Spring is in the Air

Spring has finally arrived in Connecticut.  A hard lesson I learn growing up in the Northeast, is having the patience to wait until the last threat of frost before working on the plants. 

Generally speaking if you are planting, the best time is the end of April.  The Old Farmers' Almanac gives a date for CT of 4/25.  Below is a chart from their website with growing information.  Here's the link:  http://www.almanac.com/content/frost-chart-united-states


What I normally do in spring is apply manure as a top dressing to my hop plants.  Other people I know use chemical fertilizers made for garden vegetables.  I will give more info when I get closer to that time.

City	State	Growing Season (Length in Days)	Last Frost Spring	First Frost Fall
Mobile	AL	272	Feb. 27	Nov. 26
Juneau	AK	133	May 16	Sept. 26
Phoenix	AZ	308	Feb. 5	Dec. 15
Tucson	AZ	273	Feb. 28	Nov. 29
Pine Bluff	AR	234	Mar. 19	Nov. 8
Eureka	CA	324	Jan. 30	Dec. 15
Sacramento	CA	289	Feb. 14	Dec. 1
San Francisco	CA	*	*	*
Denver	CO	157	May 3	Oct. 8
Hartford	CT	167	Apr. 25	Oct. 10
Wilmington	DE	198	Apr. 13	Oct. 29
Miami	FL	*	*	*
Tampa	FL	338	Jan. 28	Jan. 3
Athens	GA	224	Mar. 28	Nov. 8
Savannah	GA	250	Mar. 10	Nov. 15
Boise	ID	153	May 8	Oct. 9
Chicago	IL	187	Apr. 22	Oct. 26
Springfield	IL	185	Apr. 17	Oct. 19
Indianapolis	IN	180	Apr. 22	Oct. 20
South Bend	IN	169	May 1	Oct. 18
Atlantic	IA	141	May 9	Sept. 28
Cedar Rapids	IA	161	Apr. 29	Oct. 7
Topeka	KS	175	Apr. 21	Oct. 14
Lexington	KY	190	Apr. 17	Oct. 25
Monroe	LA	242	Mar. 9	Nov. 7
New Orleans	LA	288	Feb. 20	Dec. 5
Portland	ME	143	May 10	Sept. 30
Baltimore	MD	231	Mar. 26	Nov. 13
Worcester	MA	172	Apr. 27	Oct. 17
Lansing	MI	140	May 13	Sept. 30
Marquette	MI	159	May 12	Oct. 19
Duluth	MN	122	May 21	Sept. 21
Willmar	MN	152	May 4	Oct. 4
Columbus	MS	215	Mar. 27	Oct. 29
Vicksburg	MS	250	Mar. 13	Nov. 18
Jefferson City	MO	173	Apr. 26	Oct. 16
Fort Peck	MT	146	May 5	Sept. 28
Helena	MT	122	May 18	Sept. 18
Blair	NE	165	Apr. 27	Oct. 10
North Platte	NE	136	May 11	Sept. 24
Las Vegas	NV	259	Mar. 7	Nov. 21
Concord	NH	121	May 23	Sept. 22
Newark	NJ	219	Apr. 4	Nov. 10
Carlsbad	NM	223	Mar. 29	Nov. 7
Los Alamos	NM	157	May 8	Oct. 13
Albany	NY	144	May 7	Sept. 29
Syracuse	NY	170	Apr. 28	Oct. 16
Fayetteville	NC	212	Apr. 2	Oct. 31
Bismarck	ND	129	May 14	Sept. 20
Akron	OH	168	May 3	Oct. 18
Cincinnati	OH	195	Apr. 14	Oct. 27
Lawton	OK	217	Apr. 1	Nov. 5
Tulsa	OK	218	Mar. 30	Nov. 4
Pendleton	OR	188	Apr. 15	Oct. 21
Portland	OR	217	Apr. 3	Nov. 7
Carlisle	PA	182	Apr. 20	Oct. 20
Williamsport	PA	168	Apr. 29	Oct. 15
Kingston	RI	144	May 8	Sept. 30
Charleston	SC	253	Mar. 11	Nov. 20
Columbia	SC	211	Apr. 4	Nov. 2
Rapid City	SD	145	May 7	Sept. 29
Memphis	TN	228	Mar. 23	Nov. 7
Nashville	TN	207	Apr. 5	Oct. 29
Amarillo	TX	197	Apr. 14	Oct. 29
Denton	TX	231	Mar. 25	Nov. 12
San Antonio	TX	265	Mar. 3	Nov. 24
Cedar City	UT	134	May 20	Oct. 2
Spanish Fork	UT	156	May 8	Oct. 12
Burlington	VT	142	May 11	Oct. 1
Norfolk	VA	239	Mar. 23	Nov. 17
Richmond	VA	198	Apr. 10	Oct. 26
Seattle	WA	232	Mar. 24	Nov. 11
Spokane	WA	153	May 4	Oct. 5
Parkersburg	WV	175	Apr. 25	Oct. 18
Green Bay	WI	143	May 12	Oct. 2
Janesville	WI	164	Apr. 28	Oct. 10
Casper	WY	123	May 22	Sept. 22

* Frosts do not occur every year.

How to choose your hops

So I found this link to THE ULTIMATE HOP CHART.
The chart is very comprehensive, giving:

• Name 
• Alpha Acid %
• Typical Beer Styles
• Possible Substitutions
• Flavor Description

The chart is one of the better references I have found, I hope you enjoy.

Just wondering, what hops do you use in your "signature" brews?  Any unusual combination that you think works really well?  Comment back and share...




This is a great book, with good historical information as well as a great guide to how to put together recipes.

Get it at Amazon.com
Radical Brewing: Recipes, Tales and World-Altering Meditations in a Glass

Douglas Wawrzynski for AHA Governing Committee Representative

My good friend Doug is running for AHA Governing Committee Representative.  If you are a member of the American Homebrewers Association, please consider voting for him.  I believe you would be hard-pressed to find a better candidate. 

His profile can be seen using the following link: Doug's AHA Profile

Homebrew T-shirts

I made a few new designs in my line of Homebrewing T-shirts. 
Check them out at http://www.cafepress.com/redcardgear/5595199

The link at the right isn't an ad.  Red Card Gear is my T-shirt business, specializing in Soccer & Homebrewing t-shirts.  Here are a couple of my new designs that I though you might like.

Cascade Hops

Some beautiful Cascade Hops from one of my plants.  This was year 1 for these Rhizomes.  I have high hopes for them next year. 


To recap, I have 4 Brewers Gold and 2 Cascade.  My plans for this year are to add 2 more Cascade and 2 Fuggle.


I have used this book extensively for info, and highly recommend it.

Time flies by...

The more I try to stay away, the more I am drawn back to this blog...Could this be the final attempt?  I guess I can't be sure.  Honestly, my intention was never to withdraw myself from the blog.  The difficult thing which seems to occur, a balance of:  family - career - and hobbies.  While I haven't stopped my efforts to grow my own hops...the communication of this hobby obviously ceased for some time.

I am happy to report that my year 2 yield was better than expected.  I lost a substantial amount of the Cascade plants when I moved, but the Brewer's Gold came in with force.  So much force that my trellises came down with them!  Looking towards year 3, I will be planting more varieties, reinforcing my trellises, and looking into a more effective drying method.

The updates will come weekly, with planning first, then documentation of growth, and hopefully another successful year!

Who made that Hop Cake????

I owe a shout out to Cake Haven for the awesome Hop Cake. You can see her work at: www.cakehaven.com

If you live near Danbury, Connecticut and want a cake that will blow your friends and family away, give Francine a call!