Much to my chagrin, I harvested some of the hop cones this past weekend. Last year, I picked all the cones in one session near the end of August.
This year, there were a ton that were drying out on the bine and needed to be cut off for further drying.
I placed them on this screen that I used last year. The cones I had last year dried out pretty well and I was able to use them in the Blonde Ale that placed in the Boston Homebrew Competition.
Here’s what they look like post harvest:
Mother Nature willing, this harvest won’t be the last one of the year. I still have more cones to pick and more li’l flowers blooming.
Jack
I had to harvest some of my hops the other day, too. For me, though, I was able to pull all the hops from two varieties (centennial, willamette) while leaving all the hops of a third variety (spalt select) to hang. It does look like the spalt selects might need to be harvested in a couple of batches due to uneven maturation.
You guys are in New England, right? I’m in Pittsburgh and it seems like these hops are becoming mature quite early, perhaps at the cost of crop size. This year’s messed up weather (very wet spring followed by intense dry heat) might have impacted the crop. Mine are only second year bines, though, so I don’t yet have a “normal” baseline to compare to.
Jim
I have never tried growing hops… Does the harvest vary quite a bit from year to year?
John
Hi Jack – yes we are in New England. MA to be exact. The weather this spring and summer has been different than last year and it may be affecting the crop. I am not sure because I am on my second year with these bines as well. Last year it seemed like they grew and grew until mid-August. I guess we’ll have a better measure next year.
Hi Jim – the harvest definitely varies from year to year but I am hoping to get a pretty good yield every year. I think my goal is to get a pound of hops out of my backyard. That would be awwwwesome.
David Perry
I am in marlborough, Ma. My second year Cascades are also producing cones that are maturing at different rates, though I must have 3 x more cones this year. I’ll be harvesting some of them this weekend. The remainder look as if they need another week or so.
john
Your hops look nice and healthy. What variety are they?
I harvested a couple weeks ago, lucky to do it all in one shot and got almost 5 lbs. Here are some photos:
http://karlisbeer.blogspot.com/2011/08/nugget-harvest.html
http://karlisbeer.blogspot.com/2011/07/2011-hop-crop.html
John
Hi john –
They are Magnum hops. I have been happy with how they have grown in my backyard in Massachusetts.
I wanted a variety to use early in the boil. They worked out last year. My brother has Mt. Hood hops growing at his house. I haven’t seen them yet but he said they are making good process this year.