The Boston Imbiber

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you stopped tending your hops? What if you didn't water or fertilize them, cultivate the soil or string up twines for them? This month I've discovered the answers to these questions. I've just returned from my mission in Arizona to check on my Hoppy Home in Cambridge, Massachusetts after being away since last December. When I arrived back home, I immediately went into my backyard to check on my hops. Fearing the worst, I was delighted and relieved to find that my hops were doing fine and had blanketed the entire yard and its contents with their lush leaves. They had ingeniously created an abstract topiary as they covered my wooden stockade fence, gate, barbeque grill, lawn furniture, tomato stakes and a host of other objects that I have not yet identified. I was also happy to see that the hops growing up my six-foot fence were loaded with cones, although the ones growing on the ground were cone-less. On another positive note, there was no sign of downey mildew despite the dense overgrowth. It seemed like the newer varieties of hops like the Mt. Hood, Galena, and Nugget survived my neglect the best while the Tettnangers and Fuggles seemed to be struggling. To my surprise, the Saaz seemed to be thriving and had developed very thick bines and some killer rhizomes for more cuttings. I was also surprised to find an abundance of burrs intermixed with loads of cones. I was puzzling over this apparent timing mystery when my neighbor threw a shoe at me. (I had forgotten it was two o'clock in the morning!) The next day I discovered the explanation to the mystery. The varieties had intermingled quite thoroughly, and the earlier-flowering Mt. Hoods had already developed cones while the later-flowering Galenas and Nuggets were just developing burrs. I also discovered my motorcycle wasn't stolen--it was just buried under a blanket of hops!

I don't recommend hop-abuse, but if you must neglect your hops while taking care of more pressing matters, it's good to know that the hops can take care of themselves. Hops are determined survivors, and they will do the best they can to grow and prosper. Please note that in this case, my self-reliant hops were already mature and had developed good root systems. Had they been newly-planted hops, they might have not fared so well. This is another reason why infrequent, deep watering is preferable to frequent, shallow sprinkling. The former promotes a deeper root system that is more drought tolerant than the shallow root system encouraged by the latter method.

Another lesson I learned is that hops can even be used as ground cover. Along the back of my house where I'm growing Cascades, the hops have created a beautiful English ivy-like ground cover that looks much better than the spotty lawn that grew there last year. I had left an aluminum ladder lying horizontally along the house, and the hops grew up and over the ladder creating a two-foot high "hop hedge." You landscapers out there should be able to create some very interesting new designs with hops!

Now's the time of year that the hops are in the flowering mode. An infusion of phosphorus and potassium will gird them up for this phase. Maintain good air circulation and water in the morning to minimize risk of mildew. As the cones mature, do the "squeeze test" for ripeness. If they're ready to pick, the cone will spring back when squeezed. If it's too green, it will tend to stay compressed.

Now's also the time to prepare for the harvest. To start with, alert your friends and tell them to bring beer! You'll need help picking the hops. You can refer to my video or Zymurgy article for more details on picking, drying, and storing the hops, but here are some quick reminders. Don't forget to preserve the identity of your hops by labelling the picking baskets or bags. Label your hop-pickers, too, if necessary. Don't exceed 140 degrees when drying the hops, or you will lose the best aromas. After drying, place cones in oxygen-barrier bags and squeeze the air out. Displace any remaining air with CO2 or inert gas if possible, then refrigerate or freeze your hop cones.

Please check back here later in the month, as I plan to add more observations and information to this month's newsletter. Till then, keep hopping!