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The Garden
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OK, so it's not much, but it is a start. To begin, I
didn't even know what hops are, thinking that they were a type of
wheat. After seeing them, I was surprised to find they were a vine.
Wrong again! They're a bine, wrapping clockwise as they grow, as
opposed to a vine, which holds by tendrils.
This view shows five of the seven hops plants I started in early
June of this year. Two plants had just been pulled up by our
over-eager puppy, so it's a little thin. This picture was
taken August 1st, it doesn't show them, but the burrs are just
starting to appear. The other two plants were planted along a
galvanized chain-link fence, & didn't do very good, reaching a
total height of about 2 feet. Galvanized steel is toxic to many
animals, & apparently doesn't encourage hop production or
growth, either.
These are Nugget Hops, bought on an impulse. I'd just started my Øl Mead
a week or two before. I was at a local nursery, who knows why, saw
that they had a few plants, & decided to give it a shot.
For
some good info on starting your own hops, click here. |
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Nugget
Hops
I looked for information on different types of hops,
to compare one to another, to see, even though I'd already planted
Nuggets, which variety was best for how I intended to use
them. I found this exact table on 4 different sites, I don't
know who created it or who the credit should go to, I don't even
know what most of the information means, but for the consistency and
proliferation, it might be safe to assume that this would answer the
questions I should be asking (?!?).
| Pedigree
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Selected
from a cross between Brewers Gold and a high alpha acids
male with good storage properties
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| Maturity
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Mid
season
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| Yield
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1900 -
2500 kg./ha. or 1700 - 2230 lb./ac.
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| Growth
Habit
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Good
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| Disease
Reaction
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Little
visual reaction to infection with Prunus necrotic ring-spot
virus. Moderate to good resistance to downy mildew, but
susceptible to spider mites.
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| Pickability
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Excellent
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| Drying/Baling
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Normal
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| Cone
Structure
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Heavy,
tight and moderately long
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| Aroma
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Quite
heavy and herbal
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| Storageability
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70 - 80%
alpha acids remaining after six (6) months storage at 20ºC
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| General
Trade Perception
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A high
alpha acids hop with a good aroma profile
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| Possible
Substitutions
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Columbus,
Chinook, Wye Target, Galena, Magnum
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| Beer
Styles
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Ales,
Stout
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| Other
Information
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Released
in 1982 and now a major high alpha acids variety in the U.
S. A.
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| Luplin
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Plentiful
and yellow-orange in color
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| Alpha
Acids
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12.0 -
14.0% w/w
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| Beta
Acids
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4.0 -
6.0% w/w
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| Co-Humulone
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24 - 30%
of alpha-acids
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| Total
Oil
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1.7 -
2.3 mls/100 grams
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| Myrcene
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51 - 59%
of whole oil
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| Humulene
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12 - 22%
of whole oil
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| Caryphyllene
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7 - 10%
of whole oil
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| Farnesene
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<1%
of whole oil
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| These pictures were taken on the 17th of
August. Several of the bracts looks ready to be
picked and dried. From what I've read, they should feel papery when
it is time to pick them, I think that many are about there.
We picked 3 times, each about a week & 1/2 apart. We
got about 6 oz. of hops bracts from the first season. I don't know
if that's good or bad, it doesn't sound like much, but it will
probably easily last us until next fall. Once picked, we put them in
the dehydrator for about 16 hours (the dried weight was about 15%),
then vacuum sealed them (turning off the suction before they were
crushed), & put them into the freezer until needed.
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The Grapes
This is the vine we've been eating and drinking from
since we came here, 10 years ago. I don't know what they are, and
nobody I've asked is really sure, either. When ripe, they're
just bigger than a dime, very dark purple, almost black, outside,
and a greenish tint inside. Most of them have three seeds. The
skin is a little thick, with a very puckering-tart taste, and the
inside is one of the sweeter grapes I've had. This is the last
thing in the yard to come back to life each spring, but also seems
to hang on a little longer in the fall, usually through a few frosts
(this is Minnesota, the frost is real). The seeds are almost
impossible to start. A few years ago we filled a Jiffy-Pak,
the large 72-starter size, with seeds from this vine. Only
four or five sprouted, & none of them lived long enough to get
taller than an inch or two, but. . .
After dropping seeds in the same place for the past
few years, 2 new vines finally took last spring (2003).
They're growing good & we're hoping for fruit from that one in
one or two more years. We also need to decide where we want to
start dropping the seeds again.
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The Others
We have a handful of other fermentables growing here
& there in the yard, including plums (20 - 25 trees), Nanking
cherries (40 - 50 trees/shrubs) and apricots (2 trees), but most of
them are too young to produce anything yet. I'll post more on
them once we've put them to work...
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