Why are my hop cones turning brown?

[mongoose33]

Last year, first year with my new hop yard. It's an old stockyard, perhaps the richest soil you can imagine.

I actually got a good yield the first year, which is unusual. This, the second year, they went nuts.

But--here we are nearing harvest, and some of the hop cones are turning brown. Are they simply past harvest, is there a disease causing this, or something else?

I've attached two pics; one shows some of the hops and the cones are doing just fine. The other shows the brown cones.

Any idea why this is happening? TIA!

 

[day_trippr]

If you don't see spider mites in those hops they're probably just a bit over-ripe. I grew Chinook, Cascade and Centennial for seven years quite successfully, and iirc my first harvests were around the last week of August, when the cones were just starting to brown at the tips.

Cheers!

 

[Ki-ri-n]

If it makes you feel any better, you're not alone. I have the same thing going on with my Centennial. Happened last year too but I chalked that up to trying to harvest too late in the year (got busy and had no time, by then it was too late). Same thing this year and I'm note sure why either. Although, this year in SE Wisconsin, we did have a bit of a heat wave without rain for a couple of weeks. I tried to water it even more than my drip feed system but didn't seem to help.

I'll have to double check my Saaz & Cluster and see where they're at. Last I looked there were tons of burrs, and only a few cones.

All of mine are on a SW exposure.

I hate spending the time growing them just to cut them down and toss them. I'm sure a few of my neighbor's don't like the look of it either (and I'm the 1st house into our subdivision.

 

[Deadalus]

If it makes you feel any better, you're not alone. I have the same thing going on with my Centennial. Happened last year too but I chalked that up to trying to harvest too late in the year (got busy and had no time, by then it was too late). Same thing this year and I'm note sure why either. Although, this year in SE Wisconsin, we did have a bit of a heat wave without rain for a couple of weeks. I tried to water it even more than my drip feed system but didn't seem to help.

I'll have to double check my Saaz & Cluster and see where they're at. Last I looked there were tons of burrs, and only a few cones.

All of mine are on a SW exposure.

I hate spending the time growing them just to cut them down and toss them. I'm sure a few of my neighbor's don't like the look of it either (and I'm the 1st house into our subdivision.

I'd love to have a neighbor who grows hops! Put a sign on it with the barley, hops, yeast, and water symbols.

 

[brewmanStan]

I'd love to have a neighbor who grows hops! Put a sign on it with the barley, hops, yeast, and water symbols.

A few years back I tried to grow hops (Brewer's Gold) and was somewhat successful the first year. I actually used what few cones I harvested in one of my beers. After that it was straight down hill. Everybody tried to tell me that Alabama was not a good place to grow hops, and now I have to agree, they were right. My second year I got the brown cones early and the third year and after, nothing. Our summers can be absolutely brutal on things that grow naturally in cooler climates like New York, Oregon and Washington. My guess is that first year was one of our cooler summers we get every now and then and I was certainly babying the hell out of them. All that babying wore me out. Just isn't worth it. Hops are beautiful plants and I tried to keep it going just for aesthetics, but it finally gave up.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I have a fence around my garden to deter wildlife. Between the fence and the dogs, it works fairly well. I turn my chickens into the garden once it has run its course and they perform a clean up and, well, “fertilize” all over it.
Several years ago, I planted some hops on two corners. One did well, the other didn’t return after the first year. We are likely way too hot here to expect a decent, usable crop. I do get excited when I see them coming back each spring. I enjoy watching them grow along the fence. I really like grabbing a cone and crushing it for the aroma.

There was one unexpected benefit; they are a Japanese beetle magnet! I go to the hops first thing in the morning and every time I go past the garden and either mash or shake the critters into a can of water. Between the hops drawing the beetles and the moles in the ground feeding on the beetle’s grubs, I have a much reduced beetle problem.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

But--here we are nearing harvest, and some of the hop cones are turning brown. Are they simply past harvest, is there a disease causing this, or something else?

Could be just age, but from a British perspective the cones feel like they are diseased, possibly downy mildew. Disease is a lot easier to diagnose on leaves rather than cones and your leaves look OK as far as the photo allows. Downy mildew prefers it cooler and generally shows up as patches on the underside of leaves, starting pale but turning darker. Powdery mildew prefers it warmer and is a white powder mostly on the upper surface.