the western suburbs of Boston.

For brewing they seem pretty low alpha. I haven't lab tested anything but with the brews I've made I've noticed them to be weaker than I expected from other reports. I've got a friend who wants me to age my Neo hops for sour beers. Last year I got busy and really didn't tend to my hops like I should have and the Neo1 crawled all over a fence. A lot of those hops wilted on the vine. I remember crinkling up a handful of the brown wilted hop cones in my hands and they smelled terrific.

Low alpha seems to be the story with all my hops though. My soil is dark, rich, and damp. Some of my other varieties struggle with a brown wilt late blight. Not the Neo1. It's a beast!

I've built up hills using loam mixed with composted chicken manure that I replenish every fall. Maybe I should give them more?

Anyway, if anyone interested in Neomexicanus thinks they need to be in the southwest to grow them, think again! I bet they'd grow anywhere. If I was in the business I'd seriously consider using Neomexicanus to cross with some of the "new world" varieties out there so popular with IPAs these days.

Cheers,

-Eric

 

[Texconsinite]

Gulf Coast Neomex update

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1489591398.630620.jpg
Multihead aka The Beast (this was last week, already a second shoot this tall)
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1489591460.155545.jpg
Willow Creek got a later start than Multihead last year, I'll be interested to see how it's growth and cones differ from Multihead.

The Multihead grows quite different from cascade, NB, and Saaz. Have not gotten any of the dual cones that gave it the name, but it seems very "bushy" and vigorous, like a hydra, sending out way more bines that the others. The cones are long and thin, seem to ripen much quicker than the plump Cascade ones. With cascade I know I have time to harvest when it opens up, and I can see the yellow lupulin, wait for it to be dry and crinkle-y. Since the Multihead seems more torpedo-shaped, don't open up like cascade, it's harder to tell when they are going to stop growing, and they seemed to turn brown and overripe quicker than cascade. It didn't produce a ton, or many big cones, but I'm hopeful this year will be better in that regard.

The ripe Multihead smelled very pleasant, like juicyfruit gum and ripe figs, and intense. You could smell it when you were within a few feet of the bine, without rubbing a cone in your hands. Waaay different from the distinct grapefruit-floral-citrus of the cascade.

For first year growers in southern latitude, watch those Multiheads, mine kept producing a few cones until late December

 

[Greatlakeshops]

Gulf Coast Neomex update

View attachment 392797
Multihead aka The Beast (this was last week, already a second shoot this tall)
View attachment 392798
Willow Creek got a later start than Multihead last year, I'll be interested to see how it's growth and cones differ from Multihead.

The Multihead grows quite different from cascade, NB, and Saaz. Have not gotten any of the dual cones that gave it the name, but it seems very "bushy" and vigorous, like a hydra, sending out way more bines that the others. The cones are long and thin, seem to ripen much quicker than the plump Cascade ones. With cascade I know I have time to harvest when it opens up, and I can see the yellow lupulin, wait for it to be dry and crinkle-y. Since the Multihead seems more torpedo-shaped, don't open up like cascade, it's harder to tell when they are going to stop growing, and they seemed to turn brown and overripe quicker than cascade. It didn't produce a ton, or many big cones, but I'm hopeful this year will be better in that regard.

The ripe Multihead smelled very pleasant, like juicyfruit gum and ripe figs, and intense. You could smell it when you were within a few feet of the bine, without rubbing a cone in your hands. Waaay different from the distinct grapefruit-floral-citrus of the cascade.

For first year growers in southern latitude, watch those Multiheads, mine kept producing a few cones until late December

We have noticed in trials that Neomexicana varieties do best on a different watering schedule. If we run a regular schedule with drip irrigation they hate it. It appears, from what we've noted, they prefer a water schedule much like they would receive in the desert south west. Periods of drought and then heavy water. Something about staying consistently wet or damp they do not like.

Again, just something we've noticed here that has made an impact on our trials growth and yield.

 

[bpgreen]

I bought two hop plants last fall from http://www.greatlakeshops.com (one multihead, one amalia). The multihead has already sprouted. The amalia is still dormant (or dead). If it's dead, it's probably my fault. I planted at about the worst time for my climate.

The plants arrived in good shape and Great Lake Hops gave good customer service.

 

[Texconsinite]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1492578310.129798.jpg
Multihead is moving right along

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1492578343.187310.jpg
Willow Creek (right) is starting to pick up steam

 

[AmaliaHopsNeomexicanus]

I have been cultivating Neo in their Native habitat for 5 years. Hopsteiner has been in touch with me and said I am possibly the largest private collection in the USA. They also indicated that these hops have not done well outside their natural environment. But man o man they will rock you world if you get them from our valley. Carson Brewers in Indiana made an amazing batch called Almost Heaven from the hops from our ranch. Check6 Brewery in Southport NC is now helping us with single hop brews to determine brewing characteristics. So far we have 1 peachy minty 2 wine grape, 3 green apples and 4 citrus floral. We have 77 more vines to test. A DNA lab is being delivered to the ranch this summer. Go to amaliahops.com if you want to watch us grow. Thank you, Ceilidh Creech

I see one of our sponsors is setting up Pre orders. Got me thinking of they do well where I live.

Neomexicana is a true American hop. Not transplanted from Europe.

So far on my Google searches, the variants are Multi head, Neo1, Amallia, and Willow Creek.

Multi is peachy. Neo1 is lemon/citrus and Amallia is earthy.

I am willing to buy a few to test out. I am wondering if anyone else planted them.

 

[corkybstewart]

I bought two hop plants last fall from http://www.greatlakeshops.com (one multihead, one amalia). The multihead has already sprouted. The amalia is still dormant (or dead). If it's dead, it's probably my fault. I planted at about the worst time for my climate.

The plants arrived in good shape and Great Lake Hops gave good customer service.

I bought several different ones, and they did pretty well last year but none of them have come up yet, and my Cascades already have cones on them.

 

[bpgreen]

I managed to kill both of mine. I have them what I thought was a small amount of fertilizer, but they showed signs of nitrogen burn and flushing with water didn't undo the damage.

I think I'll try again next year.

 

[Texconsinite]

Yeah they are quite low maintenance compared to other varieties

 

[marc_]

Any updates for 2018?

I've been growing Neo1 for 5 plus years and they're thriving up in Canada.

 

[bpgreen]

I planted a neo1 and a willow creek this spring. The willow creek only grew about 2 feet tall. The neo1 grew to about 6 feet and has a bunch of tiny (about pea sized) cones on it. I don't know if they'll even be harvestable before we get a frost.

 

[Texconsinite]

I moved up to WI last Oct, and sadly none of my hops (neomex or otherwise) survived the winter, so I had to start over with varieties better suited for midwest

 

[Apimyces]

Crito said: ↑
I see one of our sponsors is setting up Pre orders. Got me thinking of they do well where I live.

Neomexicana is a true American hop. Not transplanted from Europe.

So far on my Google searches, the variants are Multi head, Neo1, Amallia, and Willow Creek.

Multi is peachy. Neo1 is lemon/citrus and Amallia is earthy.

I am willing to buy a few to test out. I am wondering if anyone else planted them.​

Nuh uh! Lupuloides is the true American hop!

 

[Texconsinite]

Neo1 is supposed to be lemony. Mine died before any birds emerged. It seemed more delicate and finicky, needs more total sun to flourish than others varieties.

Multiheadd grew huge. My cones smelled pleasant like juicy fruit gum. It only produced ok, considering I had it 13ft up an old telephone pole.

Willow creek seemed good, but only had it 1 season. Got a small yield which is still dried and frozen, haven’t brewed with it yet.

 

[marc_]

My Neo1 is quite lemony. It's subtle though - not as pungent as my centennial growing next to it.

It's a smaller bine, but just packed with long cones.

 

[marc_]

Comparing the smell of my freshly dried neo1 hops to my freshly dried centennial...

Neo1 is full of citrus - more orange/tangerine or orange blossom than lemon this year. No real grapefruit, pine, herbal or dank notes. Just subtle fruit. Smells delicious.

Centennial is more pungent, but less fruity. It's got some grapefruit/citrus but lots of pungent hoppiness with some herbal pine notes.

 

[marc_]

Does anyone have neomexicanus seeds?

 

[Sylvain]

@Marc, you can look at the USDA website.

Hello guys! Generally speaking, adult neomexicanus plants, how much do they measure ?

 

[njviking]

They found the plants in New Mexico / Colorado region.

High elevation, extreme hot and cold seasons. I am guessing dry and humid conditions as well.

Only one that I cannot find is multi head hop. I hope a vendor will sell that rhizome. A peach flavored hop. Sounds yummy.have.

I planted one of these 2 years ago when it was released with a sorrachi ace plant,. Both grow like crazy and the multihead far out performs anyothe varities I have planted. I had to double crutch it in fear of the line breaking. As far as the taste. 1st year was awful, second was interesting but within line of the stonefruit danky notes. This year hopefully she'll play nice and settle down.

 

[Sylvain]

Neomexicanus

 

[Sylvain]

 

[Sylvain]

Neomexicanus 2003-OJ-03

Neomexicanus with Brewer's Gold x Lupuloids

 

[Sylvain]

 

[Sierra brew club]

Hello Nagmay, I've asked the USDA on numerous occasions for both seed and rhizomes of native North American hops, but they have never sent me anything.

I am trying to collect male plants for breeding purposes. If you could send me some seeds or rhizomes I would greatly appreciate it.

If anybody could send me some male hop rhizomes I would be more then willing send back my hybrid rhizomes in the case that I am successful in crossbreeding the hops.

I would be willing to make the same deal with some folks on here.

I have seeds I will start this winter. Move them out to a green house next spring and then ship them away to be planted (offsite) at the small experimental hop yard (we are currently building) until they can be sexed.

I have a neighbor who will take any males for future use for breeding. (He lives close to a mile down river) I am in Hope's that this is far enough away from my own hops as not to open pollination. All of my hop yard...

If I can acquire a few males for pollinating I would send seed or Rhizomes from those crosses.

Or any of the 88 varieties that we are propagating in the main 1/4 acre hop yard.

Let me know if this can happen this year or next spring!

I am currently looking into a permit for importation
Small Lots of Seed from USDA.
at the moment it is looking like this winter would be the very soonish.

 

[Sierra brew club]

Current Hops list for 2019 with some late fall entries (moms for eventual breeding program)
1 Arcadian
2 Walhalla
3 Prussian
4 Petoskey
5 Hartwick
6 Saugatuck
7 Old Mission
8 Lawton
9 Shaddock
10 Diamond Springs(Not Released yet)
11. AlphAroma (Rakau)
12. Amalia
13. Bitter Gold
14. Bodhi Zapus (named from mining town it came from and point break movie)
15. Bramling Cross
16. Brewers Gold
17. Canadian Red Vine
18. Canterbury Golding
19. Cascade
20. Cashmere
21. Centennial
22. Chinook
23. California Cluster (Still searching)
24. Cluster (early)
25. Cluster (late)
26. Collegiate ( Found on creek behind local Jr College )
27. Columbia
28. Columbus
29. Comet
30. Crystal
31. Eroica
32. Fuggles
33. Galena
34. Gargoyle (under negotiation )
35. Glacier
36. Golding (US)
37. Hallertauer
38. Horizon
39. Ivanhoe (under negotiation)
40. Kent Golding
41. Kinsman Flat (Calling it homesteader in honor of mr Kinsman who brought it to the area)
42. Kirin 2
43. Liberty
44. Lubelska-Pulawy (* Friend I served with from Poland)
45. Lublin (friend from Poland)
46. Magnum
47. Marynka (friend from Poland)
48. Mt. Hood
49. Mt. Rainier
50. Multi-head (Medusa)
51. Neo 1
52. Newport
53. Northern Brewer
54. Nugget
55. Olympic
56. Oregon Cluster
57. Pacific gem
58. Perle
59. Pocket Talisman
60. Pride of Ringwood
61. Saazer
62. Saazer 72
63. Santiam
64. Spalter select
65. Serbriaka
66. Sorachi Ace
67. Southern Brewer
68. Southern Cross
69. Star
70. Sterling
71. Syrian Golding
72. Summit (searching for)
73. Sunbeam
74. Super Alpha (Dr. Rudi)
75. Super Galena (still searching for this varietal)
76. Super Saaz
77. Tahoma
78. Tea Maker
79. Tettnanger
80. Triple Perle
81. Triumph (receiveing this fall from Sandy)
82. Ultra
83. Vanguard
84. Vajvodina
85. Willamette
86. Willow Creek
87. Wawona ( A species found growing on an old hotel in Yosemite )
88. Wye Challenger
89. Wye Viking
90. Yakima gold
91. Yeoman
92. Zatecki Cerveni
93. Zenith
94. Zeus

Willing to trade for males, dwarf species, or any hop with interesting flavors that are not currently growing here.

 

[Sylvain]

Current Hops list for 2019 with some late fall entries (moms for eventual breeding program)

Willing to trade for males, dwarf species, or any hop with interesting flavors that are not currently growing here.

I have about 80 germinated Neomexicanus (USDA) babies this year.
I have several young plants that show flowers.
and I already have a male.
you have so many varieties that interest me !!!


"je possède environ 80 bébés Neomexicanus (de l'USDA) germés de cette année.
j'ai plusieurs jeunes plants qui montrent des fleurs.
et j'ai déjà un mâle.
vous avez tellement de variétés qui m'intéresse"

 

[Sylvain]

 

[Sierra brew club]

Little boy parts
Excellent
You were the first one on my list!!

I feel like the off season when things cool off here after the harvest we should talk again!!

I will be getting a few more varieties this fall Triumph is the one i am most excited about as well some plants coming in from England and Poland.

 

[Sylvain]