Japan Hops Trading -

[OppamaBrendan]

Guzzibrew, I am good for kegs now, I lucked out as Baird Brewing unloaded 50+ cornies onto the HB community mostly near Tokyo. I don't have gas or regulator yet or freezer/kegerator yet so gathering more kegs would probably be just greedy on my part. I will still get the assessment on the rhizomes in the spring and see what I can send.
For southern climates, a member on HBT got rhizomes from me last year for a friend, maybe she can speak up and let us know how they did. They went to Okinawa if I recall.

I shaded my hops by accident. My wife makes bottle gourd lamps and the gourds (hyoutan) we planted went insane and covered everything. In the fall I stretched out one plant and measured the main stem to be 18 meters long. Probably 50 meters total counting all the side stems on that single plant. Suffice it to say they shaded my hops, and tomatoes, and ume tree, and shed, and if I stood in one place too long....

 

[Fencdar]

Man I really want to get in on this, but Tokyo apartments are none too conducive to hop growing. SWMBO is down with it, though, so let's give it a try and hop for the best!

I'm thinking of trying to order some varieties from overseas, as the varieties here seem limited. Does anyone want to go in with me for a batch order?

 

[Guzzibrew]

OppamaBrendan

Thanks for considering me as a potential adhoptive parent

I'm going to check with an acquaintance who is a professional gardener to see what varieties are available.

Fencdar
I may well be up for splitting an order- depending on what I can buy/ scrounge up here.

 

[Fencdar]

Apparently SWMBO's grandparents might be down with me turning their backyard into a hop garden! Their neighbors apparently have had a 2m-tall plant for years. No idea what variety though. Gotta follow up on both points.

 

[Fastforwardx2]

Hello all and Happy New Years!

I am wanting to grow some hops for the first time. I plan on growing them in containers, in home-made earth-boxes. I was wondering if anyone would know where I could get some Japanese type hop rhizomes. I live in Iwakuni (less than an hour away from Hiroshima). I just think it would be cool to grow and experiment with something from Japan while I am here.

 

[Fencdar]

I'd like to know that too. I imagine the Japanese cultivars are all licensed to heck though, and impossible to get as a result.


So are we going to batch-order some rhizomes this year? I see that MoreBeer and Adventures in Homebrewing have their preorder pages set up. I'm thinking Citra or Willamette personally.

Edit: some links, I'll edit these to keep them updated with the latest info I have.
AIH (certificates for certain types only)
Farmhouse Supply
MoreBeer (No shipping to FPO)
Northern Brewer (No intl shipping)
Freshops (not active yet, certificate $30, order via email to [email protected])

Arrowhead Hops
Willingham Nurseries (UK)
Crosby Farms (not active yet)
Nortwest Hops
Eickelmann (Germany)
Essentially Hops (UK)
Aplus Hops (UK)
Great Lakes Hops

I've just had a look through the Japanese import regulations, and it doesn't appear that we will need special measures to import rhizomes from overseas, but I'd try to find places that provide the "Phytosanitary Certificate" just in case.

 

[Fastforwardx2]

Thanks for the links. Some really good sites on that list. I think I might order from Farmhouse. Thanks again for the links

 

[OppamaBrendan]

I think with any plant material if you have the option of getting a phytosanitary certificate that is the way to go. Its not the plant itself they are worried about, more as the potential for carrying a disease that wipes out local economies. If the rhizomes are bare-rooted (without soil) they stand a much greater chance of getting through customs.

I am sharing some files I have collected here that may be usefull: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B3Dulupgz-_vMEN2NkRDZFZ0WWs&usp=sharing
I am still trying to find my spreadsheet that had a bunch of hops listed with disease/pest resistance/susceptibility and heat stress tolerance.

Bonus! I found that file that lists the Japanese varieties! (IGHC document) It even lists the breweries associated with them! I will post those varieties in the thread for ease of viewing.

 

[OppamaBrendan]

Sorry I have no idea how to insert cells and format this nicely. If anyone can do that please repost. I added AA% and Flavor Profile to the characteristics although nothing was listed in the file we can hopefully fill out some of that over time ourselves

VARIETY NAME -- OWNER -- B (Bittering) A (Aroma) -- ORIGIN (Japan, China) AA % Flavor Profile
Eastern Gold -- Kirin -- B -- J -- --
Eastern Green -- Kirin -- B -- J -- --
Fukuyutaka -- Kirin -- -- J -- --
Furano 18 -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Furano 6 -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Furano Ace -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Furano Beta -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Furano Laura -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Furano Special -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Golden Star -- Sapporo -- B -- J -- --
Kaikogane -- Kirin -- -- J -- --
Kitamidori -- Kirin -- B -- J -- --
Little Star -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Nanbuwase -- Asahi -- -- J -- --
SA-1 -- Sapporo -- A -- China -- --
Shinsyu Wase -- Sapporo -- B -- J -- --
Sinsyu Wase -- Suntory -- B -- J -- --
Sorachi Ace -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Toyomidori -- Kirin -- B -- J -- --

 

[PapaBearJay]

I think with any plant material if you have the option of getting a phytosanitary certificate that is the way to go. Its not the plant itself they are worried about, more as the potential for carrying a disease that wipes out local economies. If the rhizomes are bare-rooted (without soil) they stand a much greater chance of getting through customs.

I am sharing some files I have collected here that may be usefull: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B3Dulupgz-_vMEN2NkRDZFZ0WWs&usp=sharing
I am still trying to find my spreadsheet that had a bunch of hops listed with disease/pest resistance/susceptibility and heat stress tolerance.

Bonus! I found that file that lists the Japanese varieties! (IGHC document) It even lists the breweries associated with them! I will post those varieties in the thread for ease of viewing.

Yoink!

 

[Fencdar]

Thanks for the links. Some really good sites on that list. I think I might order from Farmhouse. Thanks again for the links

If you're going to order to Japan, lets do a bulk order together to save on shipping. Also note that I haven't confirmed that all of them offer certificates and/or ship abroad.
EDIT: I emailed Farmhouse 3 days ago about both points, and they have yet to respond. It's still Sunday in the US, and Monday is MLK day, so I'll give them a few more days until I write them off.

I think with any plant material if you have the option of getting a phytosanitary certificate that is the way to go. Its not the plant itself they are worried about, more as the potential for carrying a disease that wipes out local economies. If the rhizomes are bare-rooted (without soil) they stand a much greater chance of getting through customs.

I am sharing some files I have collected here that may be usefull: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B3Dulupgz-_vMEN2NkRDZFZ0WWs&usp=sharing
I am still trying to find my spreadsheet that had a bunch of hops listed with disease/pest resistance/susceptibility and heat stress tolerance.

Bonus! I found that file that lists the Japanese varieties! (IGHC document) It even lists the breweries associated with them! I will post those varieties in the thread for ease of viewing.

Definitely copying all these files. :rockin:

Brendan, I'm very much a noob at growing hops (haven't even ordered a rhizome yet!), but what would you say are the biggest problem diseases/pests in Japan?

 

[Guzzibrew]

Brendan,

Is this a complete list? I really can't believe that Suntory is using only one variety of hops =8-0

Suntory Premium Malt tastes like more than that- but maybe it's just the difference between dry hopping and no dry hopping.

I love the hop nose of Premium when it's fresh.


VARIETY NAME -- OWNER -- B (Bittering) A (Aroma) -- ORIGIN (Japan, China) AA % Flavor Profile
Eastern Gold -- Kirin -- B -- J -- --
Eastern Green -- Kirin -- B -- J -- --
Fukuyutaka -- Kirin -- -- J -- --
Furano 18 -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Furano 6 -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Furano Ace -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Furano Beta -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Furano Laura -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Furano Special -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Golden Star -- Sapporo -- B -- J -- --
Kaikogane -- Kirin -- -- J -- --
Kitamidori -- Kirin -- B -- J -- --
Little Star -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Nanbuwase -- Asahi -- -- J -- --
SA-1 -- Sapporo -- A -- China -- --
Shinsyu Wase -- Sapporo -- B -- J -- --
Sinsyu Wase -- Suntory -- B -- J -- --
Sorachi Ace -- Sapporo -- A -- J -- --
Toyomidori -- Kirin -- B -- J -- --[/QUOTE]

 

[Guzzibrew]

Fencdar,

I'm up for throwing in on a group buy. If we buy different varieties in a year or two we may be able to share. However as I'm in Kyushu I'll need the most heat hardy varieties to ensure they survive the warm summers. Centennial and Cascade spring to mind...

GB

 

[Fencdar]

Cool. Tell ya what. I'll make the order on say 1/31, so everyone that wants rhizomes pm me your wishes and address before then. As soon as I get the rhizomes and payment (I'll set up paypal or bank furikomi), I'll ship them out to everybody. Sound good?

 

[trippmia]

I am definitely in on this. Luckily I know this guy.

 

[OppamaBrendan]

Guzzi, I am not sure if that is a complete list or not but I doubt it, the big guys probably do stick to a handful of varieties only though for economic reasons. I just pulled it out of one of the files that I shared, someone else had passed that file on to me a while back.

Fendcar I think Japan has several climate/growing zones although they only really identify 3 of these on the back of seed packets. If you grab a pack of tomato seeds for example they have a 3 color map on the back that lists the miura peninsula in the same region as okinawa? Thats got to be BS.

I personally think that heat stress is the biggest danger, followed by humidity related disease, then pests.
If you are not sure about the heat stress around your place, planting in a large container is useful. If one location is too hot you can move the container to a shadier spot. My planters are black so they stay in the shade all the time, and have not had much problems. I started to move my Magnum this fall and found a taproot as thick as my thumb had gone down through the base into the soil, so careful if you need to move - it might mean breaking roots and shocking the plant in another way

I got signs of powdery mildew, which was running rampant through my bottle gourds this past summer. I learned about spraying a dilute milk solution on to control it at that time. A bad smelling but effective treatment! The PM had very little effect on the plants, as I was already spraying the other crops and watching for it. PM is not fatal so I wouldn't spray bines that are full of cones, I wouldn't want milk residue on my hops!

Lastly, I got spider mites on 2 plants. Both suffered several dry leaves and dropped them, and I used pesticide on them. I would have used a more natural remedy but couldn't afford the time and risk of spreading out of control to all my other plants. Mites can be tolerated in low levels but you want to control their numbers to avoid decreased yield. Soapy water, or garlic water is useful. The spray I got was very effective, you can go to a garden center and they have a pest-guide beside the control methods, so even without good Japanese you can find a picture of the mushi/disease and the corresponding product sold for it.

A word of personal opinion though not only relevant to hops - Japan is one of (last time I looked, #1) the highest pesticide using countries on earth and it isn't good to keep that going. A lot of the most popular products are the systemic variety that are sprinkled around the roots in pellet form - spreading throughout the whole plant to kill anything that feeds on them. These are neoniconide chemicals and very very bad for pollinators as well as pests. Use them only if it is before the plant flowers, after that you are likely killing off the good-guys too.

 

[Fastforwardx2]

Cool. Tell ya what. I'll make the order on say 1/31, so everyone that wants rhizomes pm me your wishes and address before then. As soon as I get the rhizomes and payment (I'll set up paypal or bank furikomi), I'll ship them out to everybody. Sound good?

Are you going to be able to ship to an FPO address?

 

[Fencdar]

Are you going to be able to ship to an FPO address?

****, if you're at an FPO, you'll probably get a lot cheaper shipping than I will. Yes, I can ship to you, I'll just have to get your Japanese address.

 

[OppamaBrendan]

I got a heads up from a friend that tried to order last year from homebrewstuff.com. They told him they couldn't ship here so I guess that's one less option.

Fendcar, any positive news from Farmhouse or one of the other suppliers you listed?

Im getting declined from my tomato seed suppliers :-(

 

[Fencdar]

I got a heads up from a friend that tried to order last year from homebrewstuff.com. They told him they couldn't ship here so I guess that's one less option.

Fendcar, any positive news from Farmhouse or one of the other suppliers you listed?

Im getting declined from my tomato seed suppliers :-(

I guess international markets just aren't worth the headache to some people.

Farmhouse hasn't gotten back to me, but AIH says they can supply certificates for some varieties. Once I have a list of what all everybody wants, I'll email them and check.
EDIT: Northern Brewer got back to me- they do not ship rhizomes internationally.

So for now, let's plan on ordering through Adventures in Homebrewing. Please PM me your order and address ASAP to get in on our bulk purchase. FastForward has graciously agreed to help us out, meaning our shipping charges will be much cheaper.

AIH will have the following varieties:
Brewer's Gold
Cascade
Centennial
Chinook
Columbus
Crystal
Fuggle
Galena
Glacier
Horizon
Magnum
Mt. Hood
Newport
Northern Brewer
Nugget
Perle
Santiam
Sterling
Sunbeam
Tettnanger
US Golding
Willamette
Zeus

After I get all the orders in, I will email everyone with their total price. I promise I'm not adding any profit on this, rhizomes and shipping only! After I get each payment (via Amazon Payments), I will ship the rhizomes out via Yamato Takkyubin (KuroNeko).

 

[Fencdar]

Well, here's the news from AIH RE:certificates:

We can get them for:

Cascade
Centennial
Chinook
Columbus
Galena
Magnum
Mt Hood
N Brewer
Sterling
Willamette

The certificate cost is $25. I will need to see if this is for all of the rhizomes or if you will need one for each variety.

So the Perle, Crystal, and Tettnanger that people asked for are not going to work; at least not through AIH. I'm looking around for other stores/farms that may be able to provide these cheaper and with less hassle, so anybody that wants to get in and help dilute the shipping costs further are welcome to do so.

 

[CB_in_Tokyo]

Hi, I am new to these forums, but was researching hops on Japan. I have been Homebrewing here for a few years, and would love to get in on this group buy for hops rhizomes.

Is it too late?

Cheers,

Steve

 

[OppamaBrendan]

Welcome to the forum CB in Tokyo! Sorry I can't answer your question though, I am opting out of more hops acquisitions this season.

 

[Fencdar]

Hi, I am new to these forums, but was researching hops on Japan. I have been Homebrewing here for a few years, and would love to get in on this group buy for hops rhizomes.

Is it too late?

Welcome to the forums, Steve. Sorry I didn't reply earlier, it's been a hectic week. I haven't made the purchase yet (the certificates are a pain in the butt), so please PM me with 1) what rhizomes you want and 2) your address.

Brendan, do we need to get a separate certificate for each rhizome, each cultivar, or just one for the whole order? Do you know?

I'm waiting on:
1) orders from trippmia (revised), guzzibrew, and CB_in_Tokyo
2) response to the above question from AIH's grower
3) life (its been a long week)

Once those get cleared up, we can move forward.

 

[OppamaBrendan]

Brendan, do we need to get a separate certificate for each rhizome, each cultivar, or just one for the whole order? Do you know?

I don't have an official answer to that, but my best guess is that each cultivar would need one if the customs guys are really picky. They should assume that the cert is for the LOT, and the lot would consist of anything labelled on the cert. If all the pieces are in one box together and the certificate is on top or outside the box, they might read it, look inside, and move on. Any soil in there might get their attention so if the stock is nice and clean looking that would help. If you have one cert an they decide thats not enough for the other plants, then having the rhizomes all packed together (touching) might end up being a bad thing.

But this is Japan, the source of a ton of damaging invasive species... Their environment is so anthropogenic that I feel they don't even care anymore. I've yet to see evidence of some kind of protection or enforcement. Its more likely they heavily skew their priority for contraband (drugs/guns) interception.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

 

[Fencdar]

I don't have an official answer to that, but my best guess is that each cultivar would need one if the customs guys are really picky. They should assume that the cert is for the LOT, and the lot would consist of anything labelled on the cert. If all the pieces are in one box together and the certificate is on top or outside the box, they might read it, look inside, and move on. Any soil in there might get their attention so if the stock is nice and clean looking that would help. If you have one cert an they decide thats not enough for the other plants, then having the rhizomes all packed together (touching) might end up being a bad thing.

But this is Japan, the source of a ton of damaging invasive species... Their environment is so anthropogenic that I feel they don't even care anymore. I've yet to see evidence of some kind of protection or enforcement. Its more likely they heavily skew their priority for contraband (drugs/guns) interception.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

That's very helpful! So it sounds like the certificate covers the products of a certain farm, is that right?

Right now I'm leaning towards getting one certificate for the lot, and begging them to clean and bag the rhizomes separately, especially since the regulations I read seemed to say that a certificate wasn't necessary.

 

[OppamaBrendan]

I mean the certificate should cover an inspection of a group/lot of rhizomes but not necessarily the whole farm. I think they would inspect one variety at a time because some plants are more susceptible to disease than others. There are varieties that could have a disease right next to healthy immune plants of another type.
If you have one cert I think it will go a long way to getting it through customs. Cleaning the soil off is a big help. In Canada you aren't even allowed to move farm machinery from one province to another without a full cleaning - you can get fined if you don't wash your tractor. That's not even crossing an international border :cross:

 

[CB_in_Tokyo]

Welcome to the forums, Steve. Sorry I didn't reply earlier, it's been a hectic week. I haven't made the purchase yet (the certificates are a pain in the butt), so please PM me with 1) what rhizomes you want and 2) your address.

Brendan, do we need to get a separate certificate for each rhizome, each cultivar, or just one for the whole order? Do you know?

I'm waiting on:
1) orders from trippmia (revised), guzzibrew, and CB_in_Tokyo
2) response to the above question from AIH's grower
3) life (its been a long week)

Once those get cleared up, we can move forward.

Thanks Fendcar, very hectic here as well, especiallly with the snowstorm. I have PM'd you my order.

It seems that there are a lot more foreign brewers in Japan than I guessed! Looking forward to being part of the community!

Cheers,

Steve

 

[Fencdar]

Here's our order at the moment.

[B]Variety		Total	 Each[/B]
Centennial	6	 $8.99 
N Brewer 	3	 $8.99 
Cascade		3	 $8.99 
Willamette	3	 $8.99 
Nugget		2	 $8.99 
Galena		1	 $9.99 
Magnum		1	 $9.99

Amazing how that worked out so exactly. These prices are including AIH's cost, 1 certificate for the batch, and shipping to your domiciles. Please do not send me money yet, I will PM you a total once I make the actual purchase.

If we need to get certificates for each variety, then all the lower-quantity rhizomes will get exceedingly expensive.

I am also considering ordering twice: a safe one as above, with certificates, and a second package without, just to push my luck. If the certificates do in fact cover only a single cultivar, perhaps this will be a (risky) way to try to keep costs down, and afford some variety in cultivars. I plan on ordering some Crystal and Perle this way, so anyone that wants to join in, let me know.

 

[CB_in_Tokyo]

Here's our order at the moment.

[B]Variety		Total	 Each[/B]
Centennial	6	 $8.99 
N Brewer 	3	 $8.99 
Cascade		3	 $8.99 
Willamette	3	 $8.99 
Nugget		2	 $8.99 
Galena		1	 $9.99 
Magnum		1	 $9.99

Amazing how that worked out so exactly. These prices are including AIH's cost, 1 certificate for the batch, and shipping to your domiciles. Please do not send me money yet, I will PM you a total once I make the actual purchase.

If we need to get certificates for each variety, then all the lower-quantity rhizomes will get exceedingly expensive.

I am also considering ordering twice: a safe one as above, with certificates, and a second package without, just to push my luck. If the certificates do in fact cover only a single cultivar, perhaps this will be a (risky) way to try to keep costs down, and afford some variety in cultivars. I plan on ordering some Crystal and Perle this way, so anyone that wants to join in, let me know.

I'll get in on the risky ones. I'll join you on the Crystal and Perle and raise you hallertau, east kent goldings and and saaz (if available).