Growing Hops

June 22, 2009 12:05 PM

Growing Hops
Growing hops yourself project documented from soil preparation through harvest. This is a first year hops (2009) blog and will continue in subsequent years. If you are a homebrewer, growing hops yourself will save you a lot of money, especially if you are into IPA's, Imperials and other highly hopped beers and ales styles. Hop shortages in the recent past made hops hard to come by and when you could find them, you would pay through the nose (cost increase up to 1000%). If you are interested in how to grow hops, stop on by. Aside from beer making, hops make a relaxing tea, a great climbing cover plant for arbors, pergolas or any structure - up to 40 feet high! You can almost see them grow they grow so fast. Great for privacy and a pleasant aromatic vine or hop bine as is the correct term. Watch hops grow at a rate that will amaze you - up to a foot a day!
posted by vitallywell (2 comments total)

It's very debatable whether you'll actually save a lot of money growing your own hops. It really depends on how often, how much and what style(s) you brew, and how many plants you have space for. (I say this having raised hops for almost six years now -- the Cascade plants I've raised have done well and are really tasty, but their yields have never even remotely filled the need for hops in my brewing schedule.) Regardless, this is a well-done and informative site. Thanks for posting it to Projects.
posted by cog_nate at 2:31 PM on June 22, 2009

I'll be following your progress with interest, as I just planted my first hops this year as well: one Cascade and one Nugget.
posted by usonian at 1:37 PM on June 26, 2009