[boostindoubles]

Heres a peak into the 2013 hop crop of the Yakima Valley.

early on...


Here they grow!




Starting to mature...






Harvest


Drying Kilns




Haulin bales


Lastly, this is what happens when a heavy crop, 1/2" of rain in 30 minutes, wind, and a rotten post all come together






Now go drink some beer!

 

[Jm_]

Just got back from a homebrewing presentation at our local Science Pub, good stuff. Those hops can be standing 20' high.

 

[Pesqueeb]

Now go drink some beer!

Okay.

 

[ICEBALL585]

Sweet pics! Any idea what variety those hops are?

 

[SkaredShtles]

That reminds me - there's an open space park here that hops growing wild in at least one location... I thought they looked hop-ish and pulled one of the cones and sure enough.

 

[boostindoubles]

Thanks for the replies. The hops in the kiln pics are Cascade and the yard that collapsed was CTZ (Columbus/tomahawk/Zeus). The 6th pic is also CTZ from the collapsed yard. The other pics are randoms from driving around the valley. The bales on the truck are Clusters.

Skaredshtles - I've heard about the wild CO hop varieties. I think its pretty rad. I know of at least one grower here in Yakima who is experimenting with wild Colorado hops. There is a big push for developing secret proprietary varieties that can be monopolized and cashed in on. Everyone is looking for odd ball hops that no one else has. You may be sitting on a gold mine!

 

[SkaredShtles]

Thanks for the replies. The hops in the kiln pics are Cascade and the yard that collapsed was CTZ (Columbus/tomahawk/Zeus). The 6th pic is also CTZ from the collapsed yard. The other pics are randoms from driving around the valley. The bales on the truck are Clusters.

Skaredshtles - I've heard about the wild CO hop varieties. I think its pretty rad. I know of at least one grower here in Yakima who is experimenting with wild Colorado hops. There is a big push for developing secret proprietary varieties that can be monopolized and cashed in on. Everyone is looking for odd ball hops that no one else has. You may be sitting on a gold mine!

Let's face it... if it grows wild in the $hitty-a$$ "soil" in the foothills it has gotta be pretty hardy... what's the "correct" way to get hops going from existing plants?

 

[boostindoubles]

Dig up some roots and replant them somewhere else. That's all it takes!

 

[SkaredShtles]

Dig up some roots and replant them somewhere else. That's all it takes!

Interesting.... very interesting...

 

[BikeGeek]

Last year's cascade and chinook smelled amazing. How's this year? I was really surprised by the dankness of last year's citra vs. the year before. Looking forward to getting the new crop in house.

Anything new in the ground this year? Always looking to brew with new (at least to us) stuff...

 

[boostindoubles]

I'd say yields are down on some varieties, while quality is up. Although that isn't across the board. It really depends on who's doing the growing. There's quite a few people with baby Citra yards so it will be interesting to compare the different growers, most who've never had it before. Have you had your hands on Caliente yet? Thats really the only variety that I think is new-ish and semi-available, besides maybe El Dorado, but thats being pushed by BSG pretty hard.

*granted I don't know **** so I am sure the other dealers have something to offer I know nothing about! I have been hanging out in the orchards way more than the hops

 

[Pesqueeb]

That reminds me - there's an open space park here that hops growing wild in at least one location... I thought they looked hop-ish and pulled one of the cones and sure enough.

There is a HUGE plant growing right off the Santa Fe trail I've been meaning to take a cutting from for a while. Trade you a SoCo variety of a NoCo variety.

 

[DaveW]

There is a HUGE plant growing right off the Santa Fe trail I've been meaning to take a cutting from for a while. Trade you a SoCo variety of a NoCo variety.

Yeah just remember they used to call it the "pernicious weed" for a reason.
they tend to takeover pretty quickly, and are quite hard to get rid of if it's in a bad spot later on. In a suburban environment I'd never plant it outside of a tub.