Hops for hot weather

[thiagoedwardo]

Hi, i live in a small beach city in brazil, we have a kinda hot climate here and i was considering growing some hops on my garden, just for fun and tests.
Do we have any variations that would behave good in tropical conditions?

 

[Slim M]

Hi, i live in a small beach city in brazil, we have a kinda hot climate here and i was considering growing some hops on my garden, just for fun and tests.
Do we have any variations that would behave good in tropical conditions?

Well I’m not going to pretend to know anything about growing hops I actually just ordered my first rhizomes. That being said I’ve read quite a bit on this because I also live in a brutally hot southern state. One other disadvantage I have is a have clay soil.

All that stuff aside I’m going with Cluster Hops. I will probably struggle with mildew because Cluster is not supposed to have much resistance to that but i plan to use fungicide to keep it in check. Other than that I think Cluster is ok in the heat.

My plan of attack is to plant it in area that drains reasonably well and gets a little shade in the late evening hours because plants labeled full sun seldom can handle the full sun we get in mid to late summer so a little evening shade might help. I think Cluster, Cascade, or any C hop will be a good choice for you.

 

[passedpawn]

Cascade is the only one that I've noted can be easily grown in FL. I've never grown them, but I have seen this on the forums.

 

[mschoeffler]

Sterling has been productive for me in Oklahoma. That being said, I got nothing last year.

 

[Miraculix]

What about the Mexican varieties? They should be ok with hot weather?

 

[Slim M]

What about the Mexican varieties? They should be ok with hot weather?

Yeah I agree I just don’t have much experience if any with them. I’m not much of an ale brewer at the moment and have never tried them in a lager before.

 

[Miraculix]

Yeah I agree I just don’t have much experience if any with them. I’m not much of an ale brewer at the moment and have never tried them in a lager before.

I'd do some research on the plant itself and it's needs and buy myself two or three packs of different varieties. Then I'd just brew some beers with it and see whether I like it or not. When used for bittering, flavour impact is muted anyway, maybe you can get away with that? Or maybe you even like them. I've never tried neo mexicanus myself, so I cannot tell you anything but that I'm curious to get to know them myself.

 

[bwible]

First, hops are a vine and they will get very long and want to clmb. When they grow them commercially they have very tall poles (30 feet high?) with strings attached for the vines to climb on. I have seen people grow them and train them across a clotheslne setup. Those of us who live in communities with associations need to be aware of this as you might get complaints depending on what you build and what the rules are.

Second, when you grow your own hops you have no way to know what the AA% is unless you send some out to a lab and have them tested. For most people growing hops at home thats going to be cost-prohibitive. Different varieties are in different ranges but it will vary year to year and as we have all seen, can vary greatly year to year. So its always been recommended to buy your bittering hops with known AA% and if you are going to grow hops to grow your flavor and or aroma varities. So I would use that as a bigger consideration what varity you want to plant. Aroma or dual use varieties would make the most sense. And base that on what you like to brew.

I’m going to just say I’ve tried it in the past and found for me it wasn’t worth it.

 

[thiagoedwardo]

First, hops are a vine and they will get very long and want to clmb. When they grow them commercially they have very tall poles (30 feet high?) with strings attached for the vines to climb on. I have seen people grow them and train them across a clotheslne setup. Those of us who live in communities with associations need to be aware of this as you might get complaints depending on what you build and what the rules are.

Second, when you grow your own hops you have no way to know what the AA% is unless you send some out to a lab and have them tested. For most people growing hops at home thats going to be cost-prohibitive. Different varieties are in different ranges but it will vary year to year and as we have all seen, can vary greatly year to year. So its always been recommended to buy your bittering hops with known AA% and if you are going to grow hops to grow your flavor and or aroma varities. So I would use that as a bigger consideration what varity you want to plant. Aroma or dual use varieties would make the most sense. And base that on what you like to brew.

I’m going to just say I’ve tried it in the past and found for me it wasn’t worth it.

I dont care much for not knowing the aa% composition, i would use it for more experimental things, just testing and seeing how it goes.
I have a garden and will just plant just a couple, space will not be a problem.

 

[SkipperHops]

There is another thread here called "Hops comparison table" which will likely be helpful for you. Hops are a very vigorous plant as well, so most will likely do well for you. I would consider your environment from a disease pressure perspective - warm, moist climates such as yours are conducive for some molds for example. Selecting a variety that has some resistances would be good, and the hops comparison table does have some info on this.

Also not to be an ass, but hops grow as bines, not vines. The distinction being bines that bines wrap their main stem around the available trellising whereas a vine grows straight and uses tendrils to wrap and grab onto the trellis. Really not trying to be a know-it-all, just find that to be a fun little tidbit.

 

[Slim M]

I must admit the first time I seen bine I thought I was catching someone’s typo. Little did I know I was the idiot

 

[BugAC]

Hi, i live in a small beach city in brazil, we have a kinda hot climate here and i was considering growing some hops on my garden, just for fun and tests.
Do we have any variations that would behave good in tropical conditions?

I live in Louisiana. It's hot and humid down here. I'm on my 2nd year of Cascade, Chinook and Centennial Hops. The cascades grow very well down here, currently around 15-20' in length with multiple shoots. The chinook is getting there (about 8' in height) but not as active as the cascade, and my centennial is only a foot or so high.

 

[LegacyBanker]

Do these warm weather hops need a lot of sunlight or can you plant them in an area with dappled shade so they don’t overheat (South Carolina here)?

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Do these warm weather hops need a lot of sunlight or can you plant them in an area with dappled shade so they don’t overheat (South Carolina here)?

As far as I’m aware hops thrive in full sun, the will also clime trees if given the chance. Perhaps you might check with a local university cooperative for detailed information about your zone.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I’ve grown them for 10+ years. I’m going to dig them today and spread/thin them out. I’ve had several that never grew well. Mt Hood, Magnum, and Cashmere never could get them rolling. The most aggressive grower for me has been Columbus. No issues with drought. My Cascade is still going. That hill mixed with Centennial. No idea what I have there, doesn’t matter. Growing hops really isn’t worth the effort IMO. Many years I just let them mow them as they spread. Add in the limited selection of what you can grow….