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Here’s a spectacular pictorial of how hops are grown by Rogue Farms

July 20, 2015Rogue Ales & Spirits

Alluvial cones hops Rogue Farms
Rogue Farms Alluvial hops in late July — about a month to harvest — pretty much the perfect subject for that timeless still life painting you’ve been waiting to create.

We’re about to enter the high holy days on the craft beer calendar — the annual hop harvest in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. It’s always a time of the year when we like to reflect on one of our four favorite ingredients in beer — hops — which are easily the most unique. There are a lot of things you can make with water, barley and yeast, but if hops are in the recipe, chances are about 99.6 percent that you’re brewing beer (we did the research).

Considering how important hops are to beer, it’s surprising how little we know about how they’re grown. So our friends at Craft Brewing Business asked us at Rogue Farms in Independence, Ore., to show its readers how the life cycle of Humulus lupulus really works. After all, Rogue has been growing its own hops since 2008, so we’d be the perfect candidate. SO, let’s head to the greenhouse.

Yaquina Greenhouse hops Rogue Farms
Rogue Farms Yaquina variety of hops in the greenhouse back in 2012.

The Greenhouse

This is where it all begins. Rogue Farms started their 42-acres of hops in the greenhouse. Hop rhizomes, or cuttings, are planted in small pots and growers have control over temperature, moisture and nutrients. This gives hops the best start possible before they’re transplanted into the hopyard.

Planting

Every year’s a little a different, and lately, Rogue Brewmaster John Maier has been wanting a stronger aroma profile for the beers brewing Rogue-grown hops, so Rogue Farms switched from growing Newports to Yaquinas hops. That’s the example we’ll use here. Regardless of the variety, the right time for planting depends on the location. Growers in warmer climates can plant sooner than growers further north. The rule of thumb is to wait until there’s no chance of frost killing the young bines.

Rogue planted its newest variety, Yaquina hops, during May, the first month of the prime growing season in Oregon. Newly planted hops need two to three growing seasons before they’re mature enough to produce a harvestable crop.

The Hopyard

Once a hopyard is established, hop growing has six seasons — winter, early spring, late spring, summer, harvest and fall. Each marks a different stage of growth or dormancy.

Winter

This is the time of year that hops take a break. They’re underground, dormant, saving their energy for the growing season. But hop growers can’t afford to rest. Winter is time for repairs, fixing trellis wires, replacing poles in the hopyard. Old and dying bines are pulled up, and new rhizomes split from younger plants take their place. A well-maintained hopyard lasts for decades.

 

Hopyard Repair hops Rogue Farms
Rogue Farms workers replacing hopyard poles in the winter of 2014-2015.

Early Spring

Longer days and warmer temperatures are the cues that signal the growing season has begun. Bines emerge in early March and will grow 18 feet or more within a few months. None of this would be possible without farmers. Hops need something to climb, so every spring Rogue Farms starts from scratch, stringing the hopyard, staking the strings and training the bines.

hop stringing Rogue Farms
Stringing: Rogue Farms uses a twine called coir, which is make from Sri Lankan coconut husks, to string its 42-acre hopyard.

Crews ride high through the hopyard, tying one end of a piece of twine to the trellis wires and letting the other end fall to the ground. Rogue Farms uses 63,637 strings, or pieces of twine, every spring. Each of those 63,637 strings is tied by hand.

Staking hops Rogue Farms
Staking: The bottom end of the strings are pushed into the ground until they’re stretched tight. The stakes are wire hooks that hold the string in place.

After the stringers have moved through, they’re followed by another crew that stakes the strings deep into the soil. Just as before, all 63,337 strings are staked by hand.

Training, the final big chore of spring, is usually finished by mid- to late-April at Rogue Farms. Bine growth remains slow, but not for long.

 

Click “Next” to continue reading this story, or you’ll never see how hops actually become big and beautiful (and beer!).

 

Pages: Page 1 Page 2

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Live from Rogue Farms: Enjoy this fab photo blog of the hop harvest (and a pig pic)
The Rogue Crop Report: Heat, fire, smoke and harvest (a photo blog)
Rogue Department of Agriculture Crop Report Winter 2015
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Hop Products Australia reports total yield is down, but Galaxy grows for 11th straight year

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. artesanoos says

    July 23, 2015 at 3:47 pm

    RT @ZetaBeer: A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/brGq5TcXCD vía @CraftBrewingBiz http://t.co/TZw2Gy0NWP

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  2. cerveparsimonia says

    July 23, 2015 at 3:46 pm

    RT @ZetaBeer: A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/brGq5TcXCD vía @CraftBrewingBiz http://t.co/TZw2Gy0NWP

    Log in to Reply
  3. GuilleLagardera says

    July 23, 2015 at 6:36 am

    RT @ZetaBeer: A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/brGq5TcXCD vía @CraftBrewingBiz http://t.co/TZw2Gy0NWP

    Log in to Reply
  4. FourlionsBrew says

    July 23, 2015 at 5:52 am

    RT @hoplandbeer: Para aquellos que estén interesados en el cultivo del lúpulo! A trabajar duro! http://t.co/EqH1xa98P9

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  5. rubeer_ says

    July 23, 2015 at 5:46 am

    RT @hoplandbeer: Para aquellos que estén interesados en el cultivo del lúpulo! A trabajar duro! http://t.co/EqH1xa98P9

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  6. hoplandbeer says

    July 23, 2015 at 5:42 am

    Para aquellos que estén interesados en el cultivo del lúpulo! A trabajar duro! http://t.co/EqH1xa98P9

    Log in to Reply
  7. ZetaBeer says

    July 23, 2015 at 5:30 am

    A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/brGq5TcXCD vía @CraftBrewingBiz http://t.co/TZw2Gy0NWP

    Log in to Reply
  8. kloster2001 says

    July 23, 2015 at 3:31 am

    A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/y1uTpsFyxx

    Log in to Reply
  9. jvabe says

    July 23, 2015 at 3:16 am

    A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/F31VvMsmwK

    Log in to Reply
  10. ZulaBrewing says

    July 23, 2015 at 1:49 am

    !atención! ¿cómo cultivar y mantener una plantación de lúpulo? Contado paso a paso con fotos: #lupulo #cerveza http://t.co/rYwYX2KjWR

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  11. ogomogo says

    July 23, 2015 at 1:30 am

    A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown #hops #lupulo #beer #farm #rural http://t.co/UqwPOAl6OW

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  12. BevvShop says

    July 22, 2015 at 9:40 pm

    A photo blog that shows how #hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/DlT1w8DdFz #agriculture @RogueAles @RogueFarms http://t.co/OIMoniUU5S

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  13. DateBeer says

    July 22, 2015 at 9:15 pm

    A photo blog that shows how #hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/4ljOCVwb35 #agriculture @RogueAles @RogueFarms http://t.co/Kw5Y4pIQ9U

    Log in to Reply
  14. CrowdBrewed says

    July 22, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    A photo blog that shows how #hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/5MeTiEYZlq #agriculture @RogueAles @RogueFarms http://t.co/AnNTKx9xBD

    Log in to Reply
  15. CraftBrewingBiz says

    July 22, 2015 at 5:51 pm

    RT @RogueAles: Cheers to @CraftBrewingBiz for this pictorial of the hop process @RogueFarms. #growbeer http://t.co/s8jDyRYkb2

    Log in to Reply
  16. VoyageurBrewMN says

    July 22, 2015 at 5:01 pm

    Growing hops! http://t.co/P1qVxfCvFo

    Log in to Reply
  17. TheMattMcMillan says

    July 22, 2015 at 4:49 pm

    RT @HexagonBrew: Awesome photo blog shows how @RogueAles hops are grown @RogueFarms. We want one! http://t.co/Y8cq9I59WP http://t.co/LroWQj…

    Log in to Reply
  18. HexagonBrew says

    July 22, 2015 at 4:15 pm

    Awesome photo blog shows how @RogueAles hops are grown @RogueFarms. We want one! http://t.co/Y8cq9I59WP http://t.co/LroWQjdq73

    Log in to Reply
  19. Dubblebee says

    July 22, 2015 at 10:56 am

    RT @RogueAles: Cheers to @CraftBrewingBiz for this pictorial of the hop process @RogueFarms. #growbeer http://t.co/s8jDyRYkb2

    Log in to Reply
  20. m2kraus says

    July 22, 2015 at 8:48 am

    RT @RogueAles: Cheers to @CraftBrewingBiz for this pictorial of the hop process @RogueFarms. #growbeer http://t.co/s8jDyRYkb2

    Log in to Reply
  21. bduckie72 says

    July 22, 2015 at 8:27 am

    RT @RogueAles: Cheers to @CraftBrewingBiz for this pictorial of the hop process @RogueFarms. #growbeer http://t.co/s8jDyRYkb2

    Log in to Reply
  22. davidholcomb8 says

    July 22, 2015 at 8:16 am

    RT @RogueAles: Cheers to @CraftBrewingBiz for this pictorial of the hop process @RogueFarms. #growbeer http://t.co/s8jDyRYkb2

    Log in to Reply
  23. Derek Needham says

    July 21, 2015 at 4:06 pm

    Derek Needham liked this on Facebook.

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  24. Malting Company of Ireland - MCI says

    July 21, 2015 at 4:06 pm

    Malting Company of Ireland – MCI liked this on Facebook.

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  25. George Newman says

    July 21, 2015 at 4:06 pm

    George Newman liked this on Facebook.

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  26. BeerAgentUKSean says

    July 21, 2015 at 9:09 am

    RT @PipinoilBrewer: A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/RCIAfMX5po via @craftbrewingbiz

    Log in to Reply
  27. elliottbrewer says

    July 20, 2015 at 11:06 pm

    Great article on how one of the best craft breweries in the US grows their hops. #craftbeer http://t.co/EnKzu4ypUW

    Log in to Reply
  28. Ryan Salisbury says

    July 20, 2015 at 10:37 pm

    Ryan Salisbury liked this on Facebook.

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  29. PrairieGEMHops says

    July 20, 2015 at 10:28 pm

    RT @PipinoilBrewer: A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/RCIAfMX5po via @craftbrewingbiz

    Log in to Reply
  30. Brian Tennis says

    July 20, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Michigan. Michigan Hop Alliance

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  31. Jill Kramer says

    July 20, 2015 at 9:52 pm

    Jill Kramer liked this on Facebook.

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  32. BrewandCovered says

    July 20, 2015 at 7:54 pm

    A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/2auULZa7Jn

    Log in to Reply
  33. KCHopTalk says

    July 20, 2015 at 7:18 pm

    Here’s a spectacular pictorial of how hops are grown by Rogue Farms http://t.co/f5GysN4gxx

    Log in to Reply
  34. Jeff Platt says

    July 20, 2015 at 5:51 pm

    Jeff Platt liked this on Facebook.

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  35. Serge Lubomudrov says

    July 20, 2015 at 5:51 pm

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    July 20, 2015 at 5:51 pm

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  37. Bruce Patrick says

    July 20, 2015 at 5:51 pm

    Bruce Patrick liked this on Facebook.

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  38. jspeedymorris22 says

    July 20, 2015 at 4:54 pm

    “Here’s a spectacular pictorial of how hops are grown by Rogue Farms” http://t.co/KO386PfuoW http://t.co/AOZtorbu30

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  39. Shad Bowman says

    July 20, 2015 at 3:51 pm

    Shad Bowman liked this on Facebook.

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  40. Daive Rodriguez says

    July 20, 2015 at 3:51 pm

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  41. PipinoilBrewer says

    July 20, 2015 at 3:03 pm

    A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/RCIAfMX5po via @craftbrewingbiz

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  42. BrewBarBot says

    July 20, 2015 at 3:02 pm

    Hop damn!! @RogueFarms shows their hop farm off! http://t.co/1VCeanif5x

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  43. Todd Deterding says

    July 20, 2015 at 2:36 pm

    Todd Deterding liked this on Facebook.

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    July 20, 2015 at 2:36 pm

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    July 20, 2015 at 1:38 pm

    Roman Matcovsky liked this on Facebook.

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  46. b2theradd says

    July 20, 2015 at 1:09 pm

    RT @SurreyLiquor: “Here’s a spectacular pictorial of how hops are grown by Rogue Farms” #craftbeer http://t.co/4scoINaQvO

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  47. SurreyLiquor says

    July 20, 2015 at 1:01 pm

    “Here’s a spectacular pictorial of how hops are grown by Rogue Farms” #craftbeer http://t.co/4scoINaQvO

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  48. Ashby Carver says

    July 20, 2015 at 12:58 pm

    Benjyman Pritchett

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  49. Jared Read says

    July 20, 2015 at 12:52 pm

    Jared Read liked this on Facebook.

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  50. crsimp01 says

    July 20, 2015 at 12:49 pm

    A photo blog that shows how hops are farmed and grown http://t.co/nT7WZJSjqk via @craftbrewingbiz

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  51. OakLawnPapaJoes says

    July 20, 2015 at 12:41 pm

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: Here’s a spectacular pictorial of how hops are grown, by Rogue Farms @RogueFarms @RogueAles http://t.co/CiCIJXWdWR

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  52. Gabe Grass says

    July 20, 2015 at 12:41 pm

    Bruce Grass, take notes

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  53. RogueAles says

    July 20, 2015 at 12:31 pm

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: Here’s a spectacular pictorial of how hops are grown, by Rogue Farms @RogueFarms @RogueAles http://t.co/CiCIJXWdWR

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