Making sense of, and selecting the right Hops to grow.

  As a  grower/producer of Hop plants with over 33 varieties in the production schedule, I am inevitably ask to recommend what Hops are the best. That is a loaded question- like; What should be my favorite song? or  What should be my favorite beer?
  I can't pick the best hop for you, but I can give you a little insight into how to select Hop varieties to grow. Ones that you will like and will grow well in your area.
 Let's begin by narrowing down the field a bit.  You want  Hops; not ornamental hops from the local garden center (like Sunbeam), not Japanese Hops (an invasive weed), not Hops grown from seed (could be male or female plants), and not wild hops you found growing in a ditch  ('cause you have no idea of their brewing characteristics). You want Hop plants or rhizome cuttings from a reputable source that are disease-free, and are indeed, the variety of female Hop plant they are claimed to be. (There are a ton of secondary sellers of rhizome sticks out there on the Internet that are truly junk; so ask if they are certified producers or who their source is.)
  There are literally hundreds of specific female hop plants; each with a unique brewing profile that are grown and maintained worldwide. Way more than the average craft brewer wants to learn the names of, let alone figure out what makes each special.  Let's start at the other end, with a simple question.
  What are your favorite beers? Simple. Now go to an website like BeerRecipes.com and look up the recipes to see what hops are called for. Notice that some hops are used in multiple recipes? Also, notice some are used for bittering and some are used for flavoring? After a bit of looking, try to develop a list of 5 to 6 varieties.
  I organize Hops into 3 basic groups: Classic Nobles(first generation ponies), Improved Varieties(second generation work horses), and Refined Hybrids (third generation throughbreds). Each group has its uses and a throughbred is not necessarily better than a pony.
  Classic Nobles are the Hop varieties that have been around since the days of knights, serfs, and kings. They have names like Golding, Saazer, Spalter, and Fuggle; and are called for by name in many classic beer recipes. They typically are not hybrids and will produce lower yields compared to hybrids.  These are a great choice if you are a purist who wants to brew the actual taste of a true English Ale, German Pilsner, Irish Stout, Etc.  It can be a very enjoyable hobby to try to recreate brews from old texts written by monks, or beers that relate to your ancestry. This group has alpha acids that are relatively low (2.0 - 5.5%).
  Improved varieties are just that - improved.  The classics were cross-bred to create hardier plants with better yields to keep up with the commercialization of beer production. They have names like Willamette, Galena, and Tettnanger. They don't taste exactly like the Classics; but they are reasonably close.  Many are diploid hybrids and varieties like Cascade (which is used to produce American Ales) have developed their own special brews. They are the ones currently used in large commercial hopyards. This group has alpha acids in a mid-range of 5.5 - 9.0%. They are a great choice for those who want a dependable havest of high quality hops to brew beers that taste similar to commercial beer.
  The third group, or 3rd generation is the latest hybridization of Hops.  Plant breeders with an understanding of genetics are creating new hop varieties; many of which are seedless triploids. These hops may be super high or low alphas with ranges of less than 0.5% to as high as 20%.  Many have very unique flavors and/or huge yields. These are the hops that are used to create the newest and most unique brews. (Some are incredibly strong and take real skill to make a drinkable brew.) These are the hops of choice for those who want to join the brewing frontier; and create something nobody has tasted before.
  So which are you? A reserved "nobleman", a "steady-eddy", Or a "wild and crazy guy"??
Which ever you choose, be aware that hops are very long-lived perennial and will produce for many, many years. I do advise against selecting a planting of all super alphas that are the rage right now. Try one or two- Many people find that they are just too strong for everyday drinking. (That's not to say it isn't fun to watch your drinking buddies eyes roll up when they take their first sip of your latest concoction!!)
  Hops are pretty tough and will grow in a wide range of areas, but they do prefer areas that have a cool season with freezing temperatures.  So if you live in a hot spot like Texas or Florida, use a little common sense and don't purchase varieties with names like "Glacier" , "Mount Hood", or Canadian Redvine.
   If I were forced to choose for you, I would select the varieties that would give you the widest brewing range possible; since brewing a lot of different brews is more fun than brewing the same thing over and over. My choices would include:

1. A good bittering hop like Galena, Newport, Or Magnum
2. A good Aroma hop Like Golding , Spalter, Santiam, Sterling, Glacier, or Fuggle
3. A workhorse like Cascade, Willamette, or Centennial that brews a lot of different beers
4. A medium-high Alpha dual purpose (bittering and aroma) hop like Nugget, Chinook, Perle, Challenger, or Horizon
5. A specialty Hop like Teamaker, Vojvodina, or Crystal
6. A super-alpha like Zeus, or Columbus

  If I could only choose one, I would pick Cascade every time.

  If you have questions or info you think I should add to this blog topic; drop me a line at greatlakeshops@gmail.com  and be sure to cruise Great Lakes Hops Facebook page! (There is a very cool graphical poster there that shows the major hops compared to each other.)

In the future, I will try to post topics on the actual growing of Hops and all the "tricks"; so check back. Brew on!

 

What the heck is lupulin, and what's it doin' in my beer?

Lupulin - What is it? How did it get in my beer?!!
 Did you ever hear someone being described as being loopy (like whacko, nuts, loco, or acting stupid)? Well, the term comes from olden days of yore (pre-pharmaceutical days).
  In the good ole ' days before aspirin and vicodin, the doctor would sedate you with compressed tablets of lupulin before they yanked your teeth out , operated, or set upon you with leeches. The lupulin was the yellow pollen stuff found in Hop plant cones! Patients under the influence of luplin ingestion were described as "loopy". 
  Turned out that lupulin wasn't much of an actual pain-killer unless you combined it with a stiff shot of alcohol. (Reminds me of those old western movies where John Wayne would take a shot of whiskey and then dig a bullet out of his own gut with a dull knife.) Thank God they found better pain-killers!
  Lupulin is found in Hops cones.(And did I mention Hops are closely related to marijuana?)  The hop cones are used in brewing beer. Heavy beer drinking leads to being "loopy".  But hey, it's not the beer drinkers fault- it's the lupulin!
  Which raises the question- What is the hard liquor drinker's excuse?

  And now you know . . .


                     from an informed drinker or an educated drunk?

How did Hops ever get in Beer in the first place??

The history of beer brewing is fascinating; especially how it developed in the USA. Starting with Puritans sending hops to the colony of pilgrims at Plymouth Rock to the heydays of Detroit brewers after Prohibition. I encourage you to search out on the Internet and learn more about our hertitage of beer brewing. It doesn't seem to matter what your individual hertitage or ethnicity is; somewhere in your ancestory beer making is involved. Check it out! Following is a very, very condensed version of the history of beer that only briefly covers a few aspects of how beer ever came to be in the first place. 
  Did you ever wonder how Hops ended up in beer?  The answer may surprise you.  Nowdays, hops are added to beer mainly to create specific bitterness and flavors, but this was not always the focus.
  Hops have unique antimicrobial properties and they act as a preservative. In past history, when there was no refrigeration, steam pasteurization, or hermetically-sealed processes, hops were added to fermenting grains to inhibit the bad bacterias and fungi that  would create deadly poisonous brews. Drinking beer was high risk activity- you might get drunk; you might get dead! Men who could successfully brew batch after batch of brew that didn't kill you were called "masters" and were very respected. You can bet they carefully guarded their brewing recipes! (Believe it or not, religious monks had some of the best recipes!)
 Beer that tasted good didn't come into the picture until later.  Brew masters took note that hop cones from some plants brewed a more palatable beer than others, and started selecting specific female hop plants for cultivation. This selection process was very regional; Germans selected their favorite plants, Englishmen picked theirs, etc and so on. Each region developed beers with flavors that have become classics - German Pilsners, English Stouts, Scottish Ales . . .
  All this history has led to today.  Cross-breeding and creating new Hop varieties is leading to a craft brewing explosion of new beers with totally new flavors and profiles.  New combinations of hops and malted grains used with new brewing techniques create new brews daily.
  I hope this has piqued your interest and get you to investigate further. There is some really cool info out there that should not be forgotten!

                             from an informed drinker or educated drunk? :)

Hello, and Welcome to Great Lakes Hops blogspot!

greatlakeshops.com

  Hello, and welcome to Great Lakes Hops Blogspot! Here I will attempt to post subjects related to the growing, production, selection of brewers hops. I will try to discuss what hops are, their origins and history, varieties and selecting, growing tips, cultural practices, and whatever else I come across that seems helpful to others who are trying to grow hops.

  So, without delay; how about a wee bit on what hops are (and are not).

1. Hops are Humulus lupulus and are in the cannabis family, which also includes a close relative - marijuana.  Both have that infamous lobed leaf.  ( However, you cannot get high smoking hop leaves and you cannot cross breed them with pot, either.) Hop plants produce a single annual crop of papery cones that are harvested for bittering and flavoring beer. The cones can be used fresh and green, dried , whole or pelletized.  Whole cones are also referred to as leaf hops.
2. Hops are a long lived perennial, similar to trees with lifespans of over 100 years. Some female plants have been cloned since the days of King Arthur and the Round Table. Hops grow well in climates with a season of cold that induces dormancy. They are very cold hardy and some varieties grow well as far north as Manitoba, Canada.
3. Hops are dioecious; they have separate male and female plants. Only the female plants are cultivated for brewing beer. Male plants do not produce the desired cones and  only create seeds in female borne cones, which is undesirable in most brewing. Hop bines will die back to the ground during the cold season and resprout every year from an underground crown of buds.
4. Hops have their own "hop speak".  Hop vines (which can grow over 20 feet in a single season) are called "bines".  Hop flowers are called "burrs".  Mature plants have a circular ring of underground buds which resemble a "crown"- from which they resprout each growing season. Hop plants spread underground to form new plants by producing underground woody runners called "rhizomes". (These are what you typically see being sold in 6" pieces on the Internet.)
5. All named hop varieties such as "Fuggle" or "Willamette" are specific female plants that are repeatedly cloned by taking cuttings of stems or rhizomes.(Male plants are issued numbers only, to prevent confusion.)  Each female hop plant variety has a specific set of unique brewing characteristics used to make different beer styles. There are well over two hundred female hop varieties that are maintained world wide. Hops grown from seed are usually considered worthless because their brewing profiles are unknown. You simply would have no idea of what the alpha acid level could be and that is important in determining what kind of beer recipe to use it in.
6. Hop varieties are ranked by two main factors - bitterness and aroma.  Bitterness is measured in terms of alpha and beta acids; the higher the acids the more bitter the brew.  Aromas profiles are based on the aromatic oils; some oils impart a citrus smell or flavor, others may impart a piney or floral profile, and some actually smell like dirt.
7. A third component that is somewhat important is the cohumulone level. Low levels make for a smooth beer, while high levels cause a harsh after taste.

  Hope this post adds to your understanding of what Hops are!