36 replies to this topic

[MakeMeHoppy]

Anything named after a location in Oregon: Cascade, Columbia, Willamette, Mt Hood.Second would be other things NorthWest related: Chinook, Olympic.

*** Remembering how my APA and IPA tasted when I could get Chinook hops

[ScottS]

Oreo's on the nightstand for Scott??

LOL I wish. :)How do German hops do compared to American hops? Obvious it depends on the exact location, but it seems like most people are growing American rather than German. Is there a reason for that beyond that those are the hops you like to use?

[BuxomBrewster]

*** Remembering how my APA and IPA tasted when I could get Chinook hops

Chinook was one of the ones I could get. I almost did.

[pods8]

LOL I wish. :)How do German hops do compared to American hops? Obvious it depends on the exact location, but it seems like most people are growing American rather than German. Is there a reason for that beyond that those are the hops you like to use?

The ability of them to grow in various climates and what the climates produce based on the variety grown dictate a lot of it.

[BrewerGeorge]

I chose American varieties because I think they'll naturally be more predictable in America. So that means I'd choose liberty, crystal or mt hood for my "German Noble" tastes and sterling for my "Czech sazz" tastes and willamette for my "English" taste, etc. You know how different US EKG tastes than UK EKG, right? Or how different those Argentine Cascades taste? It has to be the terroir that makes those differences.

[Lagerdemain]

Getting back to the OP - I think you'll have great difficulty selling any hops, but particularly bittering or multi-purpose hops (legalities notwithstanding) unless you are able to accurately test for, at a minimum, alpha acid levels. As expensive as hops have become, I would guess that most homebrewers are not terribly interested in paying for hops they whose bittering properties can only be guessed at.

[ScottS]

Getting back to the OP - I think you'll have great difficulty selling any hops, but particularly bittering or multi-purpose hops (legalities notwithstanding) unless you are able to accurately test for, at a minimum, alpha acid levels. As expensive as hops have become, I would guess that most homebrewers are not terribly interested in paying for hops they whose bittering properties can only be guessed at.

Yes, we thought of this too. We haven't yet investigated exactly how it is done, but we recognize the need for proper testing and labeling.

[BrewerGeorge]

Getting back to the OP - I think you'll have great difficulty selling any hops, but particularly bittering or multi-purpose hops (legalities notwithstanding) unless you are able to accurately test for, at a minimum, alpha acid levels. As expensive as hops have become, I would guess that most homebrewers are not terribly interested in paying for hops they whose bittering properties can only be guessed at.

I'm not so sure about that. Those of us who are REALLY into brewing enough to frequent message boards are probably the top 1% or so. I doubt all brewers take it that seriously. Unless I miss my guess, the organic/hippy crowd might be even more likely to not care so much about tested AA. Just last Sunday I brewed a golden ale with my own hops, just guessing at the AA. I tasted a thief sample last night and it's definitely going to be beer - good beer at that.However, I do doubt that hops can be a profitable enterprise for you even if you can find somebody to buy them. Conservatively, it probably took me 3 hours to harvest the 2ish pounds I got from my glacier bine last year, and that doesn't include any of the time or money spent helping them grow to the harvest point. They're very labor intensive.

[ScottS]

They're very labor intensive.

That's what the kids are for. *cracks whip*

[Lagerdemain]

I'm not so sure about that. Those of us who are REALLY into brewing enough to frequent message boards are probably the top 1% or so. I doubt all brewers take it that seriously. Unless I miss my guess, the organic/hippy crowd might be even more likely to not care so much about tested AA. Just last Sunday I brewed a golden ale with my own hops, just guessing at the AA. I tasted a thief sample last night and it's definitely going to be beer - good beer at that.

George, you could well be right - it's been so long since I started brewing (and I jumped in the deep end pretty quickly) that I guess I can't remember what it's like being a casual brewer.

However, I do doubt that hops can be a profitable enterprise for you even if you can find somebody to buy them. Conservatively, it probably took me 3 hours to harvest the 2ish pounds I got from my glacier bine last year, and that doesn't include any of the time or money spent helping them grow to the harvest point. They're very labor intensive.

I can't say, but even with specialized equipment, hops cultivation is a labor-intensive process. I wouldn't even want to think about how much work would be involved operating a commercial-sized enterprise without that (very expensive) equipment.

[ScottS]

I can't say, but even with specialized equipment, hops cultivation is a labor-intensive process. I wouldn't even want to think about how much work would be involved operating a commercial-sized enterprise without that (very expensive) equipment.

This has come up in our research, and we're still looking into the economics of it. We're not making any significant investments until we understand it better. But for sure, we're going to grow some and see how it works out. Growing food is what we do for fun.

[pods8]

Getting back to the OP - I think you'll have great difficulty selling any hops, but particularly bittering or multi-purpose hops (legalities notwithstanding) unless you are able to accurately test for, at a minimum, alpha acid levels. As expensive as hops have become, I would guess that most homebrewers are not terribly interested in paying for hops they whose bittering properties can only be guessed at.

Market them mostly for aroma/flavoring and price accordingly is another tactic. On my high IBU beers I'm throwing enough hops at them that I've already hit bittering threshold.

[japh]

I'm not so sure about that. Those of us who are REALLY into brewing enough to frequent message boards are probably the top 1% or so. I doubt all brewers take it that seriously. Unless I miss my guess, the organic/hippy crowd might be even more likely to not care so much about tested AA. Just last Sunday I brewed a golden ale with my own hops, just guessing at the AA. I tasted a thief sample last night and it's definitely going to be beer - good beer at that.

Plus, how many of us are doing what you just mentioned - growing hops at home? Surely 99.9% of home hop growers don't test the AA of their hops.Does anyone know how far off from 'standard' hops get in AA levels? Probably depends upon variety, but I'm not brewing massive amounts for sale. I can handle some change in the exact AA number from batch to batch.

[JReigle]

Plus, how many of us are doing what you just mentioned - growing hops at home? Surely 99.9% of home hop growers don't test the AA of their hops.Does anyone know how far off from 'standard' hops get in AA levels? Probably depends upon variety, but I'm not brewing massive amounts for sale. I can handle some change in the exact AA number from batch to batch.

I think it's reasonably safe to assume that your homegrown hops will be within the stated AA% range for the particular varietal. Climate and growing conditions will largely dictate how the varietal performs. While I've never tested mine, I've had good results assuming middle-of-the-road for the stated AA range for the hops I've grown and used (Centennial, Cascade, Chinook). I used them for aroma and bittering.If you're near a hop growing region, you might check around to confirm AA levels of the commercial harvest for the varieties you grow. Odds are, yours will perform very similarly as others' in the region.

[zymot]

Cascade (Williams Brewing is showing they got Cascade Rhizomes in today)They are rare in inventory at stores.Recipes are filled with them, everybody loves them.zymot

[Dave]

I was wanting to try growing hops this year.. I'm in Alabama so its pretty warm already-- could it be too late to order/plant?Also, my yard is mostly pine so I'm guessing I have acidic soil...will this matter? Is a bucket approach better?I'd love some cascade, centennial, and challenger hops that I grew myself.