It's Hop Harvest!

I'm so excited I can barely contain myself!
It's Hop Harvest!!!

This should be the first of two harvests this year. I transplanted them from my home in Lima, OH after moving back to Cincinnati, OH. One of the plants was put into the ground 4 years ago and the other one 3 years ago. Both are heavily laden with the glorious green cone-shaped flowers that make beer, BEER!




This is actually an old photo, from last year's growth. Most of the cones that I have this year are larger than those pictured here.
I knew that they were getting close to being ready, but forgot to bring my camera home with me to snap some photos. I'll try to do a better job on the second harvest!



You have to understand, the reason that I'm so excited is because I haven't been home in time to catch the harvest ever since I planted them here at this home! The trick is to catch them at just the right time, when the underside of each of the flower pedals are covered with a dark yellow, almost orange powdery looking substance. This is the stuff that gives beer it's bitterness (just enough to counter the Malty sweetness) and it's distinctive aroma.

Once you see that the yellow is starting to appear, you need to constantly check them to see when it turns to a dark yellow/orange. When you gently hold the cone between your finger and thumb it should not feel any different in temperature than the outside air. If it feels cooler to the touch, then it's not quite ready. You can also tell by the smell. When they are ready they will lose a lot of that "green" smell and will smell like, well like hops! When I checked mine yesterday, they were ready!

Here's a pretty good site to visit to find out more details about hops: http://www.uvm.edu/~pass/perry/hops.html

It's also important to note that not all of the cones on the same vine will be ready at the same time. As was the case with mine. I had to check each individual cluster of cones to see who was ready and who wasn't. The main difference between a small home grown harvest and the big commercial growers is that they will wait until most are ready and then harvest the entire plant, and will only get a single harvest. If the weather cooperates, and I don't leave town again for a while, I should get a second harvest out of mine.

Here's how I do it: First: I pluck the cones, being careful not to damage the rest of the vine, Second: Give them a quick rinse to remove dirt, bugs, what ever else may have landed on them, Third: Give them a spin in the salad spinner (don't worry, Lightnin doesn't mind, she's a "Hop-Head", Fourth: spread them out in the dehydrator and let them do their thing. (Consult instructions on your particular model) For this step Lightnin says that a gas oven will work fine too, just put them on a screen and set them in there over night, or possibly two. Fifth: Once dried, place them into a freezer bag, gently squeeze out all the air (Of course if you have one of those fancy-smancy vacuum bag sealer deals, you would want to use it!), and place into the freezer. Sixth: Brew a batch of beer with them!

I misjudged step #4 and was up until 11:30PM waiting for them to finish drying (I guess this time Lightnin's idea might have been a good choice). Lightnin, I'm not admitting anything, I said: "This Time" and "Might Have Been"!

I'm planning a big brewing for July 28th (Lightnin's B-day!), and will be firing up my new brewing system (no I didn't get it for her birthday. I've had it a while, but the guy I got it from hasn't had a chance to show me all of it's quirks yet). I'll definitely bring the camera for that, because this system you've just got to see to believe!