Hop rhizomes

[James P]

Hi All
(Hopefully I didn't miss a thread here, I searched first!)
Just wanted to see if anyone has rhizomes available this year? I hear there is a shortage, however if there are any suppliers anyone knows of I would be keen to given them a go!

Maybe we can get a list of suppliers going? I see in the old forum that Stephen @ Hallertau may have been one of them, any ideas?

Cheers

[martin w]

i'd be keen for a sticklebract,i've got a dubbel chugging away in the fermenter at the moment,or i'm thinking about an apa next weekend-what would you prefer?

[Toast]

Ooops. As I just said to Adrian, I meant Smoothcone not Sticklebrackt. Rush of blood to the head or something.

[Smiffy]

My plants from last year are now growing away at full speed. A couple of days ago I a cut off a few extra shoots from one of the "mystery German" plants to leave just two per plant. Just to see what they would do, I put them in water. They have continued to grow upwards, but no signs of any root growth. I would imagine that without some nutrients they will run out of energy soon, and even if they can be nurtured, I doubt if they will produce anything this year. If anyone local (Paraparaumu Beach) wants to collect these cuttings, let me know. If it is a waste of time, anyone who knows so, also please let me know.
Smiffy ( smiffypr(at)clear(dot)net(dot)nz )

[Adrian Hayward]

Smiffy, I took some cuttings off my Smoothcone a few weeks ago and placed them in a jar of water, after a couple of weeks they developed roots and now they are potted up doing well. I think as long as you keep a good level of water in the jar they should definitely grow roots sooner or later.
If I lived closer I would definitely come collect one of yours.

[Dan]

I used to just pull em off and throw them straight in the dirt, most of them took.
if you dont think they are going anywhere in the water Smiffy put them in some nice potting mix and keep them warm and moist, they should root, cuttings wont produce alot of cone in the first year butt the next year they will.

[Hugh Grierson]

I have been working on a friend with hop growing family for a few years, he just posted me cascade and an unnamed variety, both are triploid, so the unknown could be something recent and flash. Small rizomes so no sharing to next season. He is also sending me buds to try a brew with, so that could help with identification.

[Doug]

Recent bio-security events that have impacted dramatically in certain sectors of the NZ Kiwifruit industry highlight the need for responsible action by individuals when considering the importation of bio-security risk material into New Zealand.
Hop material, other than pellets or extract are by law not permitted to be imported into New Zealand unless carried out under the correct quarantine protocols (PEQ 3). New Zealand is hop disease free and very fortunate in not having the disease pressures faced by other producer nations, especially those of the Northern Hemisphere.
The introduction of any hop disease would have a devastating effect on the New Zealand Hop Industry with the potential to wipe it out completely. This is not alarmism...the threat is very real.
There has been discussion around hop rhizome supply on this forum previously and although New Zealand Hops does not supply rhizomes we have advised on possible stockist and also on the cultivation and growing on from cuttings. There is also a wide range of imported hops available to the New Zealand brewer as type 90 pellets.
Hops and Brewing are inextricably linked and we as guardians need to remain vigilant to ensure our unique styles and offering are not put at risk and kept safe for future generations.

[Hugh Grierson]

True, just us and Tasmania are disease free as far as I know. My Cascade rhizomes came up from Christchurch, from Nelson about ten years before that. Not sure how they compare to the US version.

[Doug]

They are the very same hop which came out of the USDA breeding programme in the early seventies, they are a Fuggle cross and yours are circa the same time they were brought into New Zealand, they are diploid not triploid. They have never been grown in big volumes in New Zealand so selection wouldn't have had a great deal of impact on them they'd be pretty much as they were. Where and how they are grown will of course produce slight variations but personal preference will generally dictate the brewer’s choice, we sell our NZ grown Cascade into the USA.

[Craig]

Doug,

 

I understand the desire to protect the industry IP, however I wonder... (in the abscence of your sales figures by market segment) the potential to grow the Micro Brewery sales segment via encouragement of local trialing of NZ hop varieties in the home brewer market.

I see home brewers as the early adopters of new craft beers. I would suggest all avenues of promoting the NZ hop flavour in the the home brew circle as a positive step towards encouraging damand for craft beers with a NZ hop signature.

Inability to source key favourites such as Riwaka and Fuggles is quietly driving us early adopters to search out other alternatives. I am a very patriotic person, but due to poor local hop availability and excessive protectionism, I tend to  find myself increasingly sourcing American hops, not unlike many of our leading craft brewers.

I say promote the NZ hop flavour locally by all and every means, including local rhyzome sales. As I understand it, our bio security laws would still prohibit the export of living hop material from our shores. (please correct me if I'm wrong but even then, why not lobby to get such a law put in place)

In a nut shell, if I was going to protect anything, it would be the methods and processes (IP) used to develop the new desireable hop varieties. Speed to develop and commercialise the next best hop is possibly the winner in today's craft brewery market which I suspect is the fastest growing segment.

PS: I'm all for keeping it local

[Sam]

How is everyone's hops growing?  This weather seems to be good for them here in Hamilton :)

[James P]

Yep my smooth cone has climbed up and across the fence, and the Danscade is up and along the carport. My other two named varieties have not survived....