Hops

[Doc]

I came across something kind of interesting that's a living piece of township history. I found a vine of hops (a beer making product) growing wild in a hedge row. Hop farming used to be a big crop in our town about a century ago. But nobody has grown hops commercially in the valley since that time. This one plant has survived all those years. I'm not sure, but this may be some old variety that may not even exist anymore. I'm going to do a bit of investigation. Also, I want to see if I can get some seeds off the thing. It's amazing what interests an old guy ..... ha-ha.

Doc

[burmjohn]

I'll take a case of whatever your gonna brew

[Doc]

It might make a heck of a hobby ....... brewing beer from some old vintage breed of hops that you harvest yourself. hey, it's something worth looking into anyway. I don't know a thing about it, but my interest has been tweaked a bit.

[biggamefish]

Hey I brew beer and would love to get some hops.  it takes alot of hops to do a batch of beer though.

[Doc]

Hey I brew beer and would love to get some hops.  it takes alot of hops to do a batch of beer though.

Right now there is just the one vine which is covered with hops, but not enough to be used for anything. I have to look into how to propagate these things and then see where I go from there.

Doc

[wztirem]

Upstate Chunk & Paradigm Company, LLC - Richard Vang - The Past ...  A hsitory of hops and hop farming in upstate New York, by Richard Vang. ... Nearly everyone has heard of the legendary upstate New York hops industry. ...

www.upstatechunk.com/beer/hops/nyhistory.htm - Cached - Similar    I have property in Schoharie County where there are multiple vines of hops intermixed with various brambles.

[SteveMcD]

I think that is really cool. Especially the history behind it. 

[Doc]

Upstate Chunk & Paradigm Company, LLC - Richard Vang - The Past ...  A hsitory of hops and hop farming in upstate New York, by Richard Vang. ... Nearly everyone has heard of the legendary upstate New York hops industry. ...

www.upstatechunk.com/beer/hops/nyhistory.htm - Cached - Similar    I have property in Schoharie County where there are multiple vines of hops intermixed with various brambles.

Bill-

Thanks for the link to that article. Since running into that hop plant the other day, I have been doing a whole lot of reading on the subject, and I am quite amazed at the art and science behind hop growing. It's not exactly like growing corn or planting a food plot ..... ha-ha.

We had a history of hop farming on the old homestead (part of which is my land today). The previous owner referred to an old foundation behind the main barn as "the hop house" and apparently it was used for drying hops back in the day when the crop was a boom-style industry here. I'm guessing that the vine that I found is some kind of descendant of that crop.

By the way, I have seen that hop plantation display in the Farmers Museum in Cooperstown. That whole museum is just a amazing thing to see and I would recommend it to anybody regardless of your level of interest in farming.

Again thanks for the link to the article.

Doc

[wztirem]

Doc,

You are wecome. Google "hop farming in NY"for additional links.

[wztirem]

    Hop season just around the corner  By Blake on March 8, 2010 12:17 AM      A little hard to believe with snow still covering much of the landscape, but warmer weather is on the way, and along with it, hops!

Some "aspiring" hop farmers attended a hop tutorial in Geneva, NY this weekend, according to The Daily Mail:

  Aspiring hops producers attended a tutorial at the Agroforesty Resource Center on Saturday, receiving instruction on the do's and don'ts of growing the crop. Rick Pederson, a successful producer from the Finger Lakes whose crop was used in 2004 to create the first beer brewed using only New York hops, spoke to more than 10 attendees via teleconference from the New York state Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva.</blockquote>  Check out the full article here.

I'll be interested to see how my own hop plants do in their second year.  Vines go higher!

Doc, you have piqued my interest too!

[Geno C]

i love hoppy beers!

the next batch of home brew i do will have some hops in it.... a hoppy higher IPA ale

[ELMER J. FUDD]

I don't always drink beer, but when I do...stay thirsty my friends.

[RangerClay]

Where I grew up in Madison County, it was the largest producer of hops in the world.  Occasionally we find a vine here or there.  There is store called the Hops Shop in Munnsville.  Maybe they could tell you what variety it is.

[Mr VJP]

I think I'll just go to the store and buy a six pack of Beck's.

[wztirem]

This is a great topic! I brew beer at home. Usualy the outcome is not what I expect. I give a lot of credit to the home brewers who can make a drinkable brew.

[HounderEmily]

Hop vines are also used as an ornamental, but they are notorious invasive.

One good source for amateur brewers:

Nichols Garden Nursery in Willamette, OR:

http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/store/product-list.php?pg1-cid111.html

http://davesgarden.com/products/ps/search.php?search_text=humulus&submit=Go

[gundeck]

With all of the wineries in our area, some have started micro-breweries.  As a result, some of the farms in the area are growing hops.  When they first started going up, I couldn't figure out why they were building the structures needed to support them.