2017 Hop Plantations, Show Us Your Hop Garden!

[husky]

What is everyone doing with these huge harvests? This is my first year, and I reckon I've got 6kgs of cascade wet. It's insane. There's NO WAY I'll use anywhere near that before next harvest. I've also spent hours picking and drying flowers. My wife is not pleased.

Vac sealed and into the freezer. 1.5kg dry will be easy to use up. For me that would be maybe 4-5 brews using as WP additions 3-400g at a time = yummy.

 

[Rocker1986]

We get a bit colder up here in Toowoomba than you low-landers. Ice sounds like work and expense. The other option - I wonder whether you would lose more by reducing the size of the rhizome than you would gain by the refrigeration process?

It will be an expense however I'll probably only do it this year just to see what happens. I guess with the other option it would be like planting a first year every year in a way. So far I've had better hauls from the plants in their first year than their second, although no plants are older than that yet.

I got 15g dry off my 2nd year Hallertau, and if I was to pick what's on it now it would probably only be another 1-2g. Last year it gave me 40g dry and it had less area to grow in. The first year Cascade has given me 100g so far with more to be harvested over the next few weeks. Maybe the Cascade is better suited to here I dunno, but it has exceeded my expectations. The only difference between it and the Hallertau was that it went straight into a large planter box as a rhizome, whereas the Hallertau was in a pot for the first year and transferred over the winter into its large planter box.

 

[MitchD]

Can any Chinook growers comment on the smell of drying flowers? I harvested 3.2kg Tuesday night which smelt great, tonight I gave some a rub and they are smelling a bit catty/garlic. Can't remember from last year if this is normal, they aren't quite dry enough yet to package up.

 

[Midnight Brew]

Can any Chinook growers comment on the smell of drying flowers? I harvested 3.2kg Tuesday night which smelt great, tonight I gave some a rub and they are smelling a bit catty/garlic. Can't remember from last year if this is normal, they aren't quite dry enough yet to package up.

I did a little reading into this as I found that mine were resin with a hint of garlic/onion. This means they're ready and I believe is a sign that the moisture content has big significantly reduced.

 

[MitchD]

Thanks, I dried some out in the oven and they smelt right after that, better than in their 3/4 dry state any way. Just made a hop tea, tasted like shit but in a good way.

 

[AJ80]

Will be picking this weekend - Mt hood definitely the most loaded followed by cascade and Chinook. The few flowers my goldings threw have since shrivelled up and died. I'll be pulling it in winter and trying a new variety. Excitingly, I've got about 10-12 flowers on my wild Canterbury goldings plant. Not much I know, but will be enough for a sensory evaluation in a glass of kolsch. Nil from the first year Victoria, but it's not in the best spot and it should do better next year.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Can any Chinook growers comment on the smell of drying flowers? I harvested 3.2kg Tuesday night which smelt great, tonight I gave some a rub and they are smelling a bit catty/garlic. Can't remember from last year if this is normal, they aren't quite dry enough yet to package up.

Yeah, its hard to describe. When fresh and packaged they smell like fresh hops! with kinda fruity resiny with a tint of, somethink danky.
I'm undecided how I like them the best. Home grown I usually play it safe as very late hops because I don't know what their AA level is.
I'm trying to decide on a recipe atm. Should I use them only early? only late? or all the way through?
I was considering using them only at 60min. But I know I will add a big flame out addition and maybe a hop stand as well.

 

[husky]

Harvested, dried and vac sealed Chinook and Vic.
Harvested a few hundred g of cascade but decided to leave the rest until Monday when I am going to try find some time for a wet hop IPA, hopefully they hang on!
Awesome smells out of the vac sealer!
Pretty consistently drying out to 28%
These were all 1st year and treated the same. Amazing difference between yields. Not surprisingly I have always had much better yield off local varieties(POR & VIC). Should get 1kg wet cascade Monday.

 

[husky]

If you haven't ever put wet hops in a keg..... do it!
100g wet chinook in an IPA 4L mini keg, yummo.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

If you haven't ever put wet hops in a keg..... do it!
100g wet chinook in an IPA 4L mini keg, yummo.

200g is what I have been able to stuff in a long course weighted hop sock into an 18lt keg then fill it.
Yes! It is a once a year thing. :beerbang:

 

[husky]

Didnt even bother with a sock and no blockage. I think flowers do a good job of filtering.

 

[AJ80]

Picked my hops yesterday evening - 1.2kg wet spread reasonably evenly across the 3 plants. Big increase on last year which saw ~400g wet. Happy with the results.

 

[mofox1]

Picking time! Yield doesn't look as high as previous years, but looks to be a couple kilo wet from each.

Hopefully I've hit near enough the sweet spot for picking, as the whole frame needed to be taken down. I had to wait while some browned off so that the majority are good.

Chinook:


And Cascade:

 

[ein stein]

Got literally couple of handfuls from my first year cascade and less from my chinook. I used a few fresh hops I had to scatter around a beer for a photography comp on instagram and won a case of beer! so not a total loss. till next season.

 

[Curly79]

Just picked my Cascade flowers. Not much to brag about this year. They got no lovin at all. But I was wondering what these little buggers are.
Bit hard to see but there was a heap of them in the bottom of the bucket. They are shiny black and can fly. Almost like baby lady bugs? Wet keg hopped a black IPA before I noticed them so I'll report back how they taste. [emoji12]

 

[husky]

Harvested a total 714g wet 1st year cascade today. By far the biggest cones of them all and an intense passionfruit/pineapple aroma. Anyone else getting this from fresh cascade? Smelling more like galaxy than what I'm used to from cascade.

 

[Benn]

Harvested 6.89kg (wet) of Victoria cones today with some help from the kids.
There's fly screens set up all over the house and it's STINKING

 

[mofox1]

IMG_5179.JPG
Harvested 6.89kg (wet) of Victoria cones today with some help from the kids.
There's fly screens set up all over the house and it's STINKING

Nice haul, not sure how you managed to convince the trouble and strife about the flyscreens, but hey... win!

My haul ended up just under 6kg.. around 3kg each from the Chinook and Cascade. Cascade actually took up more volume, which plays into my thinking that I should have harvested it last week.



They're now up in their gauze curtain cucoons strung up in the shed.

 

[Curly79]

Have you dried them like that before Mofox? How thick are the cucoons?

 

[Mardoo]

I'm not sure what this gorgeous beetle is, but it's eating my hops. No biggie, it's almost end of the season. However, I did relocate a preying mantis to that hop. (Not shown on my hops, of course.)