Give'm some Nitro!! Mid-Season tactics

Nitro! Well, if you are a big StoutHead like me and my close friends you love beers on Nitro! Even in the midst of the beginnings of summer, I can still taste that crazy localicious Hardywood GBS on Nitro or some Left Hand Stout flowing with Nitro at the local pub. That Nitro however, will have to wait for another time as when many of us hop growers refer to the term "nitro" we are talking about replenishing the hops with nitrogen nourishment.

During the development of a hop throughout the season, each stage of growth requires a different level of nourishment and thus calls for varying amounts of nutrients. This may be acquired by the plant through the native soil depending upon the make up---view your soil test-- or may be added at different intervals throughout the season. Nitrogen is one component that will have a greater influence on the harvest yield. Low levels throughout the growing season will certainly create very low yields as the flowering stage which contributes to cone development requires more nitrogen than any either stage of development.

First year plants can be a very temperamental lot. Rhizomes as well. Over watering--very easy to do given all the rain this year we have experienced- and excessive chemical fertilizer too early in the development of the plant will result in higher rates of plant failure. A balance must be struck in terms of the proper levels of nitrogen and other elements within the soil contributing to flowering. Most data supports these levels in terms of pounds per acre. These are rates range from 75 to 100 pounds per acre of introduced nitrogen fixing depending upon what region of the country one is growing in. These numbers are further influenced by the fact that's some growers will plant cover crops as nitogen fixers as well- these may be clover or various soybean crops for example- and nitrogen additions should be adjusted based on the fact that cover crops are also part of the growing regimen.

How do we know if we are heavy or if we are deficient with regard to Nintrogen- or N-fixing? Typically the plant will communicate it to us but no always. Even plants entirely green throughout the canopy can be lacking in the proper levels. If you have a plant for example that appears to have climbed 16-20 feet with larger leaves and yet there appears to be little sign of any burrs or flowering than it tends to be a good indicator that the soil may be low on Nitrogen. Obviously, a tissue sample from the leaves conducted throughout the season can truly provide the data, but introducing some compost and nitrogen is typical a good measure at this juncture of development to kick start flowering.

The Flowering period requires more Nitro. Usually mid-June throughout July will require more than the early Spring months. Typically in the Spring period the plant has enough stored nutrients in the root system or the crown to begin the development and get things started as it come out of dormancy but has the plant vegetates and then enters the Flowering stage it requires a lot more nutrient levels to sustain it through this period in order to produce quality cones.

Its been our experience that a lot of growers have a hard time transitioning from growing in pots to growing in the ground in large part due to the nitrogen issue. When growing in pots it is always a bit easier to maintain. Most routinely add compost and water when required, but then do not transfer the same behavior when they begin to plant in rows. Potted plants also do not have to deal with weeds sucking up available nutrients from the potting or compost mix either. This is a factor that a lot of growers over look.

If you feel as though your plant growth; by this I mean the rate of climb has slowed or halted altogether then the best remedy typically is a shot of nitrogen. Another indicator may also be in the color of your leaves if they begin to lighten in color or even turn yellow green that can also be a red flag that the plant is lacking nitrogen.

If you want to increase yield or give your plant the best opportunity to reach its full potential, monitor your nitrogen periodically, but pay specific attention at the pre-flower or burring stage and once this triggers give them a dose of some quality compost.

Give'm some Nitro!

SouthYeast Labs: Southern Beer Economy Focus

One the great things about the beer community here in the South is you always meet the best people from all over the region and have an opportunity to follow some folks that are working their passion and taking things to another level entirely. One of those guys is David Thornton from SouthYeast Labs!

"Where Does Your Yeast Come From?"

SouthYeast was born out of the passion that David and his business partner have for all things chemistry; biochemistry to be exact. Attending Clemson University, the start up team looked to fill the need and niche of locally sourced brewers yeast that could be used for beer, wine, cider, mead and liquor. Yeast strains are very unique and offer a defined quality that can differentiate many producers in effect because most use the same kinds of yeast from the same manufacturers. We see this with hops as well, as the majority of hops come to brewers from HopUnion or Yakima Chief. Our local hops not unlike SouthYeast Labs local yeast strains seek to elevate and differentiate beers from their peers in the region by taking things to entirely new levels of flavor!

SouthYeast has been growing slowly throughout the last year in large part because of the time it takes to produce cultured yeast strains. The science of fermentation and how yeast interacts with the other ingredients is something that takes many brewers a long time to truly master. The rise in the last few years of "Sour" beers throughout the region has also created a huge demand for new and interesting strains that can be combined with other local ingredients like berries, honeysuckles, peaches, apples etc to create unique offerings!

Breweries, especially locally craft-centric ones, are transitioning to using more locally sourced ingredients. After all, the water used in the brewing process is typically always the most constant "local" ingredient, but now brewers are souring hops, malts and now can source regional yeast strains. Breweries can even contract with SouthYeast Labs to capture local strains to be used in the brewing process.

SouthYeast recently won 20,000 prize as the winner of the EnterPrize Awards sponsored by Clemson University and they will use the funds to expand and construct a formal research lab to further SouthYeast Labs. Currently, you can locate the yeast strains at some local shops, but be warned they sell out very fast. One such supply shop is Atlantic Brew Supply! We love Atlantic because of its focus on supporting local products as this picture will attest:

In fact, we are looking to have SouthYeast visit the Richmond area and hopefully we can arrange some visits with some of our brewers and some local farms where David Thornton can work his magic and capture some truly local strains!

 

The opportunities are endless here in the Central Virginia region given the large number of vegetable farms. We have wild honeysuckle and berries we would love to capture some yeast strains from for our partner breweries to use in combination with our locally grown hops.

 

So if your looking to take that home brew to the next level or enter that competition like the Old Dominion Cup in Richmond, Va this year tha you might want to make sure that you get some SouthYeast Labs localicious!!

 

The Saison yeast strains are amazing! I would go with Honeysuckle for the WIN!!

The Planting Continues: Expansion

A lot of people follow a lot of the developments over on Facebook by following the group Homegrown Hopyards, but many growers really have to discount many of things being undertaken right now out at two of our hop yard sites. The plan was never to really expect 2015 to be more than a transition year as we overhauled acreage and converted from prior farm use t growing hops.

We continue to plant each and every opportunity, whether through field starts acquired through various sourcing, cuttings taken from our existing plants or through more rhizomes. Much of this is predicated on 2016 and having everything in place to really focus on yield and increasing expansion rows. So much of this season has been spent cutting trees, digging auger holes, raising rows as beds, learning how the run off water from heavy rains will impact the rows, the weed issues of planting where former seed once thrived and basically observing how the climate area impacts plant development.

We learn more with each row, but we also learn through experimenting with different hop varietals, something many growers appear unwilling to do these days. A lot of people are approaching hop growing from a financial end and that is a dangerous proposition the first couple of years, especially if you are investing in equipment and things like drip irrigation systems.

The fact remains we are not true commercial growers. In fact, I would dare say that there are no commercial growers in truth in the entire Commonwealth. The reality of it is no one right now will sustain profitability based simply on the sale of wet hops come harvest. In order to do that, one would have to have at the very least five acres or so of hops if you factor in the expenses associated with the construction and equipment like harvesters let alone factoring in paid labor. I listen and read a lot of posts elsewhere from growers with less than 500 plants in the ground and often wonder if the reality of not getting $20-25 pound as some have suggested has really set in yet. Even if you were a rock star grower and could yield 3 pounds of hops and generated 1,500 pounds of hops during the season that would just barely cover the costs of a Bine Implement Hop Harvester let along all the trellis poles, cable, sisal or coir, any chemicals required, compostings, fabric, and of course plant material.

I say this not to discourage but to engage growers with one simple thought; expand expand expand. You have to already be thinking about next season and its June. You have to have a long term plan. I look at our expansion yards as three to five year commitments. The goal is to establish the plants primarily. Even though hops will be sold that hardly constitutes a "commercial" business though some would argue the point. There appears to also always be that divisive element of always being concerned about what others are doing that ripples through so many commercial activities, but I would urge growers to hone their growing craft and worry less about what others are doing or frankly saying regarding other growers or growing in general. Each grower and each site is different. Its an art frankly very close to brewing. You will develop skill sets and learn what works and more importantly what doesn't for you regardless of those telling you otherwise.

I had another grower constantly rant about what hops would or would not grow here and this person never even had tried the varieties. When it comes to growing, you have to try things and experiment and simply rely on what others opinions may or may not be. The can at times always seem to be an agenda at play as well when others try to tell growers opinions guised as facts. Best example has been that only Cascade can grow well in the region and its a farce that unfortunately many have presumed to be fact.

 Not all plants grow the same and you can not expect varieties that have lineage with Europe to grow in the manner in which a hop like Cascade was bred to grow in the Northwest. Its soil preferences are very different. The spacing requirements for horizontal growths are different and the harvest season is also unique to specific varieties. This less experienced growers fail to realize or have failed to be informed regarding many of these differences and when they try out a new hop and it doesn't work they fall victim to the assumption the hop will not grow here rather than the growing techniques employed do not work for that specific hop.

We continue to plant and will do so until Fall and then throughout Fall as well to get the plants acclimated as best as possible for 2016. In the mean time many have been working on a processing facility to construct that will pave the future of the operation as well as benefit many other growers in the region. This will be vital in the future. Many legislators are on board as well to begin to create programs to support growers contributing to Virginia's craft beer explosion whereby the brewers themselves may get tax breaks for buying Virginia grown products.

The Spring will mark the first time that some of the new varieties being released will be planted in Virginia. These will be on a trial basis initially of course but many brewers eagerly await these new hops as a way to differentiate their beers flavor profiles from others. The beer scene is getting crowed. Lets be honest but its still a business that thrives itself on originality. Having new, local ingredients are ba key resource for those brewers who wish to tap into unique flavors but growers need to always keep in find the confines of brewer budgets and margins.

Frankly $15-18 a pound for local hops is not sustainable for most breweries. growers need to keep this in mind. The best course of action is to partner with breweries via planting contracts not hop contracts. Breweries provide the capital to purchase plants (rhizomes or crowns) and the grower does what he or she does best; grow!

Home Brewer Hop Program

Spring Planting has begun throughout the region and we are now in the middle of planting season at the farm. One of the biggest goals of the Va Hops Initiative is the education and alignment of brewers with local hops. We have seen an increase in the number of growers but the biggest obstacle is finding the market for their passion. We love beer! We love hops! We love Brewers!

For every new brewery that opens up, there is someone tasked with determining just where it is they will acquire the hops to brew their deliciousness. This is becoming harder and harder in terms of procuring hops and too many contracts are not an option. Small breweries can ill afford to tie up working capital in excessive inventory simply to store it for a latter date when they will brew with it. This can get really expensive.

Local options will serve breweries with a clean, fresh and sustainable product within hours of their brewery and promote the local economy on so many levels. The procurement of hops from our farm also helps us reduce breweries carbon footprint. Many source from the Northwest or even Europe and as far away as New Zealand for their hops but if we can move our local brewers into the acceptance of a local product than we help them play a critical role in making them more "green".

Where does this start? This kind of paradigm shift does not start with large scale production breweries. The economies of scale are just not aligned with small scale growing. Its starts with Home Brewers and small, regional breweries who seek to differentiate themselves from other bigger brands in the market. It may be cheaper to procure 2011 or 2012 hops in bulk, but does that translate into a cleaner, fresher beer?

Home Brewers are on the cutting edge of the our brewing future. A majority of "commercial" brewers began as Home Brewers. This is the niche we have always sought out to educate and bring about more awareness about working with local hops. If a Home Brewer begins to feel comfortable using local hops and establishing relationships with hop farms, when the get that call to step up and become a commercial brewer they will be more likely to incorporate local hops in the brewing mix as best they can. "Cold calling" on production breweries is probably the biggest mistake a new hop grower can make. It basically illustrates that the grower does not understand the brewery business. There is no hop farm in the region that could sustain any one of those breweries for a year and it is incredibly difficult for them to incorporate local hops into a run that will result in thousands of cases or hundreds of kegs.

In order to bridge the gap that exists between "local" and hops featured online or brands via a Home Brew store that are mass distributed and we all know the names, growers must seek to provide a vessel in which the Home Brewer can learn about hops. How they grow, how they change throughout the season, how each hop will demonstrate unique profiles of aroma during different stages of development and how to harvest wet hops and use immediately or harvest wet hops to dry or pelletize for later use.

Our Home Brew Hop Program does just this!

We invite local Home Brewers to come to the hop farm and plant within the Home Brew Rows. They bring rhizomes, cuttings or plant transplants to plant in the row with us and we help them get them in the ground. This is a great social event for Home Brew clubs, which typically meet indoors at pubs or breweries on a monthly basis. We mark each section or plant for the Home Brewer and provide basic care until those points in the growing process where we train Home Brewers how to strip bines, care for plants, look for signs of any potential hazards like insects or even mildew as well as soil/nourishment additions---signs of yellowing leaves --where hops may need a jump start. These plants belong to the Home Brewers. They will from time to time come out and we will keep them aware of the progress with social media of the plants as they grow. At the end of the season, the brewers or the club from which the brewers are from will harvest all the hops from the plants AND can then brew of Wet Hop Ale or share the hops with other club members and create a brewing event centered around using local hops.

This is a win win for everyone!

In September for participating clubs we will also be rolling out our private label program where we will contribute 10% to directly to the club whose members buy our hops from the farm via local home brew stores in the region. When Home Brewers make the commitment to purchase local hops; we REWARD their Home Brew Club. The Club can use these funds for events, socials or other club activities.

Again.....its a win win!!

Spring Has Sprung: Hop Rhizomes

In terms of the calendar, Spring has Sprung! Though Mother Nature this year has been doing her thing throwing a lot of the days off this last month with two snows and some really cold temps, it is still time for all those brewery supply stores/home brew stores to have rhizomes ready for the home grower.

Rhizomes of course are the root stock for Hops. Similar to that of the root stock for grapes in terms of how they grow and the time it takes to reach a plants maturity. Rhizomes are cut from an existing plants crown that may be anywhere from three to ten years old in some cases. There is some debate like every thing else with the proper age a rhizome should be cut from a plant (harvested), but I prefer not to cut rhizomes from those that I have planted for at least three seasons. There may be exceptions of course to that rule, but I really want the root to take hold in the soil and develop over those three seasons. This may not apply to container growers. I have seen and experienced incredible growth from rhizomes in pots/containers. I believe this is to the fact that the soil is easily amendable during the season, those on your deck/porch are easily accessible for watering and the heat from the summer sun actually keeps the soil thermals great throughout the summer and consistent AND if potted properly have better drainage than a lot of soils in your garden or field.

When you secure rhizomes, keep in mind that there tends to be a 30-40% failure rate from those purchased online. Rhizomes do not seem to be dated so there is no way of knowing if you are getting one from a year ago, two years ago or what. It is important to evaluate them upon arrival and take the steps to get a refund if you see that the condition of the rhizome (which run from $4-6) is acceptable. Once you locate a reputable source, I tend to think less about cost but about quality. If they are $1 more but grow that's better than a cheaper one with very high failure rates.

So, a simple look at potting these rhizomes brings us to this post. I like to start my first rhizome cuttings in pots even before I tend to transplant them out into the field/rows of the hop yard. This can be done in a greenhouse or even your garage throughout the late spring weeks du to danger of more snow or late frost into April. I really do not like keeping rhizomes stored in bags and such unless of course its over winter.

All you will need:

1. Pots/Containers: You can get these pretty cheap and a lot of times reusing containers from hanging plants works the best. Re-use & Recyle!! Very important to have adequate drainage holes and almost all of these already have them in the container as well as the shield cup on the bottom of the container that is removable. (See photo) I use one to mix the soils together and another for the planting of the rhizomes.

2. Soil/Compost: If you plant to plant the rhizomes after they have "sprung" then incorporate a mix of 50/50 with compost or potting mix with the soil that the plants will be getting planted in after transplant. **Will cover this part in a future post in a few weeks.

Most rhizomes that do fail as mentioned above either had no areas for establishment of buds OR they actually rotted in the soil due to poor drainage conditions. Most of the time excessive late season rains that come in waves which is why if you are planting directly in your garden to mound or "hill" the rhizome. You can follow that same as if potting but just mound the "hill" first and then go from there.

3. Rhizomes- secure your rhizomes from reputable sourcing. Examine your rhizome and evaluate it for potential in terms of placement of small white "heads" which will be the future growth points off the rhizome that will yield your first bines eventually as they break the soil in a few weeks. You may also determine like some of the photos in this post that number of them and if on both ends whether you can cut the rhizome in half to create two plants instead of one. Remember that you will likely be cutting back quite a few of the bines which will bunch in a pot if not provided enough room so if you see that you could possibly get a doze or so from each end; split the rhizome and pot in different pots.

4. Sharpie/Label. Use a sharpie to label your sticker for your pot. This may seem like a mute point but trust me if you have different types of rhizomes for the varying hop plants you do not want to fall back on memory a few months from now regarding which pot is which, especially if you are looking to brew with the hop cones yourself upon harvest. Besides each of them require a bit different growing regimen as well in terms of nitrogen additions and such.

5. Camera and Notebook- I learned a long time ago from my mother and grandma that any gardener worth their tomato has notebook for jot down tidbits of info during the season. Over the years, this has come in handy quite a few times for our hops. Take a picture every few weeks or so; more in the June/July when your bines really start to fly to the sky.

So here we go: You got your rhizomes!

First thing you want to do is separate your rhizomes if you have different ones. You want to grow them together and not mix types in your pot--or in your row. If planting in garden, make sure you have some spacing between different types. If same type, we typically space 36-42 in a formal hop setting but in a garden go with about 32-36 seems to be fine.  Separate two different types---maybe ending with one type like Cascade and starting another like Columbus about five feet apart is a good rule.

Its important to take a look at your soil make up. Most  home growers may never have had a soil test done for their garden and that's fine. If you using some soil augmentation, examine the bag and you will get a good idea of the make up of the mix. Hops will not grow well in heavy or compact soils even in pots. Hops need the "Big Three"- Nitrogen, Phosphorous  and Potassium. These ratios will be located on your bag of soil mix from your garden supply store. Of course, hops need some others as well but these will be found in your soil as well, especially if you are doing a combination in your pot of your soil and the mix.

After filling your soil in your container- size here varies with folks but I prefer to begin the season with a hanging plant container and then as the season moves forward determine times to upgrade the size of the pot especially with first year potted plants. Mix your soil mix and compost together and place in pot, Make sure its loose and fluffy.

Take your rhizomes that you have examined and find the area with the most concentrated bud points- those white heads you were looking for earlier. Some may have already begun to sprout as in the photos here as well and position your rhizomes:

   There are two areas of thought on this:

1. Plant the rhizome horizontally in the soil about one to two inches beneath the soil. This way both ends have the potential to bud and grow    or

2. Take your rhizome and position it vertically in the soil with the best end with the most bud points pointed up and the other going down into the soil. Cover the head with about an inch of soil so that the buds sprout will break the soil and climb to the sky.

** there is a camp that does not support #2 in large part if fertilizers are being used from the starting point because what happens is the head of the rhizome draws up water and soil from the pot or ground and as the water rise up and evaporate a residual salt from the fertilizer may be left on the head which can be burned on expose areas of the rhizome and potentially kill it. However, if you are not using supplemental fertilizers, I have found this method to work in pots and containers and has the sprout reaches and begins to turn color to green due to photosynthesis I then begin to replenish the soil atop the head point where the bud sprout meets the rhizome.

Here is a pic of a rhizome planted vertically in the soil started about two weeks ago. You can already see the growth starting above the soil line. These are some of the smaller rhizome cutting that were only about three inches we have babied and will continue to grow in pots throughout the season in hopes of replanting them back into the rows of the hop yard during Fall planting season to go into dormancy for next year.

Make sure that you have not compacted the soil at all under where you plant to place the rhizome when you create the home for it in the pot. Do not push down to create the hole, but rather pull soil away from left to right to make the hole. Place the rhizome into the location and then cover with your one to two inch soil preference. I like to also add some water at this point to the soil. I prefer to use rain water captured at home or use some filtered water from your faucet at home. Some localities waters may be higher or lower in amendments which can alter your growing success.

3. Once you have your rhizomes covered in the pot, be sure at this point to label your pot with a sticker identifying the date at which you planted and the variety.

In a few weeks you will begin to see sprouts breaking the soil level of your pot or container. At this point your sprouts become "bines" and will begin to grow. Some will suggest that these first bines often called "bull shoots" should be cut. Reasoning is these are the weakest "first growth" bines of the season and will not withstand the late Spring weather changes or wind due to the fact many tend to be hollow inside the stem of the bine. Thus far for me, I have not seen significant increases in yield to plants that have had "bull shoots" cut than those that have not where I grow. It may be simply a "commercial" technique for more established plants that may be sprouting in early Feb/March that this technique is meant for that has trickled its way down to home growers. This options is left up to your own preference.

Once your sprouts turn to bines and begin to reach a level of about a foot or so it will be time to start thinking about "training" the bines. We will cover this in a few weeks as well, but begin to think about the twine and trellis-like set up you would like to establish for your hop plants.

The really awesome thing about container growing is you can move your plants into the garage or off the deck to a protected area during storms and such early in the development stages. If a late season winter storm or severe frost is being predicated, they can easily be brought inside as well.

HOP2 IT! with Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery announced this morning that it is opening up the reservation system for participation in this years rendition of the "Hardywood Community Hopping Project". This project has been a blast the last few years for those Hardywood and Va Craft beer fans to engage with the local brewery in a very unique and fun way.

There is no better way to express a sense of community than to invite participants to grow one of the main ingredients of any beer; HOPS! Many of the current "commercial" growers came from the ranks of the Hardywood project and have planted more and more hops as each year as progressed. You will not be alone and you will have guidance available every step of the way. You can manage your growing regimen at your own pace and get more involved to the level which you feel comfortable. The goal is for the community to provide enough hops for Brian Nelson and the brewing team at Hardywood to use for the RVA/IPA release in September.

The more Hops we grow; the more beer Hardywood can brew!!

We want this to be the best year yet. We want to see all the rhizomes reserved and we want to have more people participating in the Project each and every year. There is always a Harvest Day at Hardywood scheduled in mid August where participants can drop off their hops for inclusion in the brewing of RVA/IPA and also a chance to pick some hops right off the bine. It is one of the best events held each year at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery.

Make sure you follow the link and get your rhizomes reserved. They will not last long this year. Growing Hops is not a whole lot of fun, but its also getting extremely popular since the boom in the Craft Beer industry.

Hardywood is keeping it local and ALL the hops going into RVA/IPA will be grown right here in Virginia!

The Hardywood Community Hopping Project returns to RVA this year, with 1,000 more hop rhizomes on order that we'll be giving out to anyone interested in growing hops locally, and hopefully contributing some late summer to our Community Hopped beer, RVA IPA. For tips or to offer ideas or suggestions in hop growing specific to our region, join the Hardywood Community Hopping Project group on Facebook. Participants will have their signatures featured on the label for our 2014 batch of RVA IPA, and they'll have a private party with some special gifts in their honor prior to the public release of RVA IPA.

Our goals with the Community Hopping Project are to make central Virginia a little greener, to increase the appreciation of one of beer's core ingredients, to offer a fun, community oriented activity that gets more people involved in the creation of a local product, and to make the hops in one Richmond beer (RVA IPA) incomparably fresh.

Cascade, Columbus and Centennial hops are all on order and should arrive by early April. Please use the form below to select up to four (4) total hop rhizomes. We've ordered 500 Cascade, 250 Columbus and 250 Centennial. Rhizomes will be offered first-come first-served, so please submit the request form promptly if you're interested.

Profiles for the available hop rhizome varietals are as follows:

• Cascade (4.5 - 7.0% alpha): flowery, citrusy aroma - pleasant grapefruit notes
• Centennial (9.5 - 11.5% alpha): medium intensity hop aroma with floral and citrus tones
• Columbus (14.5 - 15.5% alpha): pungent, high alpha hop

Thanks, in advance, for helping us bring the joy of hop growing and harvesting to the good people of Richmond!

Cheers,

Team Hardywood

 

 

 

Local! Its not only about Hops....

While there have been many reports coming out of places like New York, North Carolina and Virginia regarding hop farming and  meeting the demands of the Craft Beer industry, hops are certainly not the only commodity of sorts being explored by regional brewers.

Local sourcing is the preferred method for many young, new brewers and breweries. This sourcing for ingredients is certainly no longer simply tied to hops. Some of the elements that truly make a beer local is not merely where it is produced but what the brewers use to produce it. "Local" is to be a term associated with distance or within a certain number of miles on map addressing where the end product was produced or manufactured, but now in 2014 it also is taking on a greater meaning with regard to the location of where the actual ingredients were grown.

Many Craft beer lovers are moving more towards this as well in terms of their buying patterns. They want to know where the ingredients come from, what local farms are supporting the breweries and vice versa. Hops seemed like the natural option for brewers wanting to move more "local" but after the last few years with success of such brewing programs like Hardywood Park Craft Brewery's Reserve Series many other local breweries are following suit with other ingredients.

Hardywood has been successful with its incorporation of local farming products like Ginger (Hardywood Gingerbread Stout), pumpkin (Hardywood Farmhouse Pumpkin) Blackberries and Strawberries (Hardywood Blackberry and Hardywood Strawberry) and even as far as working with local coffee retailers like Black Hand Coffee (Hardywood Mocha Belgique) and Lamplighter (Hardywood Sidamo). This year on Saturday Feb. 1st, Hardywood will release a Bourbon barrel variant of the Hardywood Sidamo! Hardywood also does its RVA/IPA release annually by using 100% local Virginia Hops. Homegrown Hopyards as been an advocate for this release as it has become quite the community project with local growers contributing hops grown within the community to the project for brewing. In years past Homegrown Hopyards  in Richmond, Va has contributed significant numbers of varieties and pounds to the offering. In 2014, B&B Hops program will also be a large supporter of Hardywood !

While Hops may take a few years to propagate successfully enough to establish support for a brewing program, other local forward thinking entrepreneurs are addressing other needs by the regional brewers. SouthYeast Labs out of South Carolina is working towards creating a large yeast strain bank for breweries. Just as the "terroir" impacts Virginia hops, it to creates local yeast that can be captured and cultured on behalf of breweries so that they can incorporate it into their brewing regimen.

David Thornton and Even Skjervold are operating SouthYeast Labs in Greenville, SC within Brewery85. SouthYeast Labs is about locally captured, domesticated wild yeast strains often times from local fruit itself. Nothing can get more local than that and are active in enlisting breweries but have almost a dozen or so working with the yeast strains as trials.

To learn more about SouthYeast Labs and even contribute to their future see here:
http://clemsonideas.com/campaigns/southyeast-labs/

The four main ingredients of Beer are of course; Hops, Yeasts, Malts and Water

Demands for hops are being met by various local growers though mostly small operations scattered throughout the region. Yeasts are being addressed by such start-ups as SouthYeast Labs and the malt is being addressed by such companies as Riverbend Malt House.

Riverbend Malt House located in Asheville, NC  is dedicated to bringing locally farmed, artisan malts into the hands of brewers. Asheville is like the Southern Mecca of the Southern Beer Economy. With dozens of breweries and more on the way in Western North Carolina, there is a huge opportunity to get brewers into using locally sourced barley for instance. Brett Manning and Brian Simpson are offering a sustainable approach that not only will benefit brewers with a far higher level of local quality malt but also provide farmers in North Carolina with a more stable market.

Local Hops, Local Yeast and Local Malts will be the backbone of the Southern Beer Economy!

Cascade: Is the Honeymoon Over?

For about ten years now there has been a fascination in the growing circles for Cascade. Cascade can certainly be characterized as "America's Hop". It was bred from Fuggle and a Russian variety known as Serebrianker. Cascade since 1972 has been the predominant aroma hop brewed with in the United States. Its citrus and almost grapefruit tones have been the gem of many brewers, but given the number of years that Cascade has been in the mix the hop has lost a bit of its luster with new, younger brewers. Fact is, Cascade just is not "sexy" any longer.

This is not to say that Cascade is not still in high demand. It is. So much in fact that the majority of commercial growers in the United States plant and sell Cascade. An important component that is impacting Cascade right now is that the country is experiencing incredible growth right now with new breweries. Many of these will not be large enough or capitalized enough to enter into long term "contracts" for hops like Cascade. New brewers are faced with working with hops that are readily available or those they can purchase via "spot" pricing directly from suppliers. This has open the door and increased the demand for hops other than Cascade for sure, but also may explain the fact that the majority of the growers regionally are planting Cascade which very will may fill the void for some breweries.

When we started growing there were three hop farms (known) in Virginia. The largest being that of Taylor Smack's at Blue Mountain Brewery where its Cascade goes into its popular Full Nelson Pale Ale release. As more growers have entered the scene, the only barometer was that set by the early growers on which varieties can or will grow here in Virginia. If you examine the recently published map by Old Dominion Hops Cooperative you will find that the majority of growers are working solely with Cascade.

A big factor in the Cascade fascination is the fact that the variety has very successful in growing regionally throughout Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. This tends to be less risky of a planting proposition for new growers. Obviously, there is considerable expenses on growing hops and growers want to plant what they are convinced will be successful.

That being said however, our recent surveys sent out to regional breweries demonstrates that Cascade is no longer the most desirable hop to be sourced locally. In fact, those brewers that can procure Cascade via contracts would actually prefer to get other hops grown in the region to use in special wet or harvest ales as well in both dried leaf and pellet form. This means that there is a "market" that is not being met by growers that are solely growing Cascade in 2014.

The Cascade market will also always have considerable pressure commercially from large scale producers and though demand will always be there for Cascade, it appears as though many breweries are looking for other varieties locally.

The hop honeymoon with the younger brewers may be over as many of these brewers established themselves home brewing with varieties from all over the world and have been exposed to other hops that they wish to work with now that they have established formal brewing operations.

Winter Planning: Game Planning for the Unknown

One of the best things that any grower can do during the Winter is to create a game plan or Action Plan for addressing things that may come up during the growing season. For example, taking a lesson from Virginia vineyards it may simply only be a matter of time before Hop yards get more instances of the mildews and mites that impact other products throughout the State.

We have been extremely lucky in that our field practices have mitigated thus far any exposure of powdery mildew or downy mildew. Other growers have not been so lucky. One key element is starting with your actual Hop yard design.

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND!

If you want to maximize yield it is important to research your variety and apply some of the lessons learned by others but more importantly adapt those lessons to your own location. Every farm and every grower is different. Every Hop is different as well though some have striking similarities that may be leveraged.

Some things to consider:

1. Row Spacing- you will find that many yards use 10 to 14 feet spaced between rows. The reason for this has to do only with equipment considerations but also to promote adequate air flow as well as warmth exposure from the sun to eliminate moisture within the rows that could lead to mildew at the base of plants---especially after rains.

2. Hill Spacing- a "hill" is actually where you will find the plant material and though there is debate regarding how many plants per hill the question here regard the distance of spacing between hills. This is a critical concern. If you bunch space too tight, you can be almost be guaranteed of less air flow below the canopy (top line growth). Varieties like Cascade and Centennial should be planted about 36 inches apart along with a lot of European hops like Fuggle, Goldings, Hallertau and Perle. The reason is these hops typically have smaller/less horizontal growth- sideway growth along the row. Other varieties like Willamette, Chinook, CTZ-Columbus  and Galena have more horizontal growth and side arms so it is preferable to space at least 40 to 42 inches apart.

3.Pole Spacing and Height: there are certainly ways around the max height you will find in commercial yards which top out at about 20 feet. There are also "Short Trellis" systems using 12 foot poles or less for some varieties as well that are effective, however many feel that the yield is less on short systems and opt for the tall trellis system. If you are a "commercial" grower that may make perfect sense, but to be honest if you are growing less than a half acre of hops it may be easier to install and manage effectively a short system for small scale grower with reduced costs. Spacing of poles comes into play with regard to your load weight from all the vegetation. The average load weight per plant in places like OR or WA may be upwards of 30 pounds at maturity. That means a lot of vegetation. There is a direct relationship between the spacing of the hills (above) and the Poles that support the Trellis in terms of creating a sort of micro climate at the base of the plants that assist with combatting moisture and thus mildews.

These can be modified for each individual grower. It is always about preference but there is certainly not one size fits all. The reason why there seems to be resistance against new varieties being grown in the Mid-Atlantic other than Cascade is that grower have applied the wrong growing regimen and spacing to the others. Not all Hops grow in the same manner; soil and ph can be very different.

That being said, winter also offers an opportunity to formulate a chemical plan and strategy that may be employed in case there is exposure to mildew and mites.

A few considerations are as follows:

One consideration for mites is:

 Acramite® Miticide is a selective miticide for the control of two-spotted mites, european red mites and bryobia mites on pome and stone fruit.

Key benefits of Acramite:

•Provides quick knockdown through contact activity, and exemplary residual control


•The unique chemistry, mode of action and selective nature ensures that Acramite is extremely gentle on beneficials and predaceous mites


•Ideal for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and resistance management programs

For Mildew: (from brand site)

Aliette® brand fungicide delivers true, two-way systemic protection against Phytophthora, downy mildew and other diseases. With multiple modes of action, Aliette attacks pathogens at multiple growth stages for better overall disease control.... And its unique double action not only attacks and controls fungi on contact, but also stimulates the plant's own defense mechanisms.

•Multiple modes of action to control devastating vegetable diseases including downy mildew
•Attacks pathogens at multiple growth stages, for better overall disease control
•The systemic activity allows it to travel upwards and downwards throughout the plant, creating a complete barrier of protection while preventing wash-off
•Inhibits spore production, thereby preventing transmission of disease to neighboring plants
•Systemic fungicide that protects quality and yields for a better return on investment

 

The following products have been used by growers and in particular the North Carolina Research yards and were graciously provided by Kelly Gaskill:

 

Riodomil Gold

Aliette

Tanos (Dupont)

Kocide (Dupont)

Revus

Safetyside

Acramite

Sevin

 

Some others that can be used are:

Quintec- a downy preventative- but not effective if already present

Sonata- organic regimen

Serenade- organic regimen

Fonganil Gold

Ortiva

 

Because the re-introduction of hops is relatively new to a lot of areas within the region, Cooperatives may not have information pertaining directly to Hops, but a lot of times those that pertain to leafy crop plants may be a starting point.

 

The above product lists should be a good start to explore what is available in your area to procure. It is important to remember to read as much as possible on these products before deciding not only which ones to use BUT when to use them and how much.

 

Creating an Action Plan is an effective tool that you have at your disposal and can consult should the situation arise that requires you to address mildew or mites.

 

 

 

Trellis: Hop Yard Cables

One of the biggest factors and expenses associated with your hop yard build or expansion will not only be your poles, which can run anywhere these days from$35 to $100 depending upon which variety chosen and delivery expenses, but will also be the cables that you will use for your trellis.

Again, like so many things there is some debate centered around the right cable to use. Galvanized Aircraft Cable appears to be the most popular or universally accepted by commercial growers, but depending upon your build requirements you can opt for other kinds of cable. If you simply are trellising one row of hops with a half dozen poles it is quite different than say a build or trellis system of 30 rows.

The biggest thing to consider is the load weight on your cable. The average mature hop plant will load at about 30-40 lbs. You would have to take this number and multiply it by the number of plants you plan to have in the row to get a realistic load weight for the row. Also, factor in some extra weight for high winds, rain storms and other weather systems that may impact the stability or shift the weight of the trellis system when choosing your cable.

Here is a nice chart related to the size, load weight and diameter options for aircraft cable:

It is highly recommended by experienced trellis designers not to go less than 3/16 in diameter for your cable. It often times is only a few cents more for thicker diameter cable and that may just be the thing that can prevent any trellis disaster late in the season when the load weight is its most.

Hop Poles: Up in the Air

Whenever there is a discussion regarding anything related to Trellis Systems or Hop Yards in general, much of what is considered to be the "best" or "required" always seems to be tied to commercial growers. This is in large part due to the fact that commercial growers are really the largest percentage of those employing trellis systems for hops, but the small scale farmer has a lot of options to them. It quite different to build a system for say a quarter acre yard that may only have two hundred or so plants than say a fifty acre commercial hop farm. And these systems do not all have to be the same. Success for a small scale grower may simply just be enough yield for home brewing. This does not require 20 foot poles in the ground. Short Trellis systems can be employed with netting to grow hops as well and with reduced costs. Some have used eight to twelve feet poles for these systems and can work just fine. Obviously, the needs for commercial growers are very different and the need to maximize yield is the reason most have systems twenty feet or so high.

In keeping with whole farm practices, sustainable principles and making sure if your preference is be as natural or organic as possible it is best to use trees that you have on the property if possible. It is important to note that your goals must be fully though out before you proceed with ordering poles if you are not using trees natural to the property. If you are planning to approach your growing from an "organic" regimen and wish later to seek USDA designations than you MUST NOT use treated woods, poles, etc from say your local lumber yard or retailer. Many have done this and later regretted the investment when they learned that these kinds of poles or telephone style poles will not meet the grade when it comes to certifications.

There are certainly sources in virtually every State one can locate to source natural trees for poles. Black Locust poles, while highly regarded as the best also come with a steeper price tag than some of the other varieties. Natural to many of the yards we work with ar Poplar, Cedar,Pine and Ash. The knock on some of these is that they may not last as long as others, but one must also factor in dramatically reduced costs for using trees on the property for the trellis. Poles can run growers upwards of $90 if trellising 20 feet high with 4 feet under ground anchoring (24 feet solid poles). Many small scale growers have as many as 18 poles - 3 rows of 6 poles spaced anywhere from 30 to 40 feet apart. The cost of this would top 1,600 for the poles ,especially if sourcing the highly sought after varieties which may or may not include delivery charges.

Savings: Try and locate tree suitable in terms of diameter and height on the property. If none available, source as locally as possible and work with your Forestry Department to locate farms willing to provide poles. Even if you have to cut the poles and have them delivered it can be cheaper than paying shipping and delivery charges from commercial tree providers.

You may also be able to contact other growers or a cooperative to locate sourcing for those willing to provide new growers with poles as well.

Its all about Our Roots! "FREE UP THE HOPS" Program!

You may think based on the title of this post it would be about Hop root stock or rhizomes, but in truth many Hop growers "roots" go back to home brewing. Getting together with friends and brewing up recipes together is probably the only alternative to watching College Football or Pro Football that many of us guys have to get together outside of maybe hunting.

Home brewing has caught fire lately. Its growth can be died directly to the rise of Craft Beer nationally. New home brew supply stores have been popping up, even though out the Southeast where years ago many claimed that the South would not embrace craft breweries. The though was the popular "Nascar" demographic throughout the South would not appreciate craft beer as much as other parts of the country. Well, the South is proving them all wrong.

If you have been home brewing than you know all about the trips to the supply store concerning hops and malts. A few of us about four years ago thought it would be great if we could eliminate the rising costs of Hops by planting them so we could share with our friends and other home brewers. What started out as a few dozen pots will top almost three thousand plants in 2014.

What we have discovered is a lot of our home brew friends do not have the capacity to grow hops in the areas of the City in which they live. Either they lack the space or more importantly lack the sunlight required due to the amount of trees in and around their homes. After a few years of talking about this dilemma and witnessing the rising costs of hops either online or at the supply store, we have decided to create a program that would FREE UP THE HOPS!!

What is the FREE UP THE HOPS program?

Home brewers from our local area will be provided a 250 foot row in the Hop yard where they can come out and plant the hops that they would like to work with and experiment with in their brewing. They can plant a variety of Hops and periodically check in with us and see how the Hops are progressing throughout the season. Once ready to harvest, we will let the home brewers know when the Hops will be ready for harvest so they can make sure to schedule some brewing time to utilize the fresh, whole cone hops for wet hopping. Of course, they can opt to have the harvest hops dried as well for use later if they do not plan to brew during the harvest period.

There is no cost for participation in the FREE THE HOPS program. All the plant material will be provided and space will be allocated on the Home Brewers Hop Row on a first come first serve basis or with the Home Brew Club directly. Participation however, does require the members/home brewers to come to the planting event and assist those that will be monitoring the development of the Hops in the yard throughout the season as well as participate in the harvest of the hops.

We think this is a Win-Win! It encourages more people to grow their own Hops for their brewing but also provides a bit of relief to the costs of home brewing which seem to rise every year.

So WHY is this happening?

Its very simple!  The future of our regional brewing community is our home brewing community. Most of all the new breweries we have seen develop over the last two years are the work of home brewers taking their craft to the next level. In order for the Regional Hop Initiatives to reach their goals, home brewers must become comfortable working with locally sourced hops in order for them to have the confidence to procure local hops when they run commercial breweries. Its a partnership. We assist to educate home brewers on the hops themselves; how to plant, how to grow and what to look for at harvest in exchange for them brewing with local hops and experimenting with recipes they hope one day to take to the next level.

WIN WIN!!

Hop Forward!!!