Brew Therapy - Growing Hops

You - "Rob, as you know I have really gotten into brewing.  I enjoy working outside and playing in the dirt.  Do you think that it would be a good idea for me to grow my own hops?"

Me - "Yes."

There is a lot of front end work to growing hops, but once they get started it's fairly easy and rewarding for the average home brewer.  The hop plant loves to climb, so the first thing that you'll need is a trellis or some other support for the bines (not vines) to climb up.  I have seen people who tie some rope to their roof line, build elaborate trellis systems, buy (or make) an archway for their front walk, or just plant it by their fence and let it go.  I'll probably post on my method when my hops start their journey up their ropes, but since the rhizomes (baby hop plants) are on sale now, I thought this was the best time to put your mind at ease on this topic.

When you decide on what you want your hops to grow on, you should decide what hops to grow.  My advice is to purchase hops that you know you'll like to use.  The hops that I use most often are Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, and Williamette; so that's what I grow.  Your rhizomes will be sent to you and you can either plant immediately or put them in the fridge until you're comfortable that it's warm enough in your area to plant.

Eventually the little beauties will start to grow.  With some gentile coaxing they will naturally climb, clockwise, up your support.  The first year will probably not provide many hop cones, but this is an investment.  Year two and beyond will likely provide more hops than you'll know what to do with.

Every third year you should dig them up and split the crown, but this provides you the opportunity to spread this wonderful hobby to your friends.  So order, build, plant, and enjoy.