Arrrgggh Feckin Frost

[Oatlands Brewer]

Anyone now how frost affects hops,

Woke up this morning to -3 and most of the vegie patch knackered and the hops frozen on the binds

Admitedly i actually have no idea what variety they are, i was given them with just the Loopy Loopious, or whatever it was, on the tag, they could be ornamental for all i know.

Anyway im guessing they are shot now anyway :angry:

 

[Shed101]

Anyone now how frost affects hops,

Woke up this morning to -3 and most of the vegie patch knackered and the hops frozen on the binds

Admitedly i actually have no idea what variety they are, i was given them with just the Loopy Loopious, or whatever it was, on the tag, they could be ornamental for all i know.

Anyway im guessing they are shot now anyway :angry:

Bloody early frosts even for Oatlands i'd have thought.

I wouldn't know for certain, but given where hops are traditionally farmed i could have thought they'd be pretty resilient to frost. Maybe start covering them at nights to be safe?

From the wiki:
After the first frost, preparing the bines for winter is straightforward:

* Cut the bines down to the ground and compost or discard them. Be careful where you place them, however; almost any large, live section of stem will sprout in the spring.
* Add fertilizer or manure to each hill. The hop bine's explosive growth can exhaust the nutrients of the surrounding soil.
* Cover each hill with a generous portion of mulch to protect the roots over the winter, especially in colder climates.

 

[waggastew]

If you leave them on the bines they will be shagged. They are made up of leaf life cells which burst when frozen and turn to mush.

If I were you I would pick em all ASAP and boil them up in some wort/LDME. If not ready to brew you could 'no-chill' and then add it to a brew boil at a later date?

Seems a shame to waste them!

 

[Bribie G]

I'd kill for some frost right now, about to shell out hard earned on yet another fridge :angry:
We get a bit insular here in SEQ, glad someone is having jumper and long pants weather

 

[Oatlands Brewer]

Well we never really got summer here Bribie, i reakon i can count the days over 20deg we have had without taking my shoes off, Autumn has racked off too and gone straight to winter.

Ive been smelling these bloody things for weeks and gently squeezing them to test paperyness and not smelt anything.....ive just gone out to have a look now the suns on them and theve finally started to smell hoppy but there still green and soft to touch.

There is a fair bit of browning around the the edges though now...... :unsure:

 

[Oatlands Brewer]

Just had a stupid idea.......

Has anyone done a big boil up (ie hop tea) with there harvest then frozen the resultant liquid...

 

[waggastew]

Worth a go I reckon, saves losing a seasons worth of fresh hops

 

[BobtheBrewer]

I'd kill for some frost right now, about to shell out hard earned on yet another fridge :angry:
We get a bit insular here in SEQ, glad someone is having jumper and long pants weather

How many is that? You'll be breweing on the driveway next,
Bob