Growing Hops

While some of my friends may turn up their noses, I absolutely love a hoppy beer, especially on a hot day.  Here are a few facts about the plant that produces such wonderfully citrusy and bitter flavors:

Hops are perennial plants with climbing stems, called bines, which can grow up to 20 or 30 feet long.  The bines die back each year and re-grow the following year. 

Hops are planted not by seed, but by planting rhizomes (thick underground stems that have roots and shoots growing from it).   Only rhizomes from female plants are used since the hops are harvested for their female cones.  

For decent yields, hops need to be trellised.  Backyard growers can make do with a shorter trellis, a side of a garage or a chimney.  Most hop farmers use an overhead trellis system, which consists of 15-foot-high poles spaced every 5 plants.  The poles are connected by overhead wire cables that run both down and across the rows.  On average, hop farmers have approximately 55 poles per acre. 

Large acreages of hops are mechanically harvested with specialized equipment.  Small acreages are generally hand-harvested by removing individual cones as they mature utilizing a ladder or a cherry picker.  The bines could also be cut, pulled down and harvested all at once.

In 2013, Washington state produced about 80% of the U.S. hop crop.  Across the country, there were 35,244 acres in hops yielding a harvest of 69,343,900 pounds!

Grow Your Own: Want to learn to grow your own hops or brew your own beer?  Join us at  Funk Brewing Company on June 7th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. for our Crafting Beer 101 Workshop.  For more information or to register, visit http://www.cvent.com/events/crafting-beer-101/event-summary-760baa251fc147afab34abafbf44a24e.aspx

Sources: http://www.usahops.org/userfiles/image/1388461395_National%20Hop%20Report-NASS%2012-13.pdf

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CCD/introsheets/hops.pdf

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/hg_garden_2006-06.pdf