Harvesting Homegrown Hops - St. Paul, MN Sept 2007

[homebeerbrewery]

Awesome hops! Cheers

[meddler69]

i'm from northern minnesota, about 4 hours north of the cities(ironrange), any way what do you do before winter time do you dig them up and put them in the basement or just leave them in the ground do you think they would be hardy enough to make it though the winter -40 degrees or so, right now i got two rhizomes of glacier hops, so yeah what do you do when winter comes

[donosborn]

@meddler69 I think they will survive. It gets pretty cold in St. Paul and they have always come back in the spring. Your growing season is shorter and they will take longer to come up in the spring, but I don't think you would want to dig them up.

[noooblover]

free beeeeer

[lemaitrethemonk]

All my equipment is on the way. I am (needless to say) chomping at the bit. I can not wait. I have watched this video several times and i am thankful that you let the world into your families life and a wonderful hobby. I just subscribed and again i wish to thank you for your(sharing of) knowledge.

I am curious(and if you can grant me an audience) to find out if hop growth would be acceptable in Houston Texas heat? thanks again Kevin

[donosborn]

@lemaitrethemonk Kevin, while I can't say for sure, I am fairly confident you could grow at least some variety of hops. Do some internet searching and you will find an answer. Some varieties are more hearty and can grow almost anywhere. Cascade might be one. As long as you give them water, they love the sun and should do ok in Houston. good luck.

[porthuronbeerguy]

I can"t believe that in 2 years no-one else has commented on your address. luv it, 1234.

[donosborn]

Ha. We thought it was too precious when we first looked at the house, but it ended up being the one we wanted to buy. At least it's easy to remember! I usually say "twelve thirty-four" instead of what it looks like.

[lwgargan]

So cute video. Our son gave us two hops plants to grow, they are ready for harvest, but I'm afraid we missed the peak time to harvest. We are in the hot central california valley. Do you think its worth it to harvest late, will the flavor be there?

[donosborn]

Glad you like the vid. As for your hops, crack some open. If they still smell quite good, then you might harvest them. But if the leaves are really brown, and the glands are more of a dark orange and not a rich yellow, then they probably are not worth harvesting. cheers

[kt56470]

I live in northern Minnesota and have hops. No idea what kind. Would you have any use for them? Trade finished product for raw materials?

[donosborn]

Thanks for the offer but I will pass. I get all the homegrown hops I need from what I grow. I still like to buy hops because of all the different varieties I like to use. cheers.

[pdxjules]

Those cones look wonderful. Cute little Hophead too!

[ErikChas]

Hello...loved the video...Im a fellow gardener and brewer .... would you be interested in selling or trading some of your hop rhizomes? Thanks again...for the fun video.... Erik

[donosborn]

Well, I wouldn't sell any, but I could have cut you some cuttings this past spring. Are you in the St. Paul/Mpls area? If so, send me a PM and maybe we can work something out sometime. Although I have pretty much trimmed them back for this year's growing season.

[cpudoktr]

I was wondering how long your plants took to surface the first year. I planted 3 Cascade rhizomes about two weeks ago and so far only one has come up. I guess it's possible I got some bad rhizomes as well.

[chemistclyde]

Thank you!! Very interesting!

[NoBeerNoHappy]

Thank you for the information. By the way, I humbly invite you to watch my "Home Brewing Pale Ale" videos parts 1 - 4. Just click/search on my log-on name of NoBeerNoHappy. Cheers!

[NoBeerNoHappy]

Where did you get these hop plants? Did you buy seedlings or grow them from seeds? How long does it take to get mature? Thanks for the video. It is very interesting.

[donosborn]

I got rhizomes from Northern Brewer. You need to buy them in the spring when they are in season. It is said it takes 2-3 years for the plant to reach full maturity, however, mine grew well in their first year and I even got some cones.

cheers.

[rmwt]

Thank you for the information. By the way, I humbly invite you to watch my "Home Brewing Pale Ale" videos parts 1 - 4. Just click/search on my log-on name of NoBeerNoHappy. Cheers!

[bluemystic7501]

What song is this?

[donosborn]

I list it at the end. "Hey Hey You Say" by Papas Fritas. cheers.

[yugamrap]

Nice work! Do you try to figure out the alpha acid content for your hops, or do you just do something like use the published average for a particular variety when figuring IBU for your recipes? Has the AA varied much from harvest to harvest?  Is predictability important to you, or is it more fun just to see what each harvest yields?

[donosborn]

I do not try to figure out the AA content or really worry about it much. I have made a handful of beers where I have used my hops exclusively. They are not quite as bitter as beers made with store bought hops, but they taste great as they are. It is fun to experiment and satisfying to drink a beer made with all homegrown hops. I have not noticed much variance from year to year.

[kc7fys]

This is nearly an upskirt vid.

[palehorsepalerider]

wonderful

[brewyourown4life]

how do you dry and package your hop? would be great to see a video

[donosborn]

I dry them on old window screens and package them with a vacuum sealer. The I store in the freezer.

[jgarceau1583]

That is awesome! I'm definitely gonna start growing my own hops.

[bradmacaroon]

Thanks for sharing the video. How long did it take to get the hops to grow? Where can I get some plants? It would be great to see your beer results from the hops. Thanks again. Oh, and cute kid, too!

[donosborn]

The hops will grow up the twine in the first season. I suppose that takes 4-5 months. You might get cones the first year, but not always.  You can order rhizomes from different homebrew supply stores. Search for hop rhizomes and you should find some places. They are only available in the spring. Look on my beer log for "Ten Buck Ale" recipes. Those use my homegrown hops.

[kc7fys]

By the way, Slim Dunlap's song "The Ballad Of The Opening Band" is about Papas Fritas' drummer.

[kc7fys]

The thing about it is, he set up the tripod for all these shots. Good work, Donald.

[gaddylh]

Nice Video. I am about to start growing my own hops this spring. That looks like a lot of hops to only be 5 ounces. I have only homebrewed using pellets. Does drying them reduce the weight that much?

[donosborn]

Yeah it's surprising and a little disappointing, but according to my friend's scale that we believe is accurate, dried hops hardly weigh anything. It takes a lot to make just one oz.

[GST90]

Great Vid! Just one question. How do you know where to cut so that the plant will grow again next year? All this talk about hop prices going up is making me want to try this myself.

[donosborn]

Glad you like the vid. Once the plant grows for a season it will automatically come up the following spring. I cut it a few inches from the ground but you could probably cut it all the way down to the dirt. Cheers.

[GST90]

Thanks for the info!

[Erdinger2003]

WHOOOO!!! HOPS RULE!!

[Xronoz]

Nice. I'm definitely going to be starting my own real soon.

[texabamabrackish]

This is so awesome! Can't wait to grow my own and have my house overcome by vines... And put my kids to work!

Ever been to Barley John's Brew Pub in New Brighton?

Cheers!

[donosborn]

Yup I've been up there a handful of times.

Glad you like the video. You will love growing hops. It's pretty sweet watching them grow. And even better, right now I am drinking a beer I made with them. It tastes great and it's satisfying.

cheers.