which hops to plant

sdt7618 · Oct 21, 2016

I have room for 5 hop vines, and going to give growing them a go,

Looking at what I like and what I might want to make if/when i take the step away from kits what would be a good choice. I have looked at the four below

1. amarillo
2. cascade
3. Prima Donna
4. saaz

So question is what would be a good one to add with this lot, or what would be other options, have toyed with Fuggle/ Perle/mosiac

Really want a good spread of uses and flavours etc.

cheers

AlanManley · Oct 21, 2016

I love Mosaic however is similar to Amarillo. Fuggles would be my choice as it's very British.

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Brewdoug · Oct 21, 2016

Can you get Amarillo in this country?
I know you can get Cascade but apparently it won't be quite the same when grown in UK vs America. Despite this, if I can figure out where I could grow them in my garden I'd be quite tempted to try either Cascade or Centennial and also Chinook. All of these are available from Essentially Hops.

sdt7618 · Oct 21, 2016

Brewdoug said:
Can you get Amarillo in this country?
I know you can get Cascade but apparently it won't be quite the same when grown in UK vs America. Despite this, if I can figure out where I could grow them in my garden I'd be quite tempted to try either Cascade or Centennial and also Chinook. All of these are available from Essentially Hops.

good point, can't find anywhere on ifrst seach for amarillo or mosaic.

Fuggles is good call.

AlanManley · Oct 21, 2016

This is a shop close to me. I use them all the time. Lovely aroma and flavour.

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Amarillo_Hops_100g.html

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AlanManley · Oct 21, 2016

Also Mosaic used both in my recent Session IPA with a tiny bit of Simcoe. It's lovely!

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Mosaic-Hops-100g.html

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AlanManley · Oct 21, 2016

I appreciate even more now the shop and the guys there. Ã°Å¸ËÂÃ°Å¸âÂ

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Bigjas · Oct 21, 2016

I'm looking to grow my own hops next year too. Will probably go for cascade and fuggles. I'm not much of a gardener though....

TartanSpecial · Oct 21, 2016

PRima Donna (First Gold) only grow 2to3 metres so is easy to control. I could only find First Gold and Cascade when I looked last year (though expect fuggles and EKG easily available). IF you find a source of Amarillo rhizomes in the uk would be keen to know who supplies them so I can expand hop production next year.

Brewdoug · Oct 21, 2016

From what I'm reading Amarillo are a patented strain so you can't even get hold of the rhizomes in America.

Robin54 · Oct 21, 2016

Brewdoug said:
From what I'm reading Amarillo are a patented strain so you can't even get hold of the rhizomes in America.

I always had this impression.
Ive ordered a Prima donna since its a dwarf variety, and I don't do heights.

TartanSpecial · Oct 21, 2016

Unfortunately I expect you are right.(brewdoug Amarillo patented comment)

foxbat · Oct 22, 2016

Amarillo is patented so you can't get it as a plant but you've got Cascade which is often listed as a substitute anyway. If you really want another American high alpha variety then both Nugget and Galena are available. Do bear in mind that as you won't know your alpha content then using your own as bittering hops will require a few trial runs before you work out what sort of IBU you're getting. Aroma hops are easier to use when you don't know the alpha content. My own recommendation for a fifth is the classic East Kent Golding. It grows and crops very well here.

I personally have EKG, Fuggle, Target and Challenger plants and out of them the EKG grows the strongest and has the highest yield. My brother in law has Challenger, Prima Donna and Early Bird. Out of those the Early Bird is up the first (unsurprisingly) and grows the most. Prima Donna is a dwarf hop so you don't get the same yield out of it but what you do get has an amazing aroma, as do all the classic English varieties in my opinion.

Pfeffer · Oct 22, 2016

Just a little side not from a botanical point. Growing a certain variety in a different climate can have a huge effect on the taste it might develop. Certain oils, acids etc tend to be more prominent if they get an X amount of sunshine, drought etc. So even if you have a favorite, you might find the taste a bit disappointing. I've been growing edible stuff for years (mostly peppers) and wasn't able to replicate a lot of the "mythical" flavors that stuff had when eaten in south America, Asia, southern Europe etc. Whilst I had seeds from that (closed pollinated) fruit that I literally ate.

So you might want to look for a variety that you are fond of and is from the same type of climate. If you go for "warmer" varieties like from California, make sure to give them a bit more cover as they are most likely not bred to resist fungi as much as our varieties. (pseudo) mildew can ruin your crop quite easily.

And another thing that's important for me; I can buy variety A, B, C, D thru X in the store.. So therefore I'll go for Y and Z. Even if I don't know how those would taste. But that's just me.

TartanSpecial · Oct 22, 2016

Thats a good point. Will be interested to see how my Cascades tastes versus bought US sourced ones.

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