Homebrew Beer and Food Recipes

I originally started by planting 6 rhizomes total planted in June 2004. There were two each of the following varieties:

Willamette (Flavor, Aroma - 3.5% to 6% AA)
-- Mild and pleasant, slightly spicy, fruity, floral, a little earthy.
-- English Fuggle variant bred for disease resistance
-- Works well with all English style ales

Nugget (Bittering - 11% to 14.5% AA)
-- Quite heavy and herbal.
-- High disease resistance
-- Used sparingly for light lagers

Mt. Hood (Flavor, Aroma - 3% to 8% AA)
-- Mild, pleasant, and clean, somewhat pungent and resiny.
-- German Hallertaur variant bred for disease resistance
-- Excellent for lagers, pilsners, and bocks

I built the trellis by digging 3 foot hole, dropping in a cement block (the kind with the 2 holes), and feeding a 16ft pressure treated 4x4 down through the cement block for stability. This stood about 13ft tall and a simply nailed a 6ft length of 2x4 at the top to create a 'T' shape. From the trellis I strung 6 lengths jute twine, in pairs about 4 inches apart from the top to the ground at a 35-40 degree angle. The 4 inch pairs gave more surface area for the hops to spread out and get sunlight. The angle was intended to give the hops extra length to crawl because typical trellis is over 18ft tall.

In 2004, I harvested about a ounce of Willamette and Mt. Hood, and only 1/2 ounce of Nugget. I waited two weeks too long, so the cones were very brown. They smelled great!

In 2005, by April 24th the Nugget and Mt. Hood were over a foot tall already. The Willamette was about 6 inches. Now in early August, the Nugget is last to start budding, and the Mt. Hood is almost ready to harvest! The bines have grown over the top of the trellis and are now hanging down about 5 feet. I am expecting that this will yield about 2-3 ounces each.

I am already planning to brew a Winter Warmer IPA with the Willamette and Marzen or Octoberfest style if the Mt. Hood are ready soon!