Growing Hops In Se Queensland

[Bretto77]

How have you gone with the heat???

+1 h34r:

Pete old mate, When you were at my place picking up those Sazz pellets, did you take a look out the kitchen window? I have two first year mounds of Pearle in the ground (helps them not fry bin the heat).

Before I planted mine, I dug two holes under where the mounds would go, as big as the mound was going to be in the first year and as deep as I could go (900mm in my case) and back filled these with a 50/50 mix of the dirt I dug out and well composted mushroom compost, on top of this I built the mounds out of 30/70 dirt/compost and manure. I let this sit for a few weeks before planting.

I built a tall trellis (~5m) and just let them go for it, limiting them to three bines per mound. Each mound got about 10L of water per day as 5L morning and afternoon.

What I'm really sweating is will it get cool enough to get them to go dormant enough for proper flowering next year? I'm on the Sunshine coast so well North of the OP, so it can be done.....

 

[Bretto77]

Was wondering how yours went this year browndog, unfortunately that Chinook hops I got from you was a disaster too, got fried in the heat after transplant. I'm sure we can do better next year by following some of the ideas. Thanks for all the suggestions all will be helpful to me


Bretto

Mine had a terrible season this year Brett, along with my cumquat tree and the big seville orange tree in the neighbours yard not to mention my chillis which are now only starting to flower.

cheers

Browndog

 

[unrealtb]

Hey I am an brissy brewer, looking for some hops rhizomes, I have a bit of horticultural experience, reckon I'll be right. Can anyone hook us up with some rhizomes? I am around chermside area of brissy.
Cheers

 

[Bribie G]

Hey I am an brissy brewer, looking for some hops rhizomes, I have a bit of horticultural experience, reckon I'll be right. Can anyone hook us up with some rhizomes? I am around chermside area of brissy.
Cheers

Hi, pop into the BABBs club meeting on Thursday and have a chat, I know there are several people growing hops in Bris.

:icon_cheers:

 

[CosmicBertie]

How do you gauge the AA% of home grown hops? Is it basically calculated as the same as shop bought ones that have the AA% on thr label, or can you do a test of some sort?

 

[drsmurto]

I've sold quite a few hops into QLD this year so hopefully later this year they will be able to report on how successfully they grow. Not sure where in QLD as the place names mean nothing to me.

As for the AA%, i guesstimate and generally only use them for flavour and aroma additions. Why waste fresh flowers by boiling them for 60 mins? That said, Phillip and I did a 10 min IPA using 400g of my homegrown chinook flowers and after a tasting session with several other local brewers it was conculded that we were in the ballpark on our desired IBU (50). We used 9% which is the what i have settled on as about right after brewing with them a few times.

That said, 9% is only valid for my backyard, they will no doubt be different to other regions of the country depending on soil, rainfall, etc etc etc

 

[CosmicBertie]

I've sold quite a few hops into QLD this year so hopefully later this year they will be able to report on how successfully they grow. Not sure where in QLD as the place names mean nothing to me.

As for the AA%, i guesstimate and generally only use them for flavour and aroma additions. Why waste fresh flowers by boiling them for 60 mins? That said, Phillip and I did a 10 min IPA using 400g of my homegrown chinook flowers and after a tasting session with several other local brewers it was conculded that we were in the ballpark on our desired IBU (50). We used 9% which is the what i have settled on as about right after brewing with them a few times.

That said, 9% is only valid for my backyard, they will no doubt be different to other regions of the country depending on soil, rainfall, etc etc etc

Surely if you're growing your own and you had a good crop then you could/would use them for bittering too?

I guess if you know the AA% of commercial hops that you're growing, then its just a case of experimentation around that value.

 

[Blue Dawg]

I'm moving up to the Sunshine Coast in the next few weeks from the Victorian Coast and will be taking my Cascade and Por with me.
I donated one Cascade to the Forrest Brewery and have kept one rizhome of each strain.
Will be interesting to see have they go as I picked enough to brew a dozen batches down south.

 

[drsmurto]

Surely if you're growing your own and you had a good crop then you could/would use them for bittering too?

I guess if you know the AA% of commercial hops that you're growing, then its just a case of experimentation around that value.

You could use them for bittering or you could buy high AA% bittering hops with a known AA value such as Magnum and save the wonderful fresh flavour and aroma additions for the homegrown hops where the IBU contributions are less and as such a guesstimate is normally close enough.

 

[kymba]

check this out http://pw2.netcom.com/~dluzanp/backyard.htm

excerpt...

Estimating Hop Bitterness

The old standard method to estimate alpha-acid percentage is to make an educated guess and then modify the guess as you gain brewing experience with your hops. Because homegrown hops are fresher and have suffered less handling, they are more bitter than commercial hops. Estimating their alpha as 50 percent higher than the average alpha for the same commercial cultivar is a pretty good guess. Knowing the exact alpha of your hops is less critical if you use them only for flavor and aroma additions.

We can improve on this guess with a taste-testing technique I call "ratiometric titration." The approach here is to compare a same-cultivar hop of known alpha content with our unknown alpha hop. We compare the ratio of quantities of sugar needed to overcome the bitterness and infer that this ratio will equal the ratio of alphas. Thus, if it takes five teaspoons of sugar to offset the bitterness of our homegrown hops and three teaspoons to null the commercial hops, then our hops are five-thirds as strong, and our alpha-acid content is five-thirds the commercial alpha. If the commercial alpha is 6 percent, then our alpha is 5/3 times 6, or 10 percent.

I make up two hop tea samples - one from our unknown alpha fresh hops, and the second from commercial whole leaf hops of the same cultivar with known alpha. Stir one-quarter ounce hops plus one teaspoon sugar into two cups of boiling water (the sugar is needed because the hop resins are nearly insoluble in plain water.) Next, reduce the heat and simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes. Now add enough boiled water to each sample to bring their volumes back to two cups. Let the teas settle and cool to room temperature. Next, decant and filter the teas through a coffee filter to remove sediment.

Now comes the tasting part. It's best to do the tasting in the morning when your taste buds are freshest. Measure a quarter cup of each of the hops teas. Now taste a few drops of the unknown alpha tea and rinse off your tongue. The tea will taste bitter, of course. Next, add one-quarter teaspoon sugar and taste. It will taste a little less bitter. Continue titrating the tea with the sugar in quarter-teaspoon increments (and doing a tongue rinsing between each tasting) while tasting for the point when the predominantly bitter taste finally gives way to a sweet taste (with bitter overtones). This is when the bitter loses its bite. Record the amount of sugar it took to reach this turning point. Now repeat the titration with the known alpha tea. The ratio of the titrated sugar for the unknown hops to the sugar required for the known hops is our estimate of the ratio of the alphas of the respective hops.

makes sense

Surely if you're growing your own and you had a good crop then you could/would use them for bittering too?

I guess if you know the AA% of commercial hops that you're growing, then its just a case of experimentation around that value.

 

[kymba]

i planted this golding from DrS last saturday and it is shooting already

it was covered with a layer of cane mulch but i just had to take a peek

nothing yet from the POR or chinook

 

[alfadog]

From skimming over this thread it seems that hops can be grown in SEQ but am not too sure about the quality of the product. I know a lot of the essential oils and aromatics are produced when grown slowly to combat the colder climate, but in warmer climates the plants do not produce the high energy consuming oils due to the fact they are not required. Do the SEQ hops compare to the real deal?

 

[fergi]

slightly off topic, i have two hop plants that i planted last season.
they grew to about 7 foot with about 6 bines on each plant, there wasnt any flowers in the first season, probably due to not having the time in the last 12 months to look after them properly,
this coming season i hope i can do the right thing by them.

my question is do i cut off the dried bines which are dried out, and do i leave the plant in the ground over winter.

located 70 k,s north of adelaide.

cheers fergi

 

[kalbarluke]

From skimming over this thread it seems that hops can be grown in SEQ but am not too sure about the quality of the product. I know a lot of the essential oils and aromatics are produced when grown slowly to combat the colder climate, but in warmer climates the plants do not produce the high energy consuming oils due to the fact they are not required. Do the SEQ hops compare to the real deal?

My mate and I grew hops for the first time last year in SE QLD (Scenic Rim shire). From my experiences I made the following discoveries:
1) The warm climate will produce hops faster than in southern states.
2) The warm climate will reduce yield compared to southern states.
3) I don't know if the product grown in SE QLD is any worse quality. IMO there would be many variables that contribute to the quality of hops, eg: soil quality, daylight hours, water, wind, nutrients, diseases. I know we had success with cascade and chinook which were lovely. The goldings variety were very strong in flavour.
4) Good drainage in your soil is essential.

I know of other people (on this forum) who have grown a range of varieties in SE QLD (as far west as Toowoomba and Dalby and as far north as Bundaberg) with varying degrees of success. I am by no means an authority, but I have some experience.

My advice is to get some rhizomes or cuttings in August/September and have a go. Growing your own hops is a great experience and make your beers extra special.

 

[Malted]

slightly off topic, i have two hop plants that i planted last season.
they grew to about 7 foot with about 6 bines on each plant, there wasnt any flowers in the first season, probably due to not having the time in the last 12 months to look after them properly,
this coming season i hope i can do the right thing by them.

my question is do i cut off the dried bines which are dried out, and do i leave the plant in the ground over winter.

located 70 k,s north of adelaide.

cheers fergi

G'day Fergs,

Generally one would cut off the dried bines but it seems like you don't have to if you don't want to.

Yes leave them in the ground over winter. Put a bit of mulch/compost/horse poo over them to prepare the soil for next season and away you go. Water, nutrients and sun (but not baked) are good for them.

 

[fergi]

G'day Fergs,

Generally one would cut off the dried bines but it seems like you don't have to if you don't want to.

Yes leave them in the ground over winter. Put a bit of mulch/compost/horse poo over them to prepare the soil for next season and away you go. Water, nutrients and sun (but not baked) are good for them.

thanks malted, i will leave them in the ground.
are you growing any out at burton.
cheers fergi

 

[phoenixdigital]

My advice is to get some rhizomes or cuttings in August/September and have a go. Growing your own hops is a great experience and make your beers extra special.

Exactly! I recommend doing this too. Its only going to set you back maybe $20 tops per rhizome unless you know someone local who can give them to you.

That said I planted
3 x cascades
1 x POR
1 x Saaz
last September and they grew relatively well.

No flowers this year which was a bit disappointing. Hopefully next year something will come of them.

 

[Anofre]

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 on the 27 latitude & wouldn't recommend.
I find cluster the most voracious in the region. Looking into it, I figure I must have the early golden cluster variety. It was original sold to me as 'Vienna Gold'.
Fergi: cut them off each year. I only winter in ground every second year to revitalise the bed.

All: cluster, goldings & POR grown in SEQ still for sale. Pm me.