[BryPA]

So I looked around a bit and didn't find a thread dedicated to pictures of folks growing hops at home.

I'm growing Cascades (2nd year) and planting Nugget, Willamette and Galena for the first time this year.Not bad for April 2nd!

Here are the cascades.


BryPA

[pete b]

Mine are off to a slow start.
F.Y.I. under "Ingredients" there is a "sticky" homegrown hops section. Ironically because its at the top I always forget about it.

[BryPA]

Ah.. ok ill move there. Thanks for the info


Beer. its whats for... everything!

[reverseapachemaster]

I'm sure the thread can be moved to the right forum.

We start spring in early to mid March so my hops are already all breaking ground and chasing the sun. Two weeks ago two of my plants were a couple feet out of the ground. Now they are both almost six feet high. We are getting a good amount of rain this spring so that is probably helping out.

[klickitat jim]

Mine were about 3ft tall this morning but now they are zero. Haircut day. Plus it got down to <30 so too frosty just yet

[Philbrew]

So I looked around a bit and didn't find a thread dedicated to pictures of folks growing hops at home.

I'm growing Cascades (2nd year) and planting Nugget, Willamette and Galena for the first time this year.Not bad for April 2nd!

Here are the cascades.


BryPA

A curious aside:  How do you figure what AA% you get with home grown?  Or is that an over-hyped deal?

[Stevie]

Not overhyped, alpha acids are very important. If they weren't, breeders wouldn't be aiming for higher and higher AA hops. Before craft started caring about hops, breeders were more concerned with alpha per acre vs flavor and aroma.

Most use homegrown for later additions, some just assume the AA is within range, and some have them tested (expensive).

[BryPA]

Yeah not over-hyped. I mostly used mine from last year for bragging rights I guess. really just a neat plant to have and a conversation piece to boot. just dumped them in for a dry hop as an add-on. once I get more significant quantities in a couple of years I may try to use them alone for a couple of small batch brews to see how it goes.

[pete b]

One of the varieties I grow is galena which is a bittering hop. I simply guess the as based on what's typical for that variety, add the amount I think is right in a simple apa with homegrow cascade in a hop stand then taste it. If I like the bittering as is I call it that with the rest that I freeze for the winter or adjust up or down. This past season I put the number higher than average because the bitter was pretty strong.

[hopfenundmalz]

Now I use a known AA hop for bittering and homegrown for later additions. You can use the average AA for your variety and calculate the bittering addition. Then the next year you can bump up or down depending on the results - a SWAG at best - but it helped dial in my all homegrown beers. As already said, I now use commercial hops for the bittering as it removes the guess work.

[dmtaylor]

My homegrowns are all still in the cold Wisconsin earth.

I use most of mine for bittering.  Don't know the alpha acid?  No problem.  Take a guess in the middle of the normal range for the variety.  Then brew a pale ale with them.  If it turns out too bitter, call it a session IPA.  If it turns out too weak, call it a blonde or amber ale.  It's all good.  Then take a guess as to how many IBUs you think you really got.  Use brewing software to back-calculate how much your alpha acid really is.  Then on your next batch, you'll be really close within about 0.3 of the true alpha acid percentage.

Another thing I often do is to blend my homegrown hops 50/50 with known alpha commercial hops.  Then you're guaranteed to get something drinkable.

Cheers!

[klickitat jim]

If mine produce something healthy and with good smellum I'll make a homebrew and bag up a bunch to add at whirlpool.