Hoppy Spring!

I neglected to mention earlier that, in addition to ordering new trees for our orchard renovation, I bought one other new plant. Ordinarily I wouldn’t have, but we were just 99 cents away from the free shipping threshold from Stark Bros., so I picked up something new to try: hops!

Photo courtesy of Stark Bros. Nursery

This has always been on our radar, as it’s a very Colonial thing to grow. We haven’t really worked all that hard at making our own alcohol yet, with the notable exception of dandelion wine — not exactly an unqualified success. Still, we have piles of honey now that we could ferment if we want to, and the grapes are doing well. And there are apple trees all over Newburyport that people just ignore, leaving the fruit to drop and rot, so I have my eye on those for a cider project some day.

Why not grow some hops and add beer brewing to the project list?

So I chose Centennial hops. We should get the vine in a few weeks, along with our other trees. I plan to plant it alongside the workshop, which will give it a nice, southwest exposure and allow us to train it up the side of the outbuilding for support. 

And then we’ll see if we can make anything out of it.

If you’re already into home brewing and would like some of the harvest, let me know!