Thanks to Douglas and Mike for mentioning my site on their show. If only I could have had the last couple posts up before that went out! I hope the three of us will be able to trade information as this gardening experiment continues. I urge anyone else who is growing hops to listen to the show and drop us a line to let us know how your own project is going. Like Mike, I would also appreciate any feedback or comments on what I am doing, especially if it will save me from doing something terrible to my plants. Links to both Douglas and Mike’s sites are on the left.

No pictures this post. The temperature is finally coming up a little to the point where I do not think I will cover the bines tonight. Tomorrow, May 1, 2008, will finally be the day I get my braggot moved to secondary. Sometimes the evening just does not lend the time you want it to. Fortunately, the beer will forgive you for having a schedule to keep. It would not be a hobby I could entertain if it didn’t. It might just be the yeast that is forgiving though. Making bread is also a forgiving process, but I am not so sure it would forgive being left for a couple days like beer does. Perhaps I should try that some time to see how it turns out. Sourdough anyone?

The temperature has gotten pretty low here in Cleveland, OH, so I have had to get my hops covered up. Fortunately, I still have a good-sized sheet from last year that has already been committed to outside use.

I have to take back my paint drying comment from the last post. Since the weekend with the great sunlight and water from both rain and my watering bucket, the bines have been coming up much more rapidly. I noticed one of the bines bent a bit with the sheet on it. I made some adjustments to the sheet for the second night and hopefully will not have any more issues. The first picture is the right side, and the second is the left side. I am not calling this a competition, but here is the comparison as of the 28th of April, 2008:

As you can see, the left side isn’t growing as quickly, but this was also the rhizome you will see in older posts that didn’t have as many buds on it. I’m rooting for the underdog on this one, if only because it might even them out a little bit.

The hops do not seem to have changed very much in the past week. I suppose everything I read about hops growing very quickly was a bit of an overstatement. It could also be that I am slightly impatient. The beer that is brewing right now is right on schedule though. The bubbles are nice and slow, so I will likely be moving it over to the secondary soon.

I finally got my soil tested on Sunday and it was perfect: 6.5 pH. I got the rhizomes in the ground so that they can get started growing. I never pay much attention to the weather, so I guess I need to start in case we get a little frost again this year. From the weather reports I did look at, it seems unlikely. I planted Mount Hood hops because I think they will make excellent aroma hops for some of the more winter-style beers. If these work well, I will likely get some Cascade in the ground next year.

I also started brewing another braggot on Sunday. Details are on the Brewing Journal linked on the left. The first one turned out quite well, so I am trying a slightly darker one this time. I’ve switched to a Kölsch ale yeast instead of a lager yeast due to the warmer temperature.