Growing Hops

[spaghettibones]

I am planning to start a small hopyard and would be grateful if anyone could answer a few questions.

1. orientation of hopyard trellis' east-west or north south for australia
2. type of hop that would be most commerically beneficial to small brewhouses, if in fact this small yard yeilds anything worth while.

I do currently grow some hops at home

Thanks,

Spag-bone

 

[Kleiny]

Have a look through the 2009 growing hops thread and article they both have links to more reading material

2009 Hop Plantations

Good luck

Kleiny

 

[OzMick]

I am planning to start a small hopyard and would be grateful if anyone could answer a few questions.

1. orientation of hopyard trellis' east-west or north south for australia
2. type of hop that would be most commerically beneficial to small brewhouses, if in fact this small yard yeilds anything worth while.

I do currently grow some hops at home

Thanks,

Spag-bone

Pride of Ringwood, Super Pride and Cluster are pretty much the workhorses of a lot of commercial breweries for their cheap bittering and availability. But heavy competition. Maybe collaborate with some micros and enter into a contract to supply a set quantity of a variety that they want rather than looking to grow something then try to push it.

 

[zebba]

Maybe collaborate with some micros and enter into a contract to supply a set quantity of a variety that they want rather than looking to grow something then try to push it.

I think by brewhouse he meant his home-brewery. Might be wrong there though.

To the OP: Best if we know your region as I believe the best hops to grow in Melbourne are not the best to grow in Sydney, etc.

Personally, in Melb, I'll be looking to grow Tettnang, Willamette and Cascade. My wanderings seem to indicate they do well in Melbourne, although most varieties probably do OK down here. As you go north though the hops may get a little more selective as they like cold winters and long summer days.

 

[Bizier]

My 2c is to for north/south orientation so the bines get morning and afternoon sun (otherwise they will be in each other's shade).

I would go for a high AA% or oil content hop. There are enough sources for POR. Perhaps CTZ (Columbus) or Even Cascade if you have a slightly milder climate. Where are you considering planting?

 

[spaghettibones]

Thanks all for your responses, I was looking for was answered by Bizier (thanks for that). I have POR growing at home (Melbourne's Eastern Suburbs) but feel as if my options are limited to VB knock offs unless anyone else can provide a decent recipe using POR.

I will be planting along the coast, south east of melbourne. and to clarify, I was looking at supplying to microbreweries in Victoria if all goes well. I will get on eBay and have a look for Tettnang, Willamette and Cascade rhizomes as suggested, i suppose the next step would be to follow up with the microbreweries as far as their demand.

I had done a tour recently of micros east of Melbourne, as to my amazement, these local microbreweries imported a whole lot of hops that I think/hope can be produced locally, does anyone know why?

==

 

[Hutch]

I had done a tour recently of micros east of Melbourne, as to my amazement, these local microbreweries imported a whole lot of hops that I think/hope can be produced locally, does anyone know why?

==

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but with all due respect, if you have to ask "WHY" breweries import hops, then you probably need to learn more about the many different hop varieties and their use in brewing various beer styles, before jumping on ebay and buying up the lot!!!

Australia has a very limited range of varieties being grown, mostly to supply high yeild and %aa to the major breweries. Plenty of imported hops used by the micro's provide specific aroma characteristics (such as citrus/grapefruit in APAs) that are simply not available in Aussie-grown hops, although new Aussie varieties like Galaxy are likely to change that down the road.

Another issue you will encounter is that Aussie-grown variety "X" will have very different characteristics to US-grown variety "X", so even if you plant a few acres of Cascade, you might not get any interest from micro's who want the characteristics specific to the US-grown Cascade. NZ Cascade is a case in point - a n inferior alternative to US-Cascade, and not nearly as interesting as other natively grown NZ varieties (Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Southern Cross, etc.)

Perhaps you ought to speak to a few commercial hop growers, and indeed speak to the guys at Red Hill Brewery, who have their own hop yard (Goldings, Willamette and Tettnang, I think). This will give you a much better insight into commercial growing than asking these questions to a whole bunch of homebrewers here.

Good luck with it - I hope you can make a go of it, and we get to taste your wares in some micro-brewery beers some time down the road. :icon_cheers:
Hutch.

 

[Fents]

and then theres also big costs associated with sending the hops off to a lab to get tested for a proper AA% etc etc.

 

[beerDingo]

If the micro's don't want them you could always set up a h34r: bulk buy h34r: here!

 

[spaghettibones]

Thx Hutch et al,
Respect duely noted and though I did not intend to have a parade, just a small hopyard, that if went well my transpire in to a parade.

Nothing ventured nothing gained. I also as I may or may not have mentioned, i will be following up with some of the micros initailly visited to feel them out, before I 'jump on eBay and buy up the lot'.

I u'stand that plant 'x' in the us will not always be exactly the same as plant 'x' in australia.

BTW has anyone been to the Red Hill hopyard to help harvest?

 

[spaghettibones]

Thanks Dingo.
Not a bad idea.

 

[HoppingMad]

I had done a tour recently of micros east of Melbourne, as to my amazement, these local microbreweries imported a whole lot of hops that I think/hope can be produced locally, does anyone know why?

1 microbrewery already does source locally in Vic and one is about to:

- RedHill Brewery (Mornington Peninsula) - Hallertauer, Tettnanger, Golding & Willamette
- Forrest Brewery (Otways) - Mystery Hops found growing 'wild' in the area are to be planted and used in their beer.

2 more I reckon would but you'd have to check:

- Jamieson's Brewery
- Bright Brewery

(Both are around the corner from major hop growers, and Jamiesons sources local berries as well to put in their Raspberry Ale, and Blackberry stout).

To my knowledge many other Vic breweries use local hops (like mountain goat) but when trying to replicate an overseas style of beer (Like an APA) will use a matching hop to be true to style.

As Hutch has touched on, "Hops ain't Hops'. Just like wine grapes/vines, the soil (terroir) and other growing conditions plays a part in the flavour.

Hence a Hallertau Hop grown in the Hallertau region of Germany is going to have a different flavour to the one grown in Rostrevor Victoria. Ask any experienced brewer who's tried an Aussie Cascade and a US with the same grain bill on two batches and they'll tell you the US variety is simply a bigger flavour. We can't replicate it here due to the growing conditions, and it's one of the reasons why breweries like Little Creatures import US Hop Flowers from the US to get that burst of flavour that we can't get locally. Only when US stocks are low do they substitute with the local variety.

Another more cynical reason for micros to use overseas hops is marketing. If you write 'Czech Saaz' on a blackboard behind the bar describing the beer you're selling, it makes it sound more exotic than if you are selling a lager using Tasmanian Saaz.

On a side note, a lot of experimental varieties of hop are also closely guarded and restricted by patents in some countries in terms of others growing them. You simply can't get the rhizomes for some varieties available in hop farms here, or the ones you'd like from the US and New Zealand in Australia (yet).

All that aside, if you have a ready supply of Amarillo Rhizomes going please let me know!

Hopper.

 

[Hutch]

All that aside, if you have a ready supply of Amarillo Rhizomes going please let me know!

Hopper.

+1!

Sourcing the Rhyzomes seems to be the big show-stopper in terms of variety diversity, although somehow we can readily get "Columbus" zomes, which is supposed to be a closely guarded and protected US variety - Go figure!

Assuming I get a crop this year, I'm very keen to compare my Chinook and Columbus flowers with the US-variety pellets. %AA aside, I'm interested to see how pungent the aroma is from the home-grown :icon_drool2:

 

[HoppingMad]

+1!

Sourcing the Rhyzomes seems to be the big show-stopper in terms of variety diversity, although somehow we can readily get "Columbus" zomes, which is supposed to be a closely guarded and protected US variety - Go figure!

Assuming I get a crop this year, I'm very keen to compare my Chinook and Columbus flowers with the US-variety pellets. %AA aside, I'm interested to see how pungent the aroma is from the home-grown :icon_drool2:

Yeah, I have a Columbus too, the little ******* just keeps stalling growth-wise! Might have to wait till next year before I find out what the flavour is like

A case in point of why Australian Micros are sourcing hops 'offshore' can be found in the sidebar product list of this site: NZ Hops

Quite simply many of these aren't available down the road, and the kiwis have made an art of creating and growing very interesting varieties of late.

Hopper.

 

[Bizier]

My suggestions were based on the fact that high AA% and oil hops will do better warmer. I think that LC listed tassie grown Cascade amongst their schedule when I visited there late last year. I think that approaching brewers, especially with wet-hop potential, is the best way to proceed.

You will definitely want to read about agronomics of hops. I suggest there are also some people in the industry such as Hopco and Ellerslies that you might want to approach to see if they will at least give you a little insight into the market. Perhaps even try Hop Union in the states for advice, the worst they can say is no.

Check the fertility and composition of your soil and see what might be the best varieties for that.

IMO NZ are kicking our arse at hops because they are entertaining the idea of valuing craft beer markets and aroma purposes for the hops and they combine it with innovative agriculture.

 

[Bizier]

You might consider Nugget if the craft beer market will consider it.
I would stay away from noble type hops. If you think about the brewer's prospective, you will have to come in cheaper, and there is no way you would risk potentially harsh hops in your pilsners or similar.

I have a hersbruker that is an amazing grower, but it does not taste like GR hersbruker by a long shot, much more zingy and US like.