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[TexasTea]

Howdy. I found this place searching for hops varieties that would grow well in TX (30 degrees latt) which is pushing the range quite a bit . I had planted 4 cascade and 4 nugget based on reccomendations from other sites. The cascades are doing OK but the nuggets are struggling a bit. Something dug them up twice (deer?). I popped them back in the soil and put pavers around the plant to keep them from being dug up.


I also ordered some centennial (2) that haven't shown up yet. But what I really have to thank you all for is the info I found here on neomexicanus hops. I had never heard of this variety before. I ordered 2 Amelia and 2 neo1 field grades from Great Lake Hops. I hoping the heat tolerance of the neomexicanus will give my initial little hops yard a good start.

This is my first time, I haven't even brewed yet but am going to start my first batch next week so I'm a newbie tackling Texas gulf coast heat in the summer.

Thanks again guys, I hope I don't pester ya'all too much with questions.

 

[eliastheodosis]

Howdy. I found this place searching for hops varieties that would grow well in TX (30 degrees latt) which is pushing the range quite a bit . I had planted 4 cascade and 4 nugget based on reccomendations from other sites. The cascades are doing OK but the nuggets are struggling a bit. Something dug them up twice (deer?). I popped them back in the soil and put pavers around the plant to keep them from being dug up.


I also ordered some centennial (2) that haven't shown up yet. But what I really have to thank you all for is the info I found here on neomexicanus hops. I had never heard of this variety before. I ordered 2 Amelia and 2 neo1 field grades from Great Lake Hops. I hoping the heat tolerance of the neomexicanus will give my initial little hops yard a good start.

This is my first time, I haven't even brewed yet but am going to start my first batch next week so I'm a newbie tackling Texas gulf coast heat in the summer.

Thanks again guys, I hope I don't pester ya'all too much with questions.

Welcome! Already growing your own hops... You'll fit in just fine here I don't know the neomexicanus hops for growing but Great Lakes Hops is as good as it gets. Got my Chinook, Triple Perle, and Comet from them. Good luck with the growing, brewing, and the heat. If you're interested then you should try a saison. Simple recipe, pretty easy to ferment, and likes 80s-90s. It'll also likely match your neo hops pretty well for flavor. I'm extremely biased, though. I love them. Regardless, cheers and welcome!

 

[wallyLOZ]

Welcome from Missouri!

 

[ncbrewer]

Welcome from NC.

 

[wdavis2003]

Welcome! I can't wait to travel down the Texas Gulf Coast to South Padre in a couple of weeks.

 

[TexasTea]

Thanks for the welcome everyone.

 

[TexasTea]

Welcome! Already growing your own hops... You'll fit in just fine here I don't know the neomexicanus hops for growing but Great Lakes Hops is as good as it gets. Got my Chinook, Triple Perle, and Comet from them. Good luck with the growing, brewing, and the heat. If you're interested then you should try a saison. Simple recipe, pretty easy to ferment, and likes 80s-90s. It'll also likely match your neo hops pretty well for flavor. I'm extremely biased, though. I love them. Regardless, cheers and welcome!

Thanks for the advice. I had already ordered some higher temp yeast - its been shipped. The one I ordered was SafAle BE-134 Belgian Saison Dry Yeast which they say is ideal for 64-82F. I'll try to set central air at 78.
I was going to do a 2nd experiment, where the central air is set at 78, and I construct a box out of triwall cardboard that goes around a window AC unit that will house the 5 gallon fermenter. I was going to hook the ac up to an inkbird temp controller and see if I can use a more common yeast like Williamette. That should be a fun trial of Poor Mans Temp control.

 

[eliastheodosis]

Thanks for the advice. I had already ordered some higher temp yeast - its been shipped. The one I ordered was SafAle BE-134 Belgian Saison Dry Yeast which they say is ideal for 64-82F. I'll try to set central air at 78.
I was going to do a 2nd experiment, where the central air is set at 78, and I construct a box out of triwall cardboard that goes around a window AC unit that will house the 5 gallon fermenter. I was going to hook the ac up to an inkbird temp controller and see if I can use a more common yeast like Williamette. That should be a fun trial of Poor Mans Temp control.

BE-134 is a great yeast to start! It makes a really nice, easy drinking saison. Plenty of yeast flavor without being too overboard. It'll do great at 78F. If you like it then there are many different saison yeasts to try. Pretty much all will be fine at 78F or above.

I'm up for the window AC idea too. I don't recognize that yeast but you can ferment something like US-05 around 70 or just under. There are also tutorials on here for building your own glycol chiller using a window AC. Maybe a later project for you! It'll be a more efficient chilling process, though.

Cheers and keep us updated!

 

[TexasTea]

BE-134 is a great yeast to start! It makes a really nice, easy drinking saison. Plenty of yeast flavor without being too overboard. It'll do great at 78F. If you like it then there are many different saison yeasts to try. Pretty much all will be fine at 78F or above.

I'm up for the window AC idea too. I don't recognize that yeast but you can ferment something like US-05 around 70 or just under. There are also tutorials on here for building your own glycol chiller using a window AC. Maybe a later project for you! It'll be a more efficient chilling process, though.

Cheers and keep us updated!

oops, I made a mistake, Williamette is hops, heh not yeast. They sent US-05 with my kit and say its good to 78 F, but I like keeping it in the middle of the range. I got a kit from Northern brewer for 5 gallons of block party amber ale. It's a malt extract kit, If I can't get the temps down to 70, can I just use that Block Party amber ale kit and pitch BE134 belgian saison yeast into it instead of the US-05 it came with?

I figured I'd start simple and learn the ropes which is why I started with a kit. By next year I should have a crop of barley in and plenty of hops and I can malt my own grains etc. . I have 4 bee hives so I'll be tackling mead sooner or later.

OH, BTW the Great Lakes Hops arrived today and I planted them. (2 neo, 2 amalia and 2 centennial). Those Great Lake Hops looked FANTASTIC. The ones I got before from a different vendor were rhizomes and looked like little dead sticks and they have been struggling. From now on its Great Lakes Hops for me!

 

[eliastheodosis]

oops, I made a mistake, Williamette is hops, heh not yeast. They sent US-05 with my kit and say its good to 78 F, but I like keeping it in the middle of the range. I got a kit from Northern brewer for 5 gallons of block party amber ale. It's a malt extract kit, If I can't get the temps down to 70, can I just use that Block Party amber ale kit and pitch BE134 belgian saison yeast into it instead of the US-05 it came with?

I figured I'd start simple and learn the ropes which is why I started with a kit. By next year I should have a crop of barley in and plenty of hops and I can malt my own grains etc. . I have 4 bee hives so I'll be tackling mead sooner or later.

OH, BTW the Great Lakes Hops arrived today and I planted them. (2 neo, 2 amalia and 2 centennial). Those Great Lake Hops looked FANTASTIC. The ones I got before from a different vendor were rhizomes and looked like little dead sticks and they have been struggling. From now on its Great Lakes Hops for me!

Absolutely you can pitch BE-134 into the amber ale kit! It will taste different than the original recipe, of course, but there is no reason to believe it will be bad. In fact, I think it would work pretty well. I would definitely prefer that to fermenting US-05 at 78F. Your thought to ferment in the middle of the range is smart. Even better if you're toward the lower end. And keep in mind that the beer will warm up some from the the act of fermentation itself. Usually at least a few degrees. So that's the temp you really need to keep in mind. Willamette should go with that recipe and a saison yeast just fine too.

Start slow enough to be comfortable but don't be afraid to go all grain. I made one batch of extract and then switched to all geain and never went back. Everybody's journey will be different. Seems like you've got your head wrapped around it, though. Pretty envious about the barley crop and the beehives! That sounds very, very fun. I enjoy foraging and working that into beers when possible. Might be up your alley too.

Not at all surprised to hear that about Great Lakes Hops. I can't give them enough love on here! I'm glad to hear yours arrived healthy. Mine are second and third year and they are REALLY healthy in comparison to the one I got from another vendor too.

 

[michael sullivan]

Howdy. I found this place searching for hops varieties that would grow well in TX (30 degrees latt) which is pushing the range quite a bit . I had planted 4 cascade and 4 nugget based on reccomendations from other sites. The cascades are doing OK but the nuggets are struggling a bit. Something dug them up twice (deer?). I popped them back in the soil and put pavers around the plant to keep them from being dug up.


I also ordered some centennial (2) that haven't shown up yet. But what I really have to thank you all for is the info I found here on neomexicanus hops. I had never heard of this variety before. I ordered 2 Amelia and 2 neo1 field grades from Great Lake Hops. I hoping the heat tolerance of the neomexicanus will give my initial little hops yard a good start.

This is my first time, I haven't even brewed yet but am going to start my first batch next week so I'm a newbie tackling Texas gulf coast heat in the summer.

Thanks again guys, I hope I don't pester ya'all too much with questions.

hey, another new Texan here.
I've brewed before, but looking for ideas in my set-up and how to tackle the heat with a fridge that I'd like to use for fermentation 50-80 degrees BUT also for kegs of finished beer 40 degrees...

Good luck on the hops - the web-worms have been horrid here in Houston.

 

[TexasTea]

Howdy Michael, Yep the web worms are terrible this year. I'm in montgomery county about 30-40 miles NW of the houston city limits. I've been spraying the tent worms with cheap mouthwash (two 1.5 liter bottles of equate- green antiseptic mouthwash) for $6.47 at Walmart. I put the mouthwash in one of those gallon pump up spay bottles and hit those worms with it and they just drop out of those tents dead as a doornail. You need to poke the spray wand inside the tent to spray them good.

I have a floor model freezer I've been thinking about using for temp control. I'm researching it now. They have a scratch and dent appliance store in Houston. I think its off 1-45 around W Little York Rd if I remember correctly. I might check there for some used fridges