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!