What Hop Rhizomes Grow Well In Melbourne

[lastdrinks]

Going to pot a few hop rhizomes this year and have been using the forums as part of my investigation. But i would like some feedback from Melbourne or victorian hop growers about what hop plants grow well in melbourne conditions and roughly what to expect frm flavour and aroma. I know not expect the hops i grow to taste exactly like they would if they were grown in their home country. So i guess POR and cluser to be pretty much the same but say saaz and hallertau are they more citrusy?

Any advice on good varieties to grow in Melbourne and what to expect on the flavour and aroma would be much appreciated. I am getting very itchy and want to buy some soon but also want to make the best choice.

Cheers.

 

[Wolfy]

Melbourne has a good climate for growing hops so if you get well established rhizomes that are adapted for our climate, I think you'll find that most things grow well.
POR obviously since they were bred here, I found that Chinook, Goldings and Nugget grew well this year too.
But I think often its situation/location/condition of the hops that determine how they grow rather than the particular variety.

 

[Bizier]

If you want the noble varieties, perhaps try Mt Hood, which was (AFAIK) bred in the US as an attempt to replicate those German characteristics, but under the north-west US climate conditions.

I am not from Melb, but if you enjoy the citrusy-style hops, they will all do better there than Sydney's latitude, where they are half decent.

 

[tommygun]

I think ellerslie hops isn't far from melbourne maybe ask for a recent newslwtter or ask what they grow there and that might give you a good idea of some varieties to grow.

Tom.

 

[doon]

i bought three tiny chinook rhizomes last year and they went nuts grew massive and got lots of flowers, i was away for a bit so alot dried out before i could harvest.

Dug them up and the are all huge now compared to when i got them.

 

[Mclovin]

Where is a good place to buy some hop rhizomes here in melbourne? I also had this idea!

 

[Wolfy]

Where is a good place to buy some hop rhizomes here in melbourne? I also had this idea!

Try the search function, I think I've answered that question 3 times in the last 2 days, besides there are already about 4 'hop for sale' posts here too!

 

[lastdrinks]

What are peoples experiences with Mt Hood, tettnang and Goldings in Melbourne? Do they grow well and importantly do they taste similar to the shop purchased ones?

 

[Wolfy]

What are peoples experiences with Mt Hood, tettnang and Goldings in Melbourne? Do they grow well and importantly do they taste similar to the shop purchased ones?

Both Mt Hood and Goldings grew well for me this year.
The only Goldings I've shop-purchased were in pellet form, so I'm not sure if it's a good comparison or not, but I found the home-grown ones to be more subdued - while they still have the the typical earthy/grassy (almost fresh-cut-grass) type character expected.
The home-grown Mt Hood have very little individualistic character and all they seem to be quite bland/neutral - but I guess that's what you expect.

 

[bjay]

I had good growth in the first year from cascade and perle they grew well ,,, got a good 3 buckets full from each plant
They were only in the ground for about 7 mths before i got flowers
I also have hallertau but it didnt do very well slow growth ,,,,, maybe next year
cheers
bjay

 

[Bizier]

In my limited experience, Goldings is somewhat of a high maintenance prima donna.

I would very mich like to know if anyone is having any success with a UK variety grown anywhere here in Aus.

 

[Wolfy]

In my limited experience, Goldings is somewhat of a high maintenance prima donna.

I would very mich like to know if anyone is having any success with a UK variety grown anywhere here in Aus.

RedHill grow Golding and Willamette (which sort-of counts as Fuggles) on a semi-commercial basis for their own brewing: http://www.redhillbrewery.com.au/hops.htm

 

[Bizier]

RedHill grow Golding and Willamette (which sort-of counts as Fuggles) on a semi-commercial basis for their own brewing: http://www.redhillbrewery.com.au/hops.htm

Hmmm, perhaps that explains why I was not so impressed with their harvest release

Thanks for that info Wolfy, I am still very happy to buy my Kentish Goldings.

I think I remember the LC tasting room chalkboard saying something about Tas Goldings, but it might have been Cascade.

 

[fraser_john]

In my limited experience, Goldings is somewhat of a high maintenance prima donna.

Not down here in the south, mine grows like a weed and of my five varieties is by far the most prolific grower and produces more cones than the others, though, due to the cone size & shape, produces less by weight. And I do stuff all to it other than provide it somewhere to grow.


<start edit>

As for flavour aroma, not the same as the bought ones, not as intense, but similar enough. I have a keg of bitter on at the moment that had 28gm of home grown goldings at each addition of 5 minutes, dry in secondary fermenter and dry in the keg. Tasting quite nice, but did up amount from 16gm I was planning to 28gm due to the subdued nature of the home grown aroma.

<end edit>

 

[bcp]

RedHill grow Golding and Willamette (which sort-of counts as Fuggles) on a semi-commercial basis for their own brewing: http://www.redhillbrewery.com.au/hops.htm

"We grow five varieties of hops
* Hallertauer
* Tettnanger
* Golding
* Willamette"


http://www.redhillbrewery.com.au/hops.htm

Obviously maths isn't a prerequisite for growing hops.