Hops: Growing the beer plant yourself

When you think of hops, the thought of a cold beer is not far away. We have summarized everything you need to know about the versatile perennial for you.

The real hops (Humulus lupulus) belongs to the hemp family (Cannabaceae). Certainly many have the following picture in mind in connection with this climbing plant: A stout monk in brown Kutte, who is sitting at a solid wooden table with relish, taking a deep sip from his mug with the bitter hop drink takes. In fact, 95% of the hops grown in Germany are used for brewing beer. But the perennial, which originally came from Central Europe, was not chosen as Medicinal Plant of the Year in 2007 because of its main use. The real hops are also convincing thanks to some medicinally valuable ingredients. We explain to you why beer and hops simply belong together and show you how you can grow this medicinal plant yourself in your own garden.

Growing hops in the garden

Location

Real hops love the sun. When growing in his own garden, he should by no means be denied this - the plant develops best in a location in a southern location. That is also the reason why over 80% of the hops commercially produced in Germany are grown in sunny Bavaria. Famous for the Cultivation of hops is above all the Hallertau region. Not only the wild form of real hops, which can often be found in very moist areas, enjoys a nitrogen-rich supply. A well-fertilized substrate should be used, especially when cultivating in pots, which is easily possible.

If the hops are planted in a bed in your own garden, it should be known that they form rhizomes. These are subterranean shoots from which vigorous shoots push themselves to the surface of the earth every year. If the plant has to leave its place, everyone will come with a spade. But if the rhizome of the hops is broken up and parts remain in the soil, new shoots can still sprout from them.

Multiplication

The usual and most sensible propagation of hops is that Propagation of cuttings. There is a special reason for this: only unfertilized, female inflorescences form the coveted cones. The structure of male panicle flowers is fundamentally different from that of the spike-shaped female flowers. A fertilization of the female flowers is on the one hand disadvantageous for the processing in the brewery and on the other hand it is not possible to produce as much wort from the same mass of hops as from unfertilized hops Blossoms. If you hold a bag of seeds in your hand, you cannot be sure whether the seed is a woman or a man. Later, in the sexual mixed hop culture, undesired fertilization of the female flowers can occur. To avoid this faux pas, the hop varieties are only propagated using cuttings. If you want to plant hops in your own garden, it is therefore a good idea to buy young plants that have already been grown.

Water and fertilize

Hops are hungry and thirsty. This is no wonder with a daily increase of up to 10 cm of the individual shoots, which are also referred to as vines. The soil must always be kept moist. However, waterlogging must be avoided in any case. This would lead to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the roots and consequently to root rot. The high nutrient requirement should be covered by additional fertilization, especially when cultivating in a pot. Just like the watering, the fertilization must also be adapted to the rapid growth of the hops. This means that the larger the size, the shorter the intervals between fertilization. So should be supplied with nutrients up to once a week in early summer. The fertilization is then also completely stopped when the flowering occurs. However, watering remains a full-time job: especially when cultivating in pots, watering must be carried out daily on sunny, warm days to ensure optimal care for the plant. It is therefore advisable to use a pot that is not too small for the thirsty perennial. A primarily organic organic fertilizer such as our Plantura is well suited Organic universal fertilizer.

Maintain, cut, bind

Depending on the variety, hops can be 4 to 8 meters long. Without their climbing hair, however, the thin shoots would not be able to grow upwards at all. Therefore, three to four of the climbing vines per rhizome are tied up to a climbing aid made of vertical wires. This takes place as soon as the individual shoots have become so long that they can no longer stand upright. It should be noted that the hops are a so-called right-winder. If it is necessary to help climb the wire, the shoots must be loosely tied up in a clockwise direction. All other shoots that sprout from the same rhizome are cut out. This increases the hop cone yield.

Cutting back for winter is not necessary. All above-ground parts of the perennial plant die off. The nutrients from the vines are shifted to the underground stem axis. This gives the rhizome enough strength to push the fresh shoots back to the surface of the earth next spring. Incidentally, the rhizome of the hemp plant native to our temperate latitudes is not threatened by frost damage. Even longer-lasting permafrost cannot harm the robust hops.
It is possible that stubborn Aphids Attack your hops. These unpleasant small animals can best be combated with old home remedies instead of the heavy chemical club. The watering of the plants with Nettle liquid manure or the encore usually helps. The addition of a small splash of washing-up liquid to the water with which the infested plants are sprayed is usually sufficient to win the war with the small sap teats. Many varieties are also susceptible to powdery mildew. The best alternative to chemical crop protection: choosing a less susceptible or even resistant variety.

Hop varieties: a matter of taste

Hundreds of different Hop varieties are available on the market. There is something for every taste, the spectrum ranges from "flowery" to "fruity-sweet" to "menthol". The large group of hop varieties is divided into two main groups. The alpha acid content is used as a decision criterion. So-called bitter hop varieties have an alpha acid content of over 10%. On the other hand, all varieties under 10% are counted among the aromatic hop varieties. The low content of alpha acids reduces the bitterness of the hops. However, the aromatic hop varieties contain a higher concentration of essential oils. Depending on the aroma composition, this can contribute to your own special taste notes. In the meantime, a whole scene is turning to the aromatic diversity of hops and the varieties, and the wealth of flavors seems to grow into infinity. We now name some traditional bitter hop varieties, but also extraordinary representatives of the aromatic hops:

Bitter hop varieties:

• 'Nugget': strong growth and high yielding; but very susceptible to disease; low demands on the soil.
• 'Target': low demands on the soil; very beautiful, closed umbels; little susceptible to powdery mildew.
• 'Hallertauer Magnum': high bitter content; vigorous growth; largest umbels and leaves.
• Northern Brewer: early ripeness; less productive but important bitter substances.

Aromatic hop varieties:

• 'Hersbrucker': traditional variety; pronounced spicy note; overall good aroma.
• 'Hallertauer Mittelfrüh': old variety; still popular in cultivation thanks to its aroma; large dark green leaves; aesthetic growth.
• 'Centenniel': popular variety in the US; Aroma of beetroot and berries mixed with woody notes.
• 'Citra': aromatic variety with a high recognition value; diverse fruity aroma.
• 'Amarillo': moderate aroma; sweet, fruity, spicy note.

For the aromatic and bitter hops varieties used in commercial cultivation, another breeding goal is the creation of small, but high-yielding varieties. That would make machining the culture a lot easier.

Some special varieties enrich the market, especially for hobby growers in their own gardens. They are usually characterized by a pronounced lack of ambition in terms of location characteristics.

Special varieties:

• 'Billbo': extremely low bitter substance; very suitable for teas; uninteresting for the art of brewing.
• ‚Comet ': very ornamental light green to yellow foliage; very large and showy umbels.
• 'Gimmli‘: dwarfish; When tied up, shoots reach a length of 4 m; well suited for cultivation in pots / containers; resistant to powdery mildew.

You can find more information about the varieties in our article Hop varieties: from bitter to fruity-sweet.

Harvesting and storing hops

From the end of August to the middle of September, the hops cones, which are revered by beer lovers, can be harvested. When the cones are ready to harvest, they secrete the yellow powdery hop resin. The elaborate manual selection is probably only common in the hobby area. In commercial cultivation, the vines are cut off as a whole just above the ground and torn from the trellis. On the farms, the unfertilized female inflorescences are then separated from the shoots with the help of a picking machine.

Basically, the yield is then dried to extend the shelf life. Either the cones can be air-dried or the process can be accelerated in the oven. Here moisture is removed from the cones at up to 80 ° C for one to two hours. If drying in the air, it is important to choose a dark place so that the green color of the cones remains. If the dried inflorescences are then pressed together into pellets, both the storage volume can be clearly seen can be reduced and with an airtight seal the shelf life can be extended again without loss of aroma.
You can find detailed step-by-step instructions and more about harvesting and storage here: Hops: growing, harvesting and storing.

Hops: use and ingredients

Hops make beer what it is - that's why it is used almost exclusively in the art of brewing. Approximately 17 kg of the hop cones are needed to brew 1000 liters of beer. It is common to use the dried inflorescences of the female hop plants for brewing. However, the brew can also be prepared with fresh pickings. Then a so-called green hop beer is created. The hop resins, thanks to the bitter substances they contain, lupulin and humulone, give the beer its characteristic bitter taste. They can also contain other flavors and determine the note of the beer. Thanks to their antibacterial properties, the bitter substances in hops also act as preservatives and thus enable the popular hop juice to have a longer shelf life. Saint Hildegard von Bingen recognized this positive quality as early as the 12th century. Century.

But the female hop cones are also valued in the form of tea. The infusion is said to have a calming and sleep-promoting effect.
The hops can also be found on the stove: young, fresh shoots of around 15 cm Lengths can be cut during budding and found in the saucepan as hop asparagus. However, it is important that the shoots are still tender and young - harvest time is therefore roughly from mid-March to early April. The preparation does not differ from classic asparagus. However, the hoppy counterpart to the white asparagus spear brings an interesting resinous note to the plate. If the asparagus is to be used for cooking rather than for brewing beer, it is worth growing the perennial in own garden in any case: the delicate lace is an expensive and rare delicacy estimated.

Should you now have a taste for it and not just hops, but also Grow asparagus we have the right tips here.