2012 Hop Plantations

[hoppy2B]

Yes, I will be selling Victoria and Chinook rhizomes again this year. Not sure of a hop close to Victoria. I've been told it is grown commercially in Australia but I have never seen it for sale so i suspect it all goes to extract/isohop? Would be nice to get my hands on some commercially grown to compare.

@Hoppy2B - leaf envy? I can give you the number of a good psychiatrist if that help?

Obviously you need some commercial stuff to prop up your lacklustre yields. Leaf is nothing to be envious of.

 

[Yob]

Will 50oC for 5hrs in the outdoor oven/smoker dry them nicely or will they smell like pork? (Theory being no smoke pellets, vent wide open and hopefully too low a heat for residulas to take effect).
There is one way to find out!

Drying hops.jpg

Im sure I read somewhere that 40'c for 4 hours??? FK.. dont quote me till I can find the link though..

Nope completely cocked that up... >LINK< says in there 60'c for 9 hours?... seems a little extreme :blink: maybe due to volume??

Looks good though Malted :beerbang:

 

[punkin]

Why are those two blokes holding hands in the second last photo? :blink:

 

[Yob]

Why are those two blokes holding hands in the second last photo? :blink:

what happens on tour, stays on tour :lol:

 

[Malted]

Im sure I read somewhere that 40'c for 4 hours??? FK.. dont quote me till I can find the link though..

Nope completely cocked that up... >LINK< says in there 60'c for 9 hours?... seems a little extreme :blink: maybe due to volume??

Looks good though Malted :beerbang:

Thanks for the info Yob. Those commercial guys certainly appear to have a thicker bed of hops.

It is my opinion after inspecting the hops this morning that an Oast needs a fan (as per instructions on the net that I ignored). The cones smell very vegetal and are a bit limp rather than dried (steamed in their own juices due to poor airflow?). I have left the door open with a cotton sheet over it to keep out light but still allow moisture to escape and will see how they are this arvo. For next time, I'll see about funneling a fan into the side wood chip loader to get some good airflow through the unit and out the top vent. In hindsight even without a fan it may have even worked better if i had of removed the chip loader to let more air in at the bottom. :unsure: Oh well, it is all about giving it a go.

 

[drsmurto]

Obviously you need some commercial stuff to prop up your lacklustre yields. Leaf is nothing to be envious of.

Variety is the spice of life Hoppy, of course i buy commercial hops. A few kg of homegrown hops is not enough for a years worth of brewing, unless you are a dwarf.....

 

[Malted]

Variety is the spice of life Hoppy, of course i buy commercial hops. A few kg of homegrown hops is not enough for a years worth of brewing, unless you are a dwarf.....

Maybe it would be enough for stovetop brewing, have you thought of giving that a go? h34r:

 

[hoppy2B]

I dried my Cluster that I harvested in January inside the car. It was 46 degrees outside. I had them in several large bags that were very loose and open and gave them a turning over every so often.
Dried quite well in one day but maybe turned a little brown but its the lupulin that counts right? :unsure:

 

[Yob]

shouldnt you have just frozen them wet? :blink: h34r: :wacko:

 

[Phillo]

I'm pretty happy with the number of flowers on my Chinook for a first year (thanks Dr. S) but I'm having a bit of trouble telling how mature the flowers are. Most things I have read suggest that you pick when the flowers feel 'papery' but all of mine do except the very small half-formed ones.

Are there any other physical signs to look for?

I've already had a jug of beer full of flowers.

 

[Malted]

I've already had a jug of beer full of flowers.

Did you enjoy it? It is good fun being able to do stuff like that. I have been told that fresh off the bine will give grassy flavours, I haven't let that stop me.

 

[Phillo]

Did you enjoy it? It is good fun being able to do stuff like that. I have been told that fresh off the bine will give grassy flavours, I haven't let that stop me.

Yeah, it was pretty grassy, but hell, they're my own hops!!

I still enjoyed it very much.

 

[hoppy2B]

shouldnt you have just frozen them wet? :blink: h34r: :wacko:

Yeah, I was a little disorganized, they're the ones I said I should have frozen wet. My Cluster have a very pungent odour and nice fruity flavour with very low alpha acid levels. The flavour seems much less when they are dried.
I finished my 81litre mash tun / kettle today and all the rest of my Cluster is going in fresh. I have about 2/3 to 3/4 of the crop still to come and will be putting down a wet hop brew in the next few days. It will be split into 3 ferment vessels with 3 different yeasts to see which I like best. Should be enough Cluster there to do several brews over the next month or two.

 

[Phillo]

Hey everyone. As I said in previous posts, first time grower, so please be patient with my noob questions :unsure:.

Here's a pic of some that I picked a few minutes ago:




As you can see, some tips of the flowers are beginning to brown. Is this because they are ready/past ready, or just suffering from the heat? They all feel quite papery, but have little to no aroma when squeezed.

Can anyone tell me by looking how far along they are?

Many thanks. :beerbang:

 

[waggastew]

Just finished picking my 2013 crop of Chinook with my Dad. I would have liked to leave them a little longer but the big ones at the top were starting to brown so I pulled the trigger. Next year I might try and delay things a little by cutting off the early growth and getting them to start again ala what the commercial guys do,

Still 975g wet, mostly mature cones with the odd 'moist' one in there. Currently drying on fly screens in the garage (see pic), worked a treat last year.

Still not sure what I will do with them. I like the idea of doing an Stone Arrogant ******* clone but I will wait and see how aromatic they are after drying.

 

[hoppy2B]

Hey everyone. As I said in previous posts, first time grower, so please be patient with my noob questions :unsure:.

Here's a pic of some that I picked a few minutes ago:




As you can see, some tips of the flowers are beginning to brown. Is this because they are ready/past ready, or just suffering from the heat? They all feel quite papery, but have little to no aroma when squeezed.

Can anyone tell me by looking how far along they are?

Many thanks. :beerbang:

G'day Phillo,
It can be difficult to tell when they are ripe for a first time grower. They do start going noticeably brown though. If you keep a close eye on them you will see a few cones start to go totally brown and dry off. Comparing all the cones on your plant should give you some idea of where they're at.
Usually when a few cones start to dry off is a good time to pick, but do compare the whole plant as some varieties ripen unevenly, particularly the more vigorous types.
Not all varieties have much aroma. You need to really rub the lupulin between your fingers to smell some off them.

 

[Phillo]

G'day Phillo,
It can be difficult to tell when they are ripe for a first time grower. They do start going noticeably brown though. If you keep a close eye on them you will see a few cones start to go totally brown and dry off. Comparing all the cones on your plant should give you some idea of where they're at.
Usually when a few cones start to dry off is a good time to pick, but do compare the whole plant as some varieties ripen unevenly, particularly the more vigorous types.
Not all varieties have much aroma. You need to really rub the lupulin between your fingers to smell some off them.

Cheers hoppy! I looked inside the flowers and there's a bit of yellow gunk in there, but after doing some more reading tonight I reckon I will leave the rest a little longer. Pics of mature cones that I have seen look darker and much more open and separated.

Thanks for the response!

 

[Yob]

My DWARF Cluster have a very pungent odour

aaah, I see.. next time, dont store them in your arse :icon_drool2:

 

[hoppy2B]

aaah, I see.. next time, dont store them in your arse :icon_drool2:

-_-

 

[tricache]

About 6 months into mine and they have gotten super bushy again after getting real thin with the hot dry weather we have had but all the rain (I had to rescue them from floating around in the backyard) we have had has livened them up BIG time!!