Harvesting Home Grown Hops

[BackyardDiscoveryCo]

I hope try this thanks

[WraithBrewery]

Thanks, Very helpful.

[BrewTubeUK]

Thanks for doing this video, very helpful. I'm growing hops for the first time this year and, although not expecting a crop this year, one of my plants has flowered and I was wondering when to harvest. Thanks to you, I'm confident of when to pick them.

[frogchorusful]

Thanks for this video. It was very helpful. I had a little trouble seeing the mature vs. immature lupulin glands. What do they look like?

[fommatt]

Thanks for the video, I'm a first year grower and it was extremely helpful. I did two cascades and two chinooks. The cascades did well but the chinooks are very small (under 4 feet) and did not produce any cones. Is that common?

[MegaThunderDick]

I think the ladder safety briefing is the best part of the video hahahah

[RandomHouseFly]

I have hops and dogs as well. Technically, the threat is from malignant hyperthermia, not benign hypothermia. But yeah, it's nasty and fatal. Some breeds of dog are more susceptible to hops' toxicity than others (Greyhounds are especially sensitive), but even a small amount of hops is potentially fatal to all dogs. So far, my dogs don't seem too keen to nibble on the lower-hanging hops, so I'm not super worried. But they like the fish fertilizer, so I lock them up until the smell fades.

[bikeadvocate]

Great job Ben, youre the man. I am just getting into this process and really appreciate the info. I will check out the rest of your videos as well. Long live home brewing !!

[Cenosillicaphobia]

Definitely a great video, answered all of the questions i had in a very easy to understand! many thanks!

[boxa888]

awesome! awesome presentation! thank you for helping people learn!

[Slyther83]

Watching this video makes me so thirsty.

[dmeckle]

i have a calming gel for one of my dogs and the second ingredient is hops? 

[benshomebrew]

@dmeckle I'm not a doctor so I can't really give you sound advice. Some dogs react to hops, others don't. And I have no idea what the concentration of the hops is in the gel. I'd talk to a vet to get more sound advice.

[kenzbt]

WOW, just realized I've doing somethings wrong. thanks,dude!

[MajorArcana0]

this is the best hop video on youtube. you, sir, are the man!

[Us3r1972]

Great video- thanks man!

[mrewcyr28]

Great video! You would not happen to know how to care for the hop plant during the winter in AZ? We do not get a freeze at all here so I do not know how the plant will go dormant. I am afraid that the ground will get too dry but I do not want the ground to wet either. Do I water? or not?

[benshomebrew]

@mrewcyr28

I'd say use your best judgment and feel the soil, if it needs water then water it. Or if you're really concerned, dig a hole next to it to see how moist the dirt is. I honestly don't have an answer for you because I've never grown them in the desert.

[gracistabu]

how can you start growing hops? where can you get good plants/seeds?

[lvhbugman]

Great vid, dude. You said your plants are six years old ... How long before they started to produce and how much do you get per vine (oz) ?

I appeciate the packaging info too. Looks right on!

[benshomebrew]

@lvhbugman

It took about three years and then they started producing a lot. The more sunlight you give them the more hops you'll get. I was averaging about 2 lbs per mature plant and I had about 6 bines going off of each plant.

[lbmbrew]

Great video. learned a lot. I'm in my second year growing my first rhizome. Sorry to hear about your dog. I'll make sure my pup is nowhere around. Thanks for passing on the knowledge.

[broken14us]

i'm having problems with aphids. they only seem to be on my kent goldings. what can i used to get rid of them. oh ya i live in Pennsylvania if that means anything

[benshomebrew]

@broken14us

You're best bet is using a diluted down concoction of coffee, cayenne pepper and dish soap in about 2 gallons of water. Just eyeball the portions, you won't kill the hops. Put it in one of those hand pump sprayers and blast the hell out of them. If they don't go away in a day or so, then soak them down again.

Or, you can purchase ladybugs and they'll eat them all up.

[scottman12]

hops cure asthma and insomnia and can work on ear ache too:)

[doyouseewhatisee2010]

i just gat a now home and thar  is hops :) . is thar a way i can find out kind of hops thay r

[SauceJunior]

So I was really looking into growing some hops and I did not know they were toxic to dogs. You actually just saved my German Shepherds life. I'm sorry to hear about your dog but thank you for the video.

[benshomebrew]

@SauceJunior

Apparently, they aren't toxic to ALL dogs, but to be on the safe side, just make sure your dog can't get to them. I had a golden doodle and she never ate the hops while I was harvesting them. However, once you brew with them, that sugar content that's on them is what attracts dogs to eat them. So be real careful with your spent hops. Cheers!

[bartenderdad]

Great video Ben! Keep em coming

[TheCrystalRiver]

Can you grow hops in New York?

We have decent winters up here...

[benshomebrew]

Sure you can. I don't know which varieties work best up there, but hops are pretty hardy and can grow in many environments. I actually think there are some commercial hop growers in NY.

[TheCrystalRiver]

Thanks Ben!

[aussiejosh81]

Nice vid!

Thanks for the tip regarding dogs and hops!

[abysm2]

great information, i'd love to see a new version in higher definition. its kind of hard to see what he is showing you with the ripe hops vs immature.

[benshomebrew]

Yeah, I'm going to have to do another one. It wasn't long after this vid that I bought a better camera for videos.

[koldfushen]

No biggie-

You gave a great presentation regarding some real practical aspects of hop harvetsing. Thansk!

[woodman88tube]

These ones?

[woodman88tube]

@woodman88tube Otherwise great vid,  3rd year for my cascade and centennial vines.

[bm5447]

great video! very very informative!

[deadsaid]

i can't stop coming back to this video. you can see my plants on my vids. thanks for the help ben.

[subsonic41grain]

Hey thats a cool video. I was just wondering when my hops would be ready and that showed me all I need! Unfortunately I don't have Cascade, just regular Goldings and Fuggles but that was cool. Tipping an all grain '4 shades of stout' (with cascade) as a thanks. Awesome - Subsonic.

[tonedeff22]

I should have watched this video 20 mins ago I just got done picking a bunch of immature hops, it was a first year plant so not too many but thanks for the info!!

[broken14us]

Im growing kent goldings, and i have little white bug undernieth the leaves. and my cones are turning brown in what seems to be over night. did dot have this problem last year.

[hailnurgle]

Thanks Ben. The most helpful thing I've found for determining when my hops are ready.

[super1chicken]

Excellent Video! Thanks Ben.. I'm growing hops for the first time in North East Ct - And I was going to start picking hops this weekend but after watching the video will hold off a little until they have alt he characteristics you mentioned.. Thanks for the heads up about Dog's - Sorry to hear about yours - S1C

[deadsaid]

by far the most helpful vid on hops i've watched yet. my zues and glacies should be getting ready real soon.

[guitarbilly48]

nice work, Thanks! I'm especially thankful that you shared the story about your dog with us. I'm sorry you had to find out the hard way.

[countrybrew]

Ben, I just started to grow hops this year and have seen many different methods for harvesting. I notice that you trimmed then from the vine instead of cutting the whole vine off. In your opinion is there a difference?

[benshomebrew]

Countrybrew,

Yeah, the difference is how YOUR hops grow. Every region is different. I pull two harvests a year from my crops, one in late July and another in Sept. The one in sept I just whack them down and harvest. If you do any early harvesting, just harvest from the bine, don't cut them down.  That way it ensures you have another harvest for the season.

[kirklstruble1]

Very informative. I've grown hops for about three years now, but have only used them for decorative purposes previously (I own a beer bar in Brooklyn, NY and I hang them up behind the bar.) This year I plan on brewing with them. Thanks for comparison between mature and immature hops..a great help. Sorry about your dog. I had not heard before that hops were so dangerous to canines.

[mboody123]

Great video! Thanks for all the great info! Hop grower Mike in Livonia, Michigan

[jfriah]

Excellent stuff, Ben. I'm impressed with your hop wall there! That's a nice house height!! I'm going to run my first year stock horizontally up/across the length of my yard on a chain-link fence. And, being a sound guy, that's a whole pile of nature sounds you have around you. Birds when the sun is shining, crickets later on. What part of the country are you in?

[benshomebrew]

jfriah,

I'm in western PA and this was taken in the morning when everything was screaming.

[Weasel1994]

wait so u had 6 year old hops that wernt matured and u had 3 month old hops that were matured how do u tell

[benshomebrew]

Weasel,

My 6 year old mature hops produce hops but it takes three months (the entire summer) for them to produce mature hops to harvest. Make sense? And you can tell by the lupilin glands. I tried to make that clear in the video.

[eledsor17]

wow.. one of the most well spoken and informative "grow your own hops" presentations i've seen! nice job!! thanks!!! and keep it up :)

[deadsaid]

would you say the hops are pretty much inaccesable to dogs during normal growth, or should i worry about my dog getting to them at anytime? i'm getting my first rhizomes this spring and that has been my main concern.

[benshomebrew]

I've only found that dogs eat hops after they've been brewed with. Why? Because of the residual sugar from the wort. I've harvested hops with my dog in the yard and she won't touch them as is, but if you drop them in wort and then show them to her, she'll eat them up easily. I just say be careful and keep an eye on the dog.

[deadsaid]

i'm excited to get my first rhizomes this spring. some willamette and glacier. beautiful hops my friend.

[effectrammstein]

great video!

[benshomebrew]

The one I showed in the video is really large. I don't always get them that large. The average is 2 inches long. Give them good mulch and a little bit of ash wood and you'll be good to go. (they are cascade hops in the video.)

[m3830431]

Very informative

[FishBrew21]

How do your hops hold up in the winter? I am interested to grow my own but I would be afraid it would be a waste because of the cold winters here in Canada. Is there a shelf life for these plants or a temperature range for proper growth? Thanks.

[benshomebrew]

They do well in the winter. Just put some mulch on them and they'll come up in the spring.  They can grow for more than 30 years. I think they need 90 warm days in the summer to actually have a good harvest.

[NoBeerNoHappy]

Excellent and informative video. Thank you so much!

[mstyne]

Ben,

Great video. Thanks so much for putting it online. I have some Cascade hops that I was going to harvest this weekend but now I know that they aren't close to ready just yet.

Thanks again!

Mike

[brewyourown4life]

good video and GREAT looking hops. what part of the country are you growing in

[benshomebrew]

They are grown in Western PA. They do really well, too.

Thanks. I hope the video helped.