Showing posts with label Bramling Cross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bramling Cross. Show all posts

Thursday, 21 November 2013

Hop Growing

I'll get to review the beer featuring my homegrown Bramling Cross hops shortly, but the early news is that it's not quite the beer I wanted.

However, earlier this week I managed to secure an hour or two up the allotment to tidy up the hop vines and frames. After harvesting, I cut the vines at the base and let them die back. I removed the withered growth from the canes this week, so the frame is now empty as winter approaches.


I also took the opportunity to plant another variety. Regular readers might remember that in addition to the Bramling Cross, I also had some Target in the past. The Target failed to establish as well as the BX, so I dug them out at this time last year, with a view to replacing them.

It was some job trying to remove all trace of the roots, and to ensure there was no mix up with varieties in the future, I left the bed empty for a year. I must have made a good job of it as no growth appeared, so the bed is now ready for its new occupant.


WGV

These are Whitbread Golding Variety (WGV). I planted two rhizomes in a container last year, just to get them going prior to planting out at the allotment. Having retrieved them from the container, they have come on a bundle from their original size, so I'm hopeful of a good start from them next year. 

I tend to use WGV in a Best Bitter, a recipe I've probably returned to more times than any other, usually pairing it with Progress and a late addition of Styrian Goldings. 


Saturday, 27 July 2013

Homegrown Hops

The anticipation has started.

My hops have reached the end of the frame and there's the tiniest hint of flowers starting to form. It seems an age since the plants started to poke their way through the earth earlier this year, but now there's just a month or so to go.


These are my 'Bramling Cross'. The second hop frame is currently empty as I dug out the 'Target' and wanted to ensure there was no growth, before I plant up a replacement next year.

The Bramling Cross don't look quite as good as last season, in terms of appearance - the plants don't look quite so lush and vigorous, but that may have something to do with the incredibly dry weather we've endured of late. 30deg may not be much compared to other parts of the world, but for the UK it's damned hot.

It will take a while for the cones to form properly, but with the harvest due in late August / early Sepetember, the waiting is almost over.



Bring it on...