So...You Want to Breed Your Own Hops.

[alane1]

I have a second year plant that really surprised me. Last year it was this little, spindly thing. This year it surpassed growth and cone production even of my Cascades and magnums.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1439483326.318018.jpg

 

[nagmay]

Just posted in the other thread, but then I noticed this. Here are some shots of my 2nd years:

 

[PapaBearJay]

Most of the hops I have harvested yet this season have some seeds in them. My plans include bulking all seeds from named varieties and keeping them differentiated from the "other" hops which will be bulked in a similar manner.

This is gonna be fun, fun, fun!

 

[Weizenstein]

Looking good! I'm in the midst of harvesting a bunch of wild hops here in KC, all have seeds. I'm trying to keep the harvest from each wild plant separate so that I can evaluate the aroma, and know which parent the seed came from, but it's real tricky when they're growing together on a bush or hedgerow. There are signs of mildew, but most plants appear tolerant or totally resistant. Maturity is pretty late, though that could be due to uneven sun exposure. I'm pretty certain that a number of these specimens are H. Lupulus Var. Pubescense from the velvety undersides of the leaves.

I also took some pollen from a wild male (not sure if Pube or Lupuloides subspecies) and pollinated my Teamaker flowers, hoping to get some seeds. Teamaker has great aroma character, noble-ish, disease resistant and dwarf, so I think it could be an interesting cross.

I'm starting a website about collecting, breeding, and eventually commercializing the midwestern Pubescense subspecies. My website sucks right now, but if you want to check it out it's PubeHops dot com . I want to add a foraging guide and subspecies ID guide.

 

[DarkCoder]

Looking good! I'm in the midst of harvesting a bunch of wild hops here in KC, all have seeds. I'm trying to keep the harvest from each wild plant separate so that I can evaluate the aroma, and know which parent the seed came from, but it's real tricky when they're growing together on a bush or hedgerow. There are signs of mildew, but most plants appear tolerant or totally resistant. Maturity is pretty late, though that could be due to uneven sun exposure. I'm pretty certain that a number of these specimens are H. Lupulus Var. Pubescense from the velvety undersides of the leaves.

I also took some pollen from a wild male (not sure if Pube or Lupuloides subspecies) and pollinated my Teamaker flowers, hoping to get some seeds. Teamaker has great aroma character, noble-ish, disease resistant and dwarf, so I think it could be an interesting cross.

I'm starting a website about collecting, breeding, and eventually commercializing the midwestern Pubescense subspecies. My website sucks right now, but if you want to check it out it's PubeHops dot com . I want to add a foraging guide and subspecies ID guide.

Great job on collecting wild germplasm !! I guess that we are aiming at the same goal, but in different location.

 

[nagmay]

... but if you want to check it out it's PubeHops dot com . I want to add a foraging guide and subspecies ID guide.

Pube hops - Ha, love that you're owning it!
Keep us updated.

 

[user 213490]

I would love to do something like what you guys are, plant science (especially the molecular bits of it) is a huge interest of mine, so as a homebrewer growing several varieties of hops was a given.
If I could help out in any way with your test/trials/etc I'm game.

I currently have 6 varieties of hops from GreatLakesHops: AlphAroma, Centennial, Mackinac(a proprietary one of theirs, so I probably shouldn't touch that one...), Nugget, Serebrianka (cascade's grandma I think), and Vojvodina (referred to as a "super-goldings"). So once again, if there's anything I can do with those ones that can help you fine folks out let me know!

 

[PapaBearJay]

So the jury is in! Every cultivar was OP this year! This'll give me a nice starting background and enough variation with the numerous males I had growing this year to make some harsh selections on the powdery-susceptible materials I currently have growing.

 

[PapaBearJay]

I spent this weekend cleaning up the hopyard. Few plants made the cut, and those that did replaced cultivars I use infrequently. Those that were dug up will be replanted by other selections that will be given room to grow and prosper (hopefully).

I've got enough variation present (I hope!) that enough gain should be made over the next several years.

 

[nagmay]

I spent this weekend cleaning up the hopyard. Few plants made the cut, and those that did replaced cultivars I use infrequently. Those that were dug up will be replanted by other selections that will be given room to grow and prosper (hopefully).

I've got enough variation present (I hope!) that enough gain should be made over the next several years.

What kind of numbers are we talking about?

If you don't mind sharing: How many did you keep? What percentage did you cull? Did you keep males, or only females?

 

[PapaBearJay]

Nagmay, take into account that the culling isn't finished as you read this.

So far I discarded 19 plants (male and female both). I still have roughly 15-20 from last year to go through but most of those are keepers, in addition to the two I kept from the bed I was working on yesterday.

This years seedlings will be different, I have several thousand to work through. I'll need to set the bar high.

When making my selections I chose to wait until after flowering so as to at least maintain seed lots from the plants I was selecting against.

 

[ffaoe]

Did some culling myself a few weeks ago, although not nearly as much as the other growers on here. From 10 I'm down to 6. Two never grew more than 4ft tall. and did not determine sex. Two females I culled because of unfavorable aromas in hop teas. The one was grassy with a bit of onion, and the other was overwhelmingly onion and garlic.

The remaining 6 are 3 males and 3 females. One female with fair yields with faint grassy/herbal aromas, one really promising one with good yields and nice lemon aromas, and one with poor yield, grassy/herbal aromas but super long sidearms. The side arms were around 5 feet long and stringy.

3 males will be culled down to 2 in the spring once I get the germination rates for two. #2 was the most vigorous grower and did not produce many seeds, but 2/3 were not hollow.#9 produced a high number of seeds but only 1/5 were not hollow. The third male I did not make any crosses with but will keep around another year because of different leaves from the other two and flowered much later than the first two (about the same time).

 

[alane1]

I let Mother Nature do the work, I started out with well over a hundred seedlings and I'm down to about 6 plants that survived.

Before they even make it to the hop yard I want to make sure they have survival genes. Even after I thought they were all sorted out one of them made a comeback View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1443563715.305488.jpg

 

[PapaBearJay]

I let Mother Nature do the work, I started out with well over a hundred seedlings and I'm down to about 6 plants that survived.

Before they even make it to the hop yard I want to make sure they have survival genes. Even after I thought they were all sorted out one of them made a comeback View attachment 306479

That happens. I expect that even after all the digging I did this past weekend I'll have "volunteers" that come from missed rhizomes.

I have been meaning to clear out my messages but I haven't had time to.

Feel free to post here if need be, otherwise you can always e-mail me (which I believe you have).

 

[PapaBearJay]

Easiest way to make selections....

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1444597101.415927.jpg

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1444597135.768954.jpg

....just let them get diseased!

 

[PapaBearJay]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1444597429.710573.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1444597452.662191.jpg

Having both powdery and downy mildews present in my hopyard makes it relatively simple to perform selections.

I just control for escapes by inoculating everything!

 

[Weizenstein]

Wow! That's some intense downy mildew. I've only ever gotten powdery (The second set of photos) here in KC, must not be humid enough for downy? Or the hops here are resistant.

Great leaf close-up, from the structure and serrations on the leaf I would guess that this is primarily H. Lupulus var. Lupulus genetics? (European/cultivated American hops)

 

[alane1]

I haven't seen powdery yet either but downy is present in my yard. Some are showing resistance which seems promising. I had a bad outbreak of winter moth that destroyed most of my seedlings.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1444745571.113353.jpg

 

[Weizenstein]

Hey I'm out in Gilbert Arizona for the week, any idea where I could forage some wild NeoMexicanus hops in the hills near here?

 

[PapaBearJay]

Sorry Weizen, I don't know of any such locations. I know there are other members on the forum from the SW US that might be able to help you.

 

[alane1]

Hey I'm out in Gilbert Arizona for the week, any idea where I could forage some wild NeoMexicanus hops in the hills near here?

I found some gps locations in AZ, only problem is the closest one is probably a 2+ hours drive.

 

[HopStalker]

@Weizenstein, here’s a good map for wild neomexicanus in the southwest. It's the GPS coordinates of the GRIN accessions. There are some spots in AZ, but they don't look too close to Gilbert though.

http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgs_public/prodweb.gmapsp?in_acid=1642187

 

[haberlet]

Hi folks-

Just ran into this thread as a new member. I live on a farm in NJ and have tons of hop vines across the property-- I'm guessing there used to be hop production many years ago. I'm guessing this because most vines produce very nice large cones and just seem 'commercial'. It's a 290 year old property so there might be a lot of history attached to them.

Over the years, I've selected one very vigorous and disease resistant clone-- I'm not a hophead but I get a an extremely intense peach aroma from them-- definately some passionfruit and maybe some very ripe mango. It's incredibly intense and pretty intoxicating. Only problem is the out of control growth-- absurdly vigorous. I've found it 30 feet up in a large ash tree.

I'd be willing to send out material to any folks interested with established breeding programs-- I've experimented with hop breeding and find it extremely fascinating but I've only made it through about half the thread.

 

[alane1]

Welcome to the thread haberlet!!! I'm wondering if they are hybridized Cluster. Are there any males on your property?

 

[haberlet]

Yes, I've definitely seen some male flowers, but I think they're coming off a female plant. Funny thing is I've only brewed with them fresh, but I've never found seeds in the kettle. I didn't have the idea to check them for seeds, I just figured "free hops!" I call them redneck Citra. Actually haven't brewed with them for a few years, I've been back at college before the cones come ready.


It's a mess of old vines all tangled together down a 30' section of fence and I can't tell whether it's all one plant or not. It's probably one big heap that's been there for a century or more.

I got a few PMs. I'll happily send out donations/make trades for any interesting selections. My only request is if you don't have an interest in hop breeding, please don't PM me looking for a free rhizome.

 

[PapaBearJay]

Yes, I've definitely seen some male flowers, but I think they're coming off a female plant. Funny thing is I've only brewed with them fresh, but I've never found seeds in the kettle. I didn't have the idea to check them for seeds, I just figured "free hops!" I call them redneck Citra. Actually haven't brewed with them for a few years, I've been back at college before the cones come ready.


It's a mess of old vines all tangled together down a 30' section of fence and I can't tell whether it's all one plant or not. It's probably one big heap that's been there for a century or more.

I got a few PMs. I'll happily send out donations/make trades for any interesting selections. My only request is if you don't have an interest in hop breeding, please don't PM me looking for a free rhizome.

haberlet, how do you know it's disease resistant? Have you been inoculating? Do you have disease pressure? There are numerous factors that go into determining whether a plant becomes diseased or not, so I'd be hesitant at stating something without first showing some evidence.

 

[Blue-Frog]

PapaBearJay;
I think you meant to quote post #443....

Haberlet;
I am in Japan, but would like to try it.

 

[haberlet]

Hey Blue-Frog,

Wow! so here's my thoughts cuz I've received a half dozen or so requests.

1) I don't want to overly excite folks. Although I'm a fairly experienced homebrewer, I drink very little beer. I like to think I have good sensory abilities, but the very juicy peach and passionfruit I get might not exist in another micro climate or to another nose. I think it's a very exciting wild cultivar but don't want folks to be dissapointed.

2) I'd love to ship to Japan but slightly concerned about cost, and moreso custom laws. I'm not a freak about legality but don't want some ridiculous fine for shipping a rhizome. I'd have to do some research first, but the idea of spreading it to another continent seems awesome and I'd love to.

 

[GVH_Dan]

Hey Blue-Frog,

Wow! so here's my thoughts cuz I've received a half dozen or so requests.

1) I don't want to overly excite folks. Although I'm a fairly experienced homebrewer, I drink very little beer. I like to think I have good sensory abilities, but the very juicy peach and passionfruit I get might not exist in another micro climate or to another nose. I think it's a very exciting wild cultivar but don't want folks to be dissapointed.

I've done a number of hop rubs and single hop tastings...its pretty funny how much people's flavor perception changes with suggestion. If you say, "Do you taste the grapefruit?" 90% will taste grapefruit. Hand them the same sample and say, do you smell the banana?" and about 90% can smell banana. There are very few people who experience a beer the same.

2) I'd love to ship to Japan but slightly concerned about cost, and moreso custom laws. I'm not a freak about legality but don't want some ridiculous fine for shipping a rhizome. I'd have to do some research first, but the idea of spreading it to another continent seems awesome and I'd love to.

There are a lot of laws regarding shipping plant material. Do you research before shipping anything international.

 

[ffaoe]

There are a lot of laws regarding shipping plant material. Do you research before shipping anything international.

You have to do your research with shipping plant materials between states as well.
About 10 years ago two USDA agents showed up at my door looking for an orange plant I bought on Ebay. I had no idea at the time there was a citrus quarantine out of Florida but the USDA was going to put the seller in prison. THEY DO NOT PLAY AROUND. I was lucky only having to provide a formal statement, the USDA was tracking down each of the few dozen plants to be destroyed and criminal case being built against the seller.