I can tell  you that hop growing in New England isn’t as tough as I once thought or I once read.  Maybe hop varieties were susceptible to disease back in the day* but I have two different varieties growing strong this summer and they are starting to show some cones.

Granted, both varieties have been developed in the past 30 years and they were bred to be stronger plants.

So maybe that is the answer.  Maybe it was tough but if you get “newer” varieties, you can have great results.

I am not a good gardener, but I water my bines regularly.  I have put them in a place were they get at least 6 hours of sunshine a day.  I bought some good soil to plant them in a year ago and that’s it.  They are a hardy plant.  I think you would need to really do major damage to stop their growth.

Water, sun, and patience seems to be the formula for hop growing.  Here’s some photos: 

Harvest time will be here before you know it, but I hope it takes its time this year.

*Not sure if back in the day relates to colonial times or around the time homebrewing became legal.  In either case, a lot has changed since then but some conventional wisdom has not.  It’s something that Mike and I have talked about and we will address it in upcoming posts.

This is a post for those homebrewers who want to grow hops in their yards and want to know what to expect the second year of growing.

I know that I have read from other hop growers that the first year isn’t that impressive when it comes to actual above ground growth.

I can tell you that the second year is much different and the bines come up strong.  When the hops growing season gets started, a whole bunch of shoots come out of the ground.

A month later, ther bines at 10 feet tall.  I am (literally) running out of rope for these things.

My brother sent me a photo of his hop plant.  Last year, he didn’t get much growth and no cones.  I think this year will be a little different.

It’s early April and here in Massachusetts, we have only been snow free for a week now…we actually had a storm with measurable snow last Friday. 

That hasn’t stopped my hops plant from starting its growth for the season.  Here are some snapshots I took:

I knew that hops were a rugged plant and they started growing fairly early in the season.  Seeing is (fully) believing sometimes.  It’s such a big difference between year 1 and year 2.  The hop bine in year 1 was a graceful plant.  This thing is looking like the plant from Little Shop of Horrors.

I think it’s going to be a good hops harvest this year.

Another post about a New Zealand hop variety: Pacific Jade.

It was released in 2004 from the New Zealand Hop Research Program at the HortResearch Center in Riwaka, NZ.

Pacific Jade hops were bred from a New Zealand variety called First Choice and Male Saaz.

Origin: New Zealand

Aroma/Flavor: Fresh citrus, black pepper spiciness, “soft” bitterness

Alpha Acid: 12 – 14%

Typical Usage: Bittering hop

Substitutions: Possibly Chinook or Magnum

Beer Styles: American versions of pale ales especially IPAs.

Another NZ hop variety that I have come across. Here is our profile for Nelson Sauvin Hops.

This variety was developed by HortResearch at their location in the city of Nelson, which probably attributed to its namesake. It’s a cross between the New Zealand hop variety known as Smooth Cone (which is not grown commercially anymore) and a New Zealand male hop. It was released in the year 2000.

Origin: New Zealand

Aroma/Flavor: I think this is the most unusual descriptions I have seen for a hop variety. Nelson Sauvin hops impart a grape-like flavor to beers, defined as a cool climate white wine grape flavors. Other descriptors include extreme fruitiness, Passionfruit, and “Fresh Crushed Gooseberries”.

Alpha Acid: 11 – 13%

Typical Usage: Dual, but pairs nice with American citrus-y hops when used as a bittering hop.

Substitutions: Unique – no substitutions listed

Beer Styles: American ales that you want to push the boundaries of fruitiness, specialty/holiday beers.

Formally known as Pacific Hallertau, the Pacifica hop variety was developed by HortResearch, which is a New Zealand hop breeding program. It was bred through the open pollination using Hallertauer Mittlefrüh and was released commercially in 1994.

It seems like it is a Southern Hemisphere twist on a noble hop.  One thing I found to be interesting when reading the description for this hop was the information about what diseases this variety is prone to.  It was a one line description that said, “New Zealand is hop disease free.”  Brag much?   

Origin: New Zealand

Aroma/Flavor: Here’s a good one for you: Orange marmalade.  Nice orange-y citrus notes when added late in the boil. 

Alpha Acid: 5 – 6%

Typical Usage: Dual – but probably works better as a flavoring/aroma hop.

Substitutions: Any hop in the Hallertau family

Beer Styles: Spice up your German style lagers and ales with Pacifica hops.

Like Summit hops, Pioneer hops are a dwarf variety – they don’t grow too high (20+feet), more like 8 feet tall which makes them easier to harvest.  According to sources, they are a sister variety to Herald. 

I couldn’t find any information about Herald so they must be the more popular sister (Marcia vs. Jan).

They are fairly new to the market and being used by a few commercial brewers.  Here’s the round up for Pioneer Hops:

Origin: UK – Wye College

Aroma/Flavor: Pleasant citrus, less aggressive than American varieties.  Well rounded bitterness.

Alpha Acid: 8 – 10%

Typical Usage: Dual – Bittering and Aroma

Beer Styles: English Pale Ales, Bitters.