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Budweiser American Ale

FEATURES


The Beerlover's Garden

Plan for Summer in the depth of Winter

by Joe Fisher and Dennis Fisher

 

• Hop Primer • Herbs • Sources •

Hop Primer

Dozens of hop cultivars are available, but a few stand out for use in a beer lover's garden. Topping this short list is Cascade, which is widely available and highly ornamental. Cascade produces huge, beautiful vines and reliable crops of aromatic cones. It is exceptionally easy to grow and adapts to a wide range of conditions. Just a couple of plants will cover a small pergola or arbor. The cones may be used for bittering, flavoring, and aroma. Other good varieties are Perle, Chinook and Willamette.

Planting: This involves nothing more than digging a hole about a foot deep, backfilling with well-rotted manure mixed with good topsoil, and planting a hop rhizome (available from homebrew stores) about an inch below the surface. Water frequently during the first season, and feed occasionally with compost tea or fish emulsion. Keep the hills well weeded, or else mulch around the base of the plants. A 3- to 6-inch layer of straw, wood chips or rough compost makes a good mulch, and will eventually break down to enrich the soil.

Training: Hops grow vertically, with lateral sidearms extending from the main vine and producing cones. Vines may grow up to 25 feet in a single season. When the hop vines first break ground in the spring, select the two or three healthiest looking and prune out the rest. Gently wrap the vines clockwise onto a post or string. Once trained, the vines will guide themselves up and over the trellis.

Harvest: Pick the hops when they are papery, but still slightly sticky, and filled with yellow lupulin powder. Harvest dates will vary with the variety and climate.

Post-Seasonal Care: Cut the vines back to the ground after they have been killed by frost. Each spring, apply a hearty dose of manure and compost as a top dressing. A spring root pruning to contain root growth is recommended.

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Dennis Fisher and Joe Fisher are brothers who reside in Winterport, ME. They run a small organic farm and greenhouse business, and are authors of Latitude Hooks & Azimuth Rings, Great Beer from Kits, Brewing Made Easy and The Homebrewer's Garden. Their most recent article on hop growing will appear in Kitchen Gardener magazine next year.

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This story originally appeared in All About Beer Magazine in January 2000.


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