Growing Hops Plants for Home Brewing

Growing your own hops is the next step for many home brewers and it’s actually within reach for those looking to invest a few hours during the week to care for the hops plant. You just need sunlight, water and a trellis support structure once the hops reach maturity (which can be up to 20 feet with time). Hops grow almost like a weed and can flourish in most climates that have at least 120 frost-free days during the year.

WHICH HOPS TO PLANT & WHEN TO PLANT

Hops can easily be grown from a root segment that buds into its own hops plant. Many farms have online distribution (here is a review of the popular sites from which to order hop rhizomes) though we used Thyme Garden Herb Company in Oregon based on home brewer reviews and recommendations.

The easiest hops to grow, judging by the general consensus of both growers and distributors, are Cascade, Magnum and Nugget. Early spring is the time to get the rhizomes in the ground, though its probably safest to wait until the threat of frost is gone. Here in Cincinnati the last frost is around mid-April, though we received the shipment in late March … what to do? It was recommended by the grower to seal the hops in a zip bag with a few drops of water and store in the refrigerator until ready to plant. While in cold storage, I started to see a bud growing on the root and got worried that this guy was ready to get in the ground and the cold treatment might stunt his growth. Most forums say the hops will be fine for up to 6 weeks in the fridge with light water moisture periodically added. In retrospect, the smarter approach would have been to plant them in a pot and kept indoors (though rewarded with outdoor sunlight for good behavior), transplanting once the threat of frost had passed.

THE ECONOMICS OF GROWING HOPS

Cost savings is also a driving factor in deciding to grow your own hops. A typical rhizome will cost you $8 – $10 with shipping and the expected annual yield will be 1.0 – 2.5 pounds of dried hops. For comparison, a pound of dried Cascade hop leaves will cost you about $20. Keeping in mind that your hops plant will provide this yield year after year, the economics of growing your own hops can really cut down on the cost of brewing materials.

HOW TO PLANT YOUR HOPS

Though the neighbors gave me strange looks for photographing a hole in the ground, I have included a step-by-step guide to planting hop rhizomes. Caring for the hops and dealing with a trellis support system will have to be covered in a future post, assuming these initial experiments survive. For now we’re just concerned with properly getting the hop rhizomes in the the ground and on their way to maturity.