Once the hops have been picked off the vines, you have to dehydrate them before storage. That way, they last much longer and it preserves the fantastic hop aroma which we love in our beer!

Here are the freshly picked hops. It’s a lot for work than you’d think! I found out that when the trellis isn’t as tall as it should be (over 10 feet tall) then the hops don’t grow the same way, basically they spread and cluster in more of a “bush” type fashion, instead of a […]

The hops are starting to turn a little yellowish/brownish, and the lupulin is smelling nice and pungent. That means it’s about time to harvest the hops! The seemed to have ripened earlier this year, probably because it was so wet and rainy in June, then so hot and dry in July. Anyway, here’s a few […]

The hops are really growing strong now, however, the Japanese Beetles have started to attack the Golding (on the right) and to a lessor extent, the Nugget (in the middle). You can also see the cabbage growing in the foreground. Here’s another view from of the hops from the opposite side. And here a picture […]

The frontside hops are really starting to grow well, as you can see. They’re even starting to grow along the stings leading to the backside trellis.

The hops are really starting to take off now, well, at least the cascade and nugget are, anyway.

Here’s a couple pictures of my Cascade & Nugget hops, which are just starting to sprout. Baby Cascade hops sprouting. Baby Nugget hops sprouting. The Golding hops have not begun to sprout yet, and I haven’t received the Columbus, Galena, Centennial, and Chinook rhizomes from the supplier yet.

Here’s a couple pictures of the two hop trellises I built out of old scrap wood for the seven varieties of hops I plan to grow this year. This is shorter trellis at the front of the garden. This is the taller trellis at the back of the garden. The plan is to attach strings […]