Hops basics questions.

[RobbOlson]

Hello all,

Complete noob here in zone 4b (MN). I would like to grow 4 different types of hops this year and I have been looking at great lakes hops and I am a bit confused and have a few questions.

Most are listed with an "Alpha" rating. Is that like an IBU rating or what am I looking at here.

Also, there are SOOOO many varieties, anyone have recommendations of what I should get? I love just about every type of beer however I do tend to gravitate to the IPA's.

Lastly, I have been looking through the forum the last couple days to give myself a crash course and will continue to learn as I go this season and hope for the best. If any of you have any links handy that you would think would benefit a learning beginner (other than the sticky's) it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sbe2]

I am pretty sure that you derive your IBU using alpha acid percentage. I think the higher the AA the less you need to achieve your desired IBU.

For an IPA, I would grow any of the "C" hops depending on what flavors you prefer. I myself in NY planted Centennial, Newport, and Galena. In retrospect I would have planted Chinook instead of the Newport/Galena.

I have had great luck with great lake hops, check out their blog for tips on growing hops. I found this very useful.

 

[lump42]

Alpha rating is the percentage of the total weight of the hop that are alpha acids. The water insoluble alpha acids are isomerized in the boil into water soluble iso-alpha acids. Iso-alpha acid, beta acids, and co-humulone are all measured as international bitterness units (IBU) by the absorbance at a certain wavelength. I think most of the formulas just estimate the amount of alpha acid that is converted.

Palmer probably explains better than I do. It is also a great resource for general brewing knowledge. First edition is available online for free. The later print edition has a lot of good info too. Or there's Charlie Papazian Joy of Homebrewing. http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/hops/hop-measurement

As far as hops, I went with Cascade, Mt. Hood, and Willamette.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

Cascade, Centennial, Chinook ..... first order of business which gets you 80% of the way towards good beer, even with extract ..... decide how are you going control your fermentation temperature.... it's the most important thing in your process at this point.

 

[RobbOlson]

Oh boy, I guess I don't even know what you mean by "deciding how are you going to control the fermentation temperature". How does that affect my process at this point? I admit I am a little over my head here with a lot of this but am eager to learn. I've brewed only a handful of times, I am more of a gardener and my buddy does more of the brewing, we decided I would try adding hops to the garden and he could use it in his brewing. Being a gardener though, I have several 12"x48" heat mats (with thermostats) I use for starting seeds and have been told a lot of ppl also use them for brewing beer. Is this what you are referring to?

 

[lump42]

In the winter in the cold parts of the world, yes the seedling mats can be used to keep the fermentors in the correct range. In summer, you may need cooling. I've had great success just placing the bucket or carboy in an extra cooler or tub of water. The extra water acts as a temperature buffer from wild swings. You can also add frozen bottles if it gets too hot.

 

[Yooper]

I grow CTZ, centennial, cascade, EKG, Northern Brewer, chinook, and hallertauer. I tried willamette twice, but it doesn't like my northern climate and I didn't have any luck. I have a friend who successfully grows willamette near Chicago, though.

I'm in zone 3/4.

The chinook and cascade are extremely vigorous here, and the cascade has been trying to take over my entire yard. It's popping up under my deck and everywhere. The centennial is doing well also, but not encroaching into my hard or deck.

They are beautiful plants. I have the cascade set on an arbor, and it could even provide shade if I had it up on a gazebo or trellis.

 

[Sbe2]

Oh boy, I guess I don't even know what you mean by "deciding how are you going to control the fermentation temperature". How does that affect my process at this point? I admit I am a little over my head here with a lot of this but am eager to learn. I've brewed only a handful of times, I am more of a gardener and my buddy does more of the brewing, we decided I would try adding hops to the garden and he could use it in his brewing. Being a gardener though, I have several 12"x48" heat mats (with thermostats) I use for starting seeds and have been told a lot of ppl also use them for brewing beer. Is this what you are referring to?

For me I would say to break up the soil with a Roto tiller before you plant, add some 15-15-15 fertilizer, and keep the weeds at bay. You could get more technical about your process, but being a beginner I would keep it simple.

For your first year plants, don't trim them and train as many bines as you can. You may get some hops this first year.

I think lump42 is referring to fermenting beer, and all you want to do is grow them.

 

[thaymond]

Hello all,

Complete noob here in zone 4b (MN). I would like to grow 4 different types of hops this year and I have been looking at great lakes hops and I am a bit confused and have a few questions.

Most are listed with an "Alpha" rating. Is that like an IBU rating or what am I looking at here.

Also, there are SOOOO many varieties, anyone have recommendations of what I should get? I love just about every type of beer however I do tend to gravitate to the IPA's.

Lastly, I have been looking through the forum the last couple days to give myself a crash course and will continue to learn as I go this season and hope for the best. If any of you have any links handy that you would think would benefit a learning beginner (other than the sticky's) it would be greatly appreciated.

Everyone starts somewhere, and the information you can get on the growing forum is great. Growing hops is another level of homebrewing obsession. So, first, welcome! I'm outside of Chicago, so the climate isn't too dramatically different than MN. They will grow like crazy and take over your yard if you let them.

The AA percentage is the level of hop oil content that contributes to bitterness and flavors. The higher your AA, the higher the acid content. Typically, you'll want to use higher AA hops for bittering so you don't need to use as much as a lower AA hop. I'll use Nugget or Zeus for my beers, depending on the styles. Since I grow my own, I don't have to buy hops. Otherwise I'd use warrior or magnum to bitter too.

If IPA and similar big hop styles are your favorite, grow hops that would allow you to brew those styles. I grow Nugget, Zeus, Cascade, and Chinook for that reason. Do some research on hops and what styles you can use them in, and grow what you want to brew.

Use the forum to help get you started. You need to read on soil content and fertilization, basic husbandry and maintenance of hops, and most importantly, trellising your hops. They grow to be 25 to 30 feet in one season, and you need to allow them the space necessary to grow. I use a low trellis design that's on the forums here, but many people are allowed the space to grow vertically. Find what works for you and your space requirements and make sure that you have a good plan for once the hops are planted. Once they establish roots, it is there to stay.

Good luck on the growing season!

 

[Calder]

I have Cascade (think the classic Sierra Nevada Pale Ale), Centennial (Stone IPA), and Chinook (Rogue Arrogant Bastard), as my basic IPA/Pale Ale American hops. All 3 are growing great here in Southern Ohio. These are all good for both bittering and flavor/aroma.

I also planted Willamette (Good basic hop for traditional English Ales, Stouts and Porters). It has not done so good thus far. Year 1 I had zero flowers; not that you expect much the first year, but I got an ounce or two from each of the others. Year 2, I maybe got an ounce or two, while the others were getting me 8 to 16 ozs per plant. Going to give it 1 more year; it has started off growing great, but it will be a while before I see how it produces.

If the Willamette bombs again, I suspect I'll be looking into one of the Neomexicana varieties.

 

[brewcat]

What's your soil like? Read about the varieties to get a general idea what will work. Great Lakes Hops has good info on best soil for certain varieties. Then it just depends on how much work you want to put in for the soil.

I've had better luck with more vigorous varieties (e.g. Cascade).

 

[DanOelke]

I live just NW of the Twin Cities.

I planted some Cascade and Chinook last spring from Great Lakes.
The Cascade are really vigorous. They grew big and are coming back strong this spring.

The Chinook did not grow as vigorous and as of yesterday 7 of the 16 do not have sprouts. So I don't know if I lost those plants over winter or they just are slower to break dormancy. When I say not as vigorous I mean that the Cascade sent out a lot of bines (I didn't prune any the first year) and 8-10 from each plant got 12+ feet tall. The Chinook on the other hand were 6-8 feet tall (one or two may have hit 10') and only 1-2 bines from each plant that that got that tall.

One great resource is MN Hop Growers. Membership isn't that much. In March they had their annual meeting and workshop which is well worth it.

 

[stella_tigre]

As a gardener, I looked at disease susceptibility as well. The link from Great lakes Hops includes information (Table 3) that I looked at, since we've got a disgusting amount of powdery mildew.

I just planted our first plants, one Cascade and one Crystal in 30 gal grow bags, next year hope to get them in the ground! Good luck!

 

[KaptainKarl]

We live in Wisconsin, about 90 minutes north and east of Minneapolis. Here's my method for growing hops :

Four different hops rhizomes were given to me.
I put them in the ground.
They grew.
I harvested hops.

I did not do a soil test. I didn't put up a trellis until the second year. I have never fertilized. I have never pruned back the bines. (granted, I've got reasonable soil and plenty of space.)

Mt. Hood, Cascade, Brewer's Gold, and Nugget. My harvest was haphazard - I didn't use an oast, I just let them dry out on the plant. I made four SMASH ales with amber extract. I added hops by gut instinct. These beers turned out very hoppy, and very drinkable.

My temperature control is as follows: the garage is too cold in winter, I'll clear a space in the utility room; my garage will be about the right temp for the next few weeks, so I'll put the bucket out there; getting hot now, I'll throw a wet cloth over the bucket and evaporate the temp down.


I don't enter contests, typically. There is no Platonic ideal of a particular beer style that I'm trying to dial in on. I brew because I like makin' stuff, and I enjoy sharing it out. Twenty-two batches in, I've never produced a beer that wasn't enjoyable.

Long story short: if you're trying to just get hops going and have fun, it's less trouble than growing tomatoes.

 

[PSNCO]

I ran across this craigslist ad this morning: https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/for/6092879128.html

If you're in Cities, might be a good bet.... At least you know that they have thirived in our climate.

 

[d-bone]

I live in south Minneapolis. My columbus, chinook, magnum, cascade, and centennial all do really well up here.wilamwtte not so much. I also did somethibg else, i can remember, but it didnt do well at all. They are all going on yr 3 this year.

 

[d-bone]

As a gardener, I looked at disease susceptibility as well. The link from Great lakes Hops includes information (Table 3) that I looked at, since we've got a disgusting amount of powdery mildew.

I just planted our first plants, one Cascade and one Crystal in 30 gal grow bags, next year hope to get them in the ground! Good luck!

any reason why you wont get them in the ground this year? my cascade grew 10 ft first year.

 

[stella_tigre]

any reason why you wont get them in the ground this year? my cascade grew 10 ft first year.

Only that we have a gawdessawful bunch of stuff to do this year, and I want to make a nice permanent bed for about four plants. We have terrible clay soil, so raised beds will be essential, along with the support system. This year they will climb up some ropes onto the "cat-io" (our raised deck) and if we like that, we may train them up there permanently. Otherwise a standalone area.

The curse of being retired and doing a lot of our own work at a new house!

 

[CyrusM1983]

I am also in MN and my plants grow great. I don't think you can go wrong with centennial or cascade. Or the ctz variety. How much space do you have?

 

[LJvermonster]

Welcome to hop growing! It is a ton of fun and rewarding. They grow fast and vigorously. Last year was my first year actually fueling them. I may be going overboard with feeding them but my goodness did they take off (my vegetables too!). I use blood meal sprinkled on the hops, organic fertilizer, and dehydrated cow manure. These together have really done a great deal in production.

 

[RobbOlson]

I live just NW of the Twin Cities.


One great resource is MN Hop Growers. Membership isn't that much. In March they had their annual meeting and workshop which is well worth it.

What all is involved in the membership? how much is it?

 

[RobbOlson]

What's your soil like? Read about the varieties to get a general idea what will work. Great Lakes Hops has good info on best soil for certain varieties. Then it just depends on how much work you want to put in for the soil.

I've had better luck with more vigorous varieties (e.g. Cascade).

I sent in soil samples (new house) so I should know in a few weeks. I will probably have to put them in half wine barrels for the season until i finish the formal hop beds/trellis systems.

 

[RobbOlson]

I am also in MN and my plants grow great. I don't think you can go wrong with centennial or cascade. Or the ctz variety. How much space do you have?

Im in Lakeville, you? The garden under construction will be about 40'x60' and will consist of 12 20' raised beds (on a slope), 4 10' beds and 4 3'x3' beds in each corner for the hop plants. I plan to stake a long pole in the middle of those beds but I haven't looked into trellis styles too much yet, will probably get to that in the fall.

 

[highland_brewer]

I have Cascade (think the classic Sierra Nevada Pale Ale), Centennial (Stone IPA), and Chinook (Rogue Arrogant Bastard), as my basic IPA/Pale Ale American hops. All 3 are growing great here in Southern Ohio. These are all good for both bittering and flavor/aroma.

I also planted Willamette (Good basic hop for traditional English Ales, Stouts and Porters). It has not done so good thus far. Year 1 I had zero flowers; not that you expect much the first year, but I got an ounce or two from each of the others. Year 2, I maybe got an ounce or two, while the others were getting me 8 to 16 ozs per plant. Going to give it 1 more year; it has started off growing great, but it will be a while before I see how it produces.

If the Willamette bombs again, I suspect I'll be looking into one of the Neomexicana varieties.

Ditto on the willamette.. in central ohio.. has come up but only produced a handfull of cones. Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook on the other hand.. BEASTLY.. on my 4th year.. last year produced pretty good without ANY assistance from me.. got close to a lb from 3 plants.

 

[DanOelke]

What all is involved in the membership? how much is it?

It is $40 for a year - register & pay is all that's involved.
You can sign up at: http://www.mhga.org/membership.html