Our hops at one month

For about four years now, my fiancé Dan and I have been talking about growing our own hops.  Not only did we want to control a whole new aspect of our home brewing experience; we wanted to have the freshest hops any homebrewer could ask for.  We even daydreamed about the possibility of fueling the ongoing hop shortage!

 

Because Dan and I are living the apartment life, we don't have much space to plant the things we would love to grow.  Therefore, we persuaded Dan's parents, who live in San Diego, CA, to allow us to utilize their backyard as our hops-growing workshop.

About a month ago we planted the hop rhizomes.  We planted two of each: Magnum, Nugget and Chinook. 

After one month, the Nugget hops are growing strong!

And the Magnum hops are sprouting:

Unfortunately, one of the Chinook rhyzomes has not shown her pretty little leaves yet, but I am holding onto hope...

We planted the rhyzomes in a circle around an 18' pole.  Once the hops are a little bigger, we will string rope from the pole for the hop bines to climb.  At peak growth, hop shoots can grow 8 to 20 inches per week!  I can't wait!

Allow me to introduce myself

My friends call me a beer snob; I just consider myself to have a sense of taste!

I tasted beer for the first time around the age of five; my dad used to reward me with a little paper cup of beer whenever I would fetch him a can of Coors from the fridge.  I didn’t like the taste of Coors but I drank my mini cup of beer with pride.

I discovered that I actually liked the taste of beer when I turned twenty-one and was able to explore options other than the college party staples, i.e. Bud Light, Coors Light and Corona.  I started small, with Ambers and Hefes, and quickly graduated to Pale Ales, IPAs and Sour Beers.

I was introduced to the art of home brewing about four and a half years ago when I met my fiancé, Dan.  You name it, we’ve probably brewed it: Pales, Ambers, Reds, Stouts, Belgiums.  And not only do we brew our own beer, we grow our own hops as well!

Beer is not just a beverage to me; it’s a hobby and a passion.  I often set out in search of new brew pubs and beer stores, in addition to frequenting my favorite tap rooms.

It is my mission, I have decided, to turn that "I'll have a Coors" guy into Mr. "I'll have a beer with flavor, please" (be it bitter, bold or sour; I don't care!).  Can I do it? I sure hope so!

I am a newbie when it comes to blogging, but please give me a chance!  I can't wait to introduce you to local breweries and beer stores in the San Fransisco Bay Area, in addition to the art of home brewing and where you can purchase home-brew supplies of your own!