Hops springs eternal

Finally, my hops is putting on some flowers! I already had to slay a bunch of the vines because the darn thing was taking over the garden. So far there aren’t a TON of cones coming, but it’s not bad. It looks like the hops season will be 2-4 weeks behind usual on account of the weird weather we’ve had this spring and summer. It didn’t stop plant growth, but certainly inhibited flowering. My guess is that I can harvest the cones in mid-September, at which point I may try making a green-hopped beer.

Have hops but don’t know what kind? Check out this photo-list from the Oregon Hop Commission! Yep, I’ve got Willamette even though the friend that gave them to me thought they were Cascade. I love that we have our own hops commission in Oregon. What a perfect place to live!