Our first hops sprouts of the season are popping up all around, just in time for Easter weekend. Perfect!
Humulus lupulus is a pretty incredible plant, a bine that has a similar habit to a vine. Our first association with hops is probably connected to beer brewing, and they certainly do add incredible flavour to home brews. From bitter to citrus and from floral to sour, hops add a wide range of taste to beer, and you know that we love hoppy beer! Did you know that hops are a cousin to the infamous cannabis plant, and can be used for many other purposes also?
Dried hops can be used in cooking, in teas, in tinctures and as medicinal compounds.
They have been widely used as a remedy for insomnia, inflammation, ulcers and more. The Romans picked and cooked the new shoots in a similar way to asparagus, and hops leaves are a delicious substitute for basil in any recipe.
We are currently growing six varieties of hops, including:
- Challenger
- Cascade
- Brewer’s Gold
- Fuggle
- Mount Hood
- Hersbrucker
The plants are relatively easy to grow, and need strong cords or wires to grow on. When they really get going, they climb inches every day! At the moment though, our biggest challenge is keeping the bunnies and deer from eating the tender shoots as they come out of the ground. I am spraying them with an organic blood-based repellent, and it’s been working well so far.
When the cones form in the late summer, we will use some of them fresh, but will harvest and dry the majority for use later. The hops cones actually gain strength when dried, and can be pelleted for easy measurement at brewing time.
Cheers!
