Final Hop Harvest 2011
by Jim Vondracek on 09/03/11
We grew hops for the first time in 2011 - for more info, scroll down the blog for some other hops-growing related posts this summer. Today, Robert (my youngest son) and I harvested the final crop for this year. This is a picture of Rob picking cones off one of the bines we cut down.
The bines grew up the side of our home, climbing twine that we strung from the hop hills to second story windows. Here is a picture of some of the cut-down bines.
The hops are drying now, and when dried, we'll freeze them. They are Cascades, often used in American-style pale aes or ipas. We'll use them to dry hop and as late additions in the boil, meaning we'll take advantage of their freshness by using them for flavor and aroma, rather than bitterness. Stay tuned . . .
