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!

Watcha Drinkin?

In this month's Watcha Drinkin...I indulged in the Ommegang Abbey Ale. Truly a delicious beer from an impressive brewery. Check them out at: www.ommegang.com

"Ommegang, our first brew, was inspired by the centuries-old brewing practices of the Belgian Trappist monks. This burgundian brew gives off a variety of aromas, including plum and cinnamon, and packs in flavors such as caramel, toffee, and licorice. At 8.5% abv, it is known to cause spontaneous meditation."

One of those days...

So yeah, I turned 30 this year. Most people would be discouraged, but I couldn't be happier. I am still young and I got a party at a Brew Pub as well as a really sweet cake.

I would like to thank Curt from Thomas Hooker Brewery, as well as the Cambridge House Brew Pub for an awesome event. Be sure to check them both out...great places and great beer. Definitely try Hooker's Nor'Easter Brew...It is spectacular!

The Harvest

Here are the pictures I promised from the first year's harvest. I know it was small, but I have high hopes for next year!

Happy New Year!

Well, its been a crazy 2008...new job, 1st Child (Nicholas is now 4 months old and doing very well), the launch of Home Brewing Perspectives, a new hobby (I finally have all the equipment I need to start brewing...), and I'm not even 100% sure of what else...it has been a blur. Needless to say, I'm ready to take it down a notch and enjoy 2009.

As a wise man once said.."I must confess, I could use some rest, I can't run at this pace very long..." if you know where this quote comes from, you are definitely my kind of person and we should probably share a beer sometime.

As the first order of business for 2009: Doug and I are finally making good on our promise...the Podcast will re-launch this month, with a more "manageable" recording schedule.

My plans for this year as far as hops goes could be changing, with the possibility of me moving...I'll try to transplant the rhizomes, but it will be a scary task in the midst of a New England winter. The Brewer's Gold that I planted in my father's garden should come back stronger with the possibility of a better yield.

I'll have to re-think my planting if I am in the new house once I get to inspect the property more closely and do some soil tests.

Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009...I'm sure we will be in touch

so the story goes something like this...

I will keep the blog posting relatively short. Doug and I are getting together shorty to record another episode of Home Brewing Perspectives. We are both really psyched to get the show rolling again.

My Cascade Hops never seemed to recover from the animal attack. Once the possum dug up my rhizomes, they never seemed to recover. I only got small vines (maybe 3 feet tall) and obviously no harvest.

I was luckier with the Brewer's Gold that I planted in my father's garden. We got solid growth, 5 vines at least 8 feet tall. The harvest was small (probably about 20 cones total), but I am completely confident that they will be coming back next year stronger with a larger harvest...pictures and more details to come.

Let me know how your harvest was this year. I hope most of you were luckier than I was this year!

Back in the Swing of Things...

So I think this is a valid excuse for falling off the face of the earth. Apologies to all the followers of this blog. Something crazy happens when you have your first child and everything else takes a back seat. Nicholas was born on 8/21/08...from the day of his birth he has consumed every waking minute of my "free" time. Hobbies didn't even cross my mind. He is now 2 months old and I finally feel like I have some time on my hands. I am back in work, and have a whole lot of catching up to do with a lot of people.

My tragic hop update is coming soon!

Missing in Action

Wow, it has been some time since my last post. It seems to me that I have been full of unfulfilled promises regarding this blog...but honestly there are times when life gets crazy and something has to hit the back-burner. Unfortunately the blog is what suffered. I am happy to report that things are getting under control (for now), but my wife and I only have 2 1/2 weeks until the birth of our first child so I don't necessarily expect things to get easier anytime soon. SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME OVER THE NEXT MONTH OR SO! Doug and I will get back on track soon. Enough of that though...as for the hops.

The 2 rhizomes that were attacked by the possum are apparently dead. This is very unfortunate since the vines on these 2 rhizomes were the largest. The good news is the "forgotten" rhizomes which were left in pots on my porch are growing like crazy. I am in the process of building a new trellis to support them. Whats funny to me is that these 2 rhizomes were not "cared" for in any of the so called necessary methods. It just goes to show, sometimes plants just need a lot of sunlight, water, and to be left alone! Pictures to follow once trellis construction is done!

Updates from Mike from Collinsville

I've plugged in 2 new images that Mike from Collinsville sent. Looks like his hops are coming in nicely. Check out his slideshow in the sidebar...

Home-Brewing Baby Gear

We briefly discussed some "baby" clothes that I sent to Doug's son Luke. In case anyone is interested, I've made them available for sale! They are also available as body suits and bibs.

Check out the link if your interested. I promise all proceeds will go to beer and brewing.

http://www.cafepress.com/redcardgear/5595199

the story...

If you haven't listened to the podcast...(yes, we're back and recording) check it out! There is a story at the end in the Hop Corner that is definitely worth a listen. In the next few days I will post the story up here as well, but for now...I'll push for everyone to listen the the new episode!

Update from Josh from Tulsa, OK

I got an update from Josh. He's changed his Hops Tracking to its own blog (separate from brewtech). Both are worth a read...especially if you want to be depressed about your hops growing. Either Josh is a master gardener, or its the soil in Oklahoma...either way he has some impressive plants.

Here's the link to his new blog. I've also updated it in the sidebar of my blog.
http://hopflavor.blogspot.com/

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Sorry for the delay in the postings. Things got crazy busy at the end of the school year, but now I'm on vacation so I should have lots of time to update and add pictures...

These pictures were taken about 4 weeks ago. As you can see the growth isn't great...

New Link!

Check it out! Josh from Tulsa, OK has sent a link to his blog. Another great resource in our quest to eliminate the hops shortage!