Has anyone grown Neomexicana hops?

[B-Hoppy]

I used to try this every year, I never got a single piece to take root. I propagate mine with springtime root prunings, I almost never have one fail.

Did you cut them first or something? Basically you just take a new shoot or two and lay them down and cover with some soil or compost. After a few weeks, that part under the soil will have formed roots and you can sever it from the crown with a spade. Leave it there for a few days to let it recover from the shock (if there is any) and then replant.

 

[corkybstewart]

I think the book I had suggested cutting the bines into 6" pieces in the fall after harvest and covering them with soil for the winter. It should work here because our winters are relatively mild. I do pull a lot of new shoots and plant them, that usually works, but my failsafe method is root pruning. Looking at my hops yesterday I've got a lot of pruning to do soon.

 

[B-Hoppy]

I've also seen references to the advice in that book and it really doesn't make much sense. In the fall, the vines are in the process of dying back and no matter what you do, they'll continue to die back to the crown (any buds at the nodes will also continue to die off). [First year seedlings may be the exception as I've seen buds which have formed along the vine (a foot above the crown) that have remained viable the following spring?] In the spring, it's just the opposite as the stored up energy in the crown is being transformed into above ground growth. But, if you can take some of that above ground growth (the new shoots) and force it to grow underground for a certain length of time, the cells along those shoots will tend to form underground structures (roots & buds) rather than aerial structures (leaves & sidearms). This is essentially the way rhizomes are formed over the growing season but because the buds they originate from are located very deep on the crown, they grow the entire season underground and never break the soil surface. If they're not pruned on a yearly basis, a year or so down the road they may eventually pop up a few feet away from the crown. This is where the horror stories about hops taking over someones property come from. Hope all this blather makes some sense. Hoppy Trails~

 

[venomfast]

Any luck sourcing one? I've been looking for Neo1 and haven't had any luck yet.

no luck yet

 

[epierce7]

No luck on Neo1 rhizomes for me either. My supplier from last year isn't offering them. Maybe the growers are going every other year on the Neo?

 

[B-Hoppy]

This is what Todd had to say when I asked him why they were going to be in short supply this year: "For now, let's just say that the neo's are exploring new latitudes, attitudes, elevations, and increased acreage." He didn't patent them, but is working with a grower in WA who is working with some cooperators that apparently are testing some new locations to see how they'll grow. Stay tuned~

 

[chattich]

I actually picked up a two Neo1 on eBay from a lady in the southwest about three years ago. The vines are very vigorous and have a unique, almost marijuana-like leaf shape. Here in the northern SF Bay Area, they do very well and are by far the least troublesome of the varieties that I grow. Really unique cone and bracht shape as well. Its visually unmistakable. I haven't actually brewed with them myself but have given most away to friends and they've ended up using them in some really tasty Saisons and Wheat Beers. They definitely are on the lighter side but have a great lemon/light herbal aroma and flavor.

 

[Sanchothe7th]

That's probably the easiest/most fool proof way of propagating hops. Have you done this before?

Yeah, I propagated 4 bines last year for growing in the mountains at a friends house they are all doing very well. I didnt think they would do as well as they did but I just buried them and after a couple weeks trimmed the tip of the shoot and kept doing that until it bushed out then this spring i just cut the bases of them and transplanted. all 4 took off lovely. The wild neo mex have actually surpised me, I have shoots coming out of the side of the pots so they must have done well enough to shoot out some runners and start self propogating hopefully next year if these hops are good i will have some rhizomes for the community.

 

[corkybstewart]

I planted 2 rhizomes back in 2014, they got about a foot tall, withered and died. They were no-shows last year, but this year they are back and doing well. We had a Christmas blizzard that piled a couple of feet of snow on my hop garden for a couple of weeks, maybe that's why they came back from dormancy. All my plants are slow this year, even my prickly pear cacti haven't bloomed. Normally I start harvesting Cascades in May, but this year they are barely a foot tall.

 

[Texconsinite]

Greatlakeshops is currently selling field-grade Neo1, Multihead, Amalia, and Willow Creek with NO MINIMUM ORDER.

Just ordered 2 Neo1s and 2 Multihead yesterday, cant wait to try these out!! Im hoping they like the TX sun.

 

[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