Grow Your Own Hops

Hello- the blog is back in action!  So I thought I’d start out right with a serial post about how to grow hops. This is going to be a multi-post affair, but I hope to have all the details down in regular updates.

Williamette Hop Rhizome attacks! In 3D!

As an avid home brewer, the brew gang and I have slowly gotten more and more into the ingredients of brewing and less about drinking the beer itself.  Don’t get me wrong- I love home brew and we periodically have folks over for mass tastings, but as I got comfortable with the brewing process I started to wonder where and how the ingredients were made.  For instance, peat moss for beer clarity?  Really?!

Beer is comprised of 4 wonderful and basic components, water, malt, hops, and yeast.

So in the spirit of that simplicity I present to you:

GROWING HOPS: REVENGE OF THE RHIZOME, IN 3D!

Here’s what a hop rhizome looks like in 2D:

Williamette Hop Rhizome below an artist's delicious end result depiction.

And here’s what it looks like when you’ve defeated it.

Hop Rhizome defeated....for now?

Wait, I’m probably missing a bunch of before and after details. I’ll fill those in this week…