I imported a few Cascade hop rhizomes, and tried growing them in
this rather unsuitable climate. We have hot summer days 27°C
- 35°C maximum, 15-20°C minimum, and frost (-5°C to 5°C
minimum) in winter. The summer days are short (about 14 hours of
light) because we are at a low latitude (26° south). The
tropic of Capricorn is only 200 km away. I understand that hops
plants need a latitude of 35° - 55° to flower successfully in
natural light.
After decimating my plants after the first season (by trying incorrectly to propagate them), I had only one plant that survived. It was recovering for the whole of the 2005-2006 season, and eventually grew well in the 2006-2007 season. I built a 6m trellis for it, and it quickly reached that height. I put up a floodlight with two 20W energy-saver globes. When I got no flowers by the summer solstice in December, I put up a 150W mercury lamp, and THIS seemed to do the trick - I got flowers for the first time this (2007) season. The lamp remains on for the whole night.
I cut down the hop plant on 2 June 2007, and picked off the hop flowers
one-by-one. Some had already browned, but most were still
green. I suspect that I need to put my light on a timer, and
progressively increase and decrease "daylight" time so that the plant
does not get so confused. It shot a new shoot in April.
Maybe it still has memory of Northern hemisphere timing?
We had our first frost 2 weeks before this harvest; I figured the
hops had to be ready by now. The green cones were springy, and
returned to their original shape after being pressed. I
understand that this is an indication that they are ready. My
only concern is the lack of characteristic Cascade character. I
guess I'l have to brew with the dried hops to really evaluate their
character. I suppose it is to be expected that the climate makes
a big difference to the character of a hop. An example is the
difference between Kent Goldings and Styrian Goldings, which are
apparently identical plants.
This pic shows a close-up of one of the hop flowers. There
seems to be a fair amount of lupulin available.
I made a light beer, 1.040 OG, 25 IBU, and added 2g/litre of my
dried
hops at 15 minutes before the end of boil. I chose this recipe to
try to judge the aroma character of the hops. My wife described
it beautifully: burnt sugar! It was definitely a
characteristic of the
hop, and not the brewing process: when I crush a hop flower between my
fingers, I get the same aroma, with a touch of citrusy Cascade
character that I was hoping for. I am disappointed that I
don't get more Cascade character, but quite pleased that the hop has
this
unique aroma.
I am hoping that next season the hops will be stronger, and
therefore start showing that Cascade character. I will put my light on
a timer, in order to artificially increase the daylight hours until the
solstice, and thereafter decrease the daylight hours.
After harvesting, I cut the bines off near the ground. There have
been some new shoots showing, so I have been covering the mound daily
with ice, and a few layers of artificial insulation cover, to stop the
ice from melting during the day. Hopefully, this will bring on the
dormancy that is necessary for the plant to prepare for the next season.