New hop farm in town

[Gareth Davies]

Hi, first off i'm a avid new home brewer that loved it so much thought why not start a small organically grown hop yard in Devon. Well 3 years later we have now got over 700 plants and 15 varieties. I love brewing I do a 20L mashup once a fortnight i serve behind our bar to friends. I'm into APA with a UK twist and have started to fall in love with stout again my last batch was a winner!

Any way i have loads of questions there is so much to learn but happy to have found this forum!

 

[Sadfield]

Welcome.

I'm sure you'll get a few questions fired back at you from the hop growing members on here.

May as well strike whilst the irons hot and get my hop question in. Do you sell wet hops at harvest time? I've always fancied doing a wet hop brew, but they're a little hard to find in Cheshire.

Cheers,

Steve.



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[simon12]

Good to hear my only attempt to grow a hop plant just never grew at all but good luck.

 

[Gareth Davies]

Welcome.

I'm sure you'll get a few questions fired back at you from the hop growing members on here.

May as well strike whilst the irons hot and get my hop question in. Do you sell wet hops at harvest time? I've always fancied doing a wet hop brew, but they're a little hard to find in Cheshire.

Cheers,

Steve.



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Yeah we would be very happy too. What weight would you be interested in, is it times 10 to dried? We will have Galena, Cascade, Chinook, Columbus, Bramling Cross, Nugget

 

[Gareth Davies]

Good to hear my only attempt to grow a hop plant just never grew at all but good luck.

It has been a huge learning curve and a long way to go still.

 

[Sadfield]

Yeah we would be very happy too. What weight would you be interested in, is it times 10 to dried? We will have Galena, Cascade, Chinook, Columbus, Bramling Cross, Nugget

Now you've got me, not entirely sure. I had read around 10 times, so it would be a case of working a recipe out for late and dry hopping additions, and picking a batch size that's workable without making it an unfeasibly expensive brew. Possibly a 500g to 1 Kg. I'm guessing a Kg of wet hops is quite a big bag.

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[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum Gareth i hope the business does well. :thumb:

 

[Gareth Davies]

Now you've got me, not entirely sure. I had read around 10 times, so it would be a case of working a recipe out for late and dry hopping additions, and picking a batch size that's workable without making it an unfeasibly expensive brew. Possibly a 500g to 1 Kg. I'm guessing a Kg of wet hops is quite a big bag.

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Fingers crossed in September we have a harvest :), shipping isn't an issue - maybe best to start a post for people that want wet hops nearer the harvest time.

 

[BeerCat]

Welcome mate. I will definitly be buying some organic hops from you. Hope you are growing some noble varieties. :)

 

[jceg316]

Hi Gareth. Do you sell rhizomes? I would really like a Columbus plant.

EDIT: Welcome to the forum!

 

[F00b4r]

Fingers crossed in September we have a harvest :), shipping isn't an issue - maybe best to start a post for people that want wet hops nearer the harvest time.

From what I have heard from others, whose judgment I trust, green hops need to be used ASAP, not a problem if picking from the garden on the morning of brew day but may be an issue if shipping them out around the country.
Might be worth contacting Rob at The Malt Miller and asking is this is why he stopped doing a green hop special pre order special after trialling it as he might be able to advise.
Good luck with the growing though!

 

[Sadfield]

What's the timeframe between picking and drying? Can't be that different to picking and shipping wet via overnight courier? Surely they're no more delicate than any other plant product such as salad leaves or cut flowers?

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[F00b4r]

What's the timeframe between picking and drying? Can't be that different to picking and shipping wet via overnight courier? Surely they're no more delicate than any other plant product such as salad leaves or cut flowers?

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Not sure but the person who told me this was pretty certain about it and be a green hop beer every year (lives in Kent and grows his own hops so definitely has tried freshly picked ones versus one shipped). Also don't underestimate the logistics as it doesn't take that much for a day or two to be added eg by late shipping or the person not being in and then the person has to be able to brew that day.
I will ask them about it again though as being able to brew a green hop beer once a year is a cool thing.

 

[Ciaran12s]

Is blast freezing wet hops an option? Or does that mean that they're not wet any more? It also makes logistics difficult and probably considerably more expensive as well though.

 

[Sadfield]

Not sure but the person who told me this was pretty certain about it and be a green hop beer every year (lives in Kent and grows his own hops so definitely has tried freshly picked ones versus one shipped). Also don't underestimate the logistics as it doesn't take that much for a day or two to be added eg by late shipping or the person not being in and then the person has to be able to brew that day.
I will ask them about it again though as being able to brew a green hop beer once a year is a cool thing.

From doing some minimal research, it looks like they need to be used within a couple of days. Obviously, the shorter the timeframe the better. I think it's logistically doable with a good courier.

http://surlybrewing.com/beer/wet/

https://ychhops.com/hop-products/green-hops

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/hell-wet-hopping-beer/



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[Druncan]

Wooohoo, more fresh hops!!! My 2nd year plants may produce cones this year. But happy to buy anything fresh and UK based!!

 

[marlon]

I vacuum packed some wet hops last Sept and froze them within a couple of hours. The grand plan was to use them later for a green hop brew. Haven't done that yet. What are the chances of that working? .....Anyone.?

 

[jceg316]

I once froze wet hops in a jar, they smelt weird when I opened them. I used them for bittering and the beer was fine from a bitterness perspective. They weren't vacuumed packed .