Recent content by Anofre

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Nows the time to prep new beds & split wintering zomes. My beds are mounds with layers of hay, manure, soil repeated to about knee height, 2m apart each. Tuck the new zome in & mulch cover. No water till grow time (spring / summer) apart from initial water-in & natural rain.

Cluster only now. Last day

Ok, 2x goldings left & 6x cluster. This weekend is the last & the remainder are going in the ground. Particularly recommended for QLD brewers...

My suggestion is not to AIM for a boil off rate. Use it as a guide. The trub will leave a few L. If u end up with more than you can handle, put it aside for starters.

Alphadog: they will grow in SEQ. You are right, you won't get the AA they get down south. I'm fairly certain that the 'light hours' makes the difference. Though you can't buy 'green' hops (which make a tasty & unique beer). So growing them is the only option. I failed at Tett, Cascade, Columbus...

3 year old is what she is, though decent trim & crown split each time. For me, this species is the most voracious growth wise, just beating POR & Goldings. The buds are dense & fruity green similar to Chinook with a high yield very early in the season. I only use the hops for green hop beer, so...

The mother Cluster as it came up. Rhizome cuttings still available. Very prolific and hardy. The species I recommend to all beginner hops gardeners.

I personally like to get them in the ground ASAP, but other than initial watering, don't water until spring. The root seems to start growing well before the leaves pop, and get best results from hops planted earlier than late. We don't get much winter rain here, so they keep quite dry...

Vienna Gold hops, otherwise known as Cluster, are available now. I have about a dozen. This is by far my most hardy and well reported grower in QLD. Pride of Ringwood hops also available now. Another excellent grower. Still have a few Goldigs and 1 or 2 Chinook left also.

Back OT: Age the beer. Do doubles each week to stock up & try only drink half of the batch. 4 - 6 months to get rid of the 'homebrew' taste & your mates will think it's commercial. Our family staple was 2x coopers lager + 4kg raw sugar in 44L aged 6 months for over a decade. Didn't ever deviate!

'Consider all grain' is a reasonable statement to a kit brewer wanting to enhance quality. I wish someone had have told me that 10 years earlier...

-Brew double batches. It's minimal extra work for double the output. -Switch to AG & buy grain in bulk. Much cheaper. -Switch to kegs. The time you save bottling (and cleaning bottles) put towards brewing AG. -Be careful with yeast propagation. After a big battle with aceto & wild yeast this...

Packages are on the way to those concerned. Thank you for the great response. I hope you enjoy your new hobby! Pride of Ringwood and Vienna Gold (cluster) will be coming up this weekend due to popular demand. I find them (along with Goldings) hardy and yield well in my region which is well...

Juzza: 2x goldings 1x chinook No drama. I'll drop you a PM Adam pike: I'll be digging up POR this weekend. 2x goldings + 1x POR too easy I'll PM you, or you can me, by clicking on the drop down menu on my avatar.