New ohio hops grower

[ajgerber85]

Hello Folks,

I am completely new to growing hops and brewing beer. I live in northeast Ohio and have a decent amount of land that I will be growing different fruit for wine that I have been making for the past 5-6 years and I want to start growing hops. My first question is: what variety of hops grow well in ohio. I have a pretty firm grasp on the trellis construction but not so much on the different kinds of hops that would be available to me. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Hatchbrew]

Going to have to wait until next year to order your rhizomes, I ordered mine from Northern Brewer this past winter, received them at the end of March. The University of Vermont has great resources on varieties and growing information. Former Ohioian, from Medina. Best of luck with brewing and hopping. Cheers. (http://www.uvm.edu/~pass/perry/hops.html)

 

[wyzazz]

I'm not too far from you and I grow Hallertau, Cascade, Centennial, CTZ, Mt. Hood, Nugget & Williamette. Of these the Hallertau gives me the fewest cones and the CTZ gives me the most, but if you keep them watered and in the sun almost any variety should do fairly well for you.

Cheers!

 

[Retrofit]

I was recently in a debate on the issue of answering "What grows best where?"

I've always said grow what you use. But it's fair to say some varieties grow better than others. I think the best answer is to pick what you want to grow, then look at yields.

I think all hops can grow in most areas but not all hops produce well. My fuggle squeezed out half an ounce this year. My centennial gave me five ounces. This isn't relevant if you don't want those hops.

So pick your hops then ask again. I think you'll get a better answer.

 

[hopmomma]

Check out the Windsor Gardener based in Colorado. They have available hop starts now. And they will have cascade available in a couple weeks. They may be able to help you pick and purchase. I reference them inn google search and their site comes up. Good luck!

 

[B-Hoppy]

I have a feeling that what you'll be able to grow successfully will be determined by your soil. I've tried close to 20 varieties in various locations around my area since about '91 and have settled on Chinook, Cascade and some incidental varieties that I just keep around for interest. None of the lower alpha (aromatic) varieties have done anything for me. They grow well but they just don't produce (a couple ounces per plant - not worth the effort). But, I gave some Hallertau roots to a brewer outside Pittsburgh and they went nuts. His location, in the floodplain of a river, probably had a lot to do with it. They like "deep/well drained" soils - which most of us here in Ohio just don't have. In general, grape growing regions will have soils conducive to successfully growing hops as they also require deep/well drained soils.

I would suggest trying a few different varieties and give them at least 3 or 4 years to see how they perform before you decide to keep or toss them. It takes a while to figure out so I hope you're not in any big rush. Good luck.