There have been a few interesting hop varieties available to brewers
including would you believe, 'Long Square Garlic'. Still the best two
varieties for me are Fuggles and Goldings, or, depending on the
type of beer your friend wishes to make, a mixture of both.
If your friend wants a beer with aroma, he should choose Goldings.
Hop amounts vary with the type of beer. For a good bitter with lots of
character, use 1 1/2oz of Goldings to the gallon.
I wish your friend luck with his hops and beer, and now wonder why
I have never thought of growing my own.

M.C.
---
"Andy Hunt" wrote in a message:
A friend of mine suggested having a go at making some organic beer, from
scratch. I hope he knows what he's doing.

On Tue, 2 Mar 2004 12:35:21 +0000 (UTC), James Fidell
wrote:

Indeed. I used to use malt extract for making my own beer, but now work
entirely from crushed malt and (IMHO) the results are far superior.
Most of the home brewing books I've read suggest that the mash can be
carried out in an unheated, insulated plastic brewing bucket, so I
cannot believe that the mash is that temperature sensitive.

Just checking though the closest book to hand, it suggests an acceptable
temperature range for mashing of between 62C and 69C.

That's quite hot, you wouldn't be able to put your hand in it for
long.
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

There have been a few interesting hop varieties available to brewers
including would you believe, 'Long Square Garlic'. Still the best two
varieties for me are Fuggles and Goldings, or, depending on the
type of beer your friend wishes to make, a mixture of both.
If your friend wants a beer with aroma, he should choose Goldings.
Hop amounts vary with the type of beer. For a good bitter with lots of
character, use 1 1/2oz of Goldings to the gallon.
I wish your friend luck with his hops and beer, and now wonder why
I have never thought of growing my own.

M.C.
---
"Andy Hunt" wrote in a message:
A friend of mine suggested having a go at making some organic beer, from
scratch. I hope he knows what he's doing.

In article r_P0c.2479$zu.351@newsfe1-win, Andy Hunt
writes

I didn't realise it was a 'climbing' type plant. I think I may have just the
place for it! My mate says that "challenger" is a good strain of hop,
apparently. But then, he claims that the hop is a close relative of
cannabis, so I'm not really sure how to take his advice!

He's right about that. Hop - Humulus lupulus, and cannabis - Cannabis
sativa, are both in the Cannabaceae family, and so are related at the
same level as, say, pears and apples, or peas, beans and clover.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

On Tue, 2 Mar 2004 13:18:56 -0000, "Mike Crossland"
wrote:

There have been a few interesting hop varieties available to brewers
including would you believe, 'Long Square Garlic'. Still the best two
varieties for me are Fuggles and Goldings, or, depending on the
type of beer your friend wishes to make, a mixture of both.
If your friend wants a beer with aroma, he should choose Goldings.
Hop amounts vary with the type of beer. For a good bitter with lots of
character, use 1 1/2oz of Goldings to the gallon.

It's what the Blacksheep Brewery in Masham uses, so they must o.k. :-)
I do recommend a conducted tour of the brewery, if you are in the
area.

I wish your friend luck with his hops and beer, and now wonder why
I have never thought of growing my own.

We had some growing wild in the garden years ago
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

On Tue, 2 Mar 2004 13:18:56 -0000, "Mike Crossland"
wrote:

There have been a few interesting hop varieties available to brewers
including would you believe, 'Long Square Garlic'. Still the best two
varieties for me are Fuggles and Goldings, or, depending on the
type of beer your friend wishes to make, a mixture of both.
If your friend wants a beer with aroma, he should choose Goldings.
Hop amounts vary with the type of beer. For a good bitter with lots of
character, use 1 1/2oz of Goldings to the gallon.

It's what the Blacksheep Brewery in Masham uses, so they must o.k. :-)
I do recommend a conducted tour of the brewery, if you are in the
area.

I wish your friend luck with his hops and beer, and now wonder why
I have never thought of growing my own.

We had some growing wild in the garden years ago
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

On Tue, 2 Mar 2004 12:35:21 +0000 (UTC), James Fidell
wrote:

Indeed. I used to use malt extract for making my own beer, but now work
entirely from crushed malt and (IMHO) the results are far superior.
Most of the home brewing books I've read suggest that the mash can be
carried out in an unheated, insulated plastic brewing bucket, so I
cannot believe that the mash is that temperature sensitive.

Just checking though the closest book to hand, it suggests an acceptable
temperature range for mashing of between 62C and 69C.

That's quite hot, you wouldn't be able to put your hand in it for
long.
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

There have been a few interesting hop varieties available to brewers
including would you believe, 'Long Square Garlic'. Still the best two
varieties for me are Fuggles and Goldings, or, depending on the
type of beer your friend wishes to make, a mixture of both.
If your friend wants a beer with aroma, he should choose Goldings.
Hop amounts vary with the type of beer. For a good bitter with lots of
character, use 1 1/2oz of Goldings to the gallon.
I wish your friend luck with his hops and beer, and now wonder why
I have never thought of growing my own.

M.C.
---
"Andy Hunt" wrote in a message:
A friend of mine suggested having a go at making some organic beer, from
scratch. I hope he knows what he's doing.

There have been a few interesting hop varieties available to brewers
including would you believe, 'Long Square Garlic'. Still the best two
varieties for me are Fuggles and Goldings, or, depending on the
type of beer your friend wishes to make, a mixture of both.
If your friend wants a beer with aroma, he should choose Goldings.
Hop amounts vary with the type of beer. For a good bitter with lots of
character, use 1 1/2oz of Goldings to the gallon.
I wish your friend luck with his hops and beer, and now wonder why
I have never thought of growing my own.

M.C.
---
"Andy Hunt" wrote in a message:
A friend of mine suggested having a go at making some organic beer, from
scratch. I hope he knows what he's doing.

On Tue, 2 Mar 2004 13:18:56 -0000, "Mike Crossland"
wrote:

There have been a few interesting hop varieties available to brewers
including would you believe, 'Long Square Garlic'. Still the best two
varieties for me are Fuggles and Goldings, or, depending on the
type of beer your friend wishes to make, a mixture of both.
If your friend wants a beer with aroma, he should choose Goldings.
Hop amounts vary with the type of beer. For a good bitter with lots of
character, use 1 1/2oz of Goldings to the gallon.

It's what the Blacksheep Brewery in Masham uses, so they must o.k. :-)
I do recommend a conducted tour of the brewery, if you are in the
area.

I wish your friend luck with his hops and beer, and now wonder why
I have never thought of growing my own.

We had some growing wild in the garden years ago
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

On Tue, 2 Mar 2004 13:18:56 -0000, "Mike Crossland"
wrote:

There have been a few interesting hop varieties available to brewers
including would you believe, 'Long Square Garlic'. Still the best two
varieties for me are Fuggles and Goldings, or, depending on the
type of beer your friend wishes to make, a mixture of both.
If your friend wants a beer with aroma, he should choose Goldings.
Hop amounts vary with the type of beer. For a good bitter with lots of
character, use 1 1/2oz of Goldings to the gallon.

It's what the Blacksheep Brewery in Masham uses, so they must o.k. :-)
I do recommend a conducted tour of the brewery, if you are in the
area.

I wish your friend luck with his hops and beer, and now wonder why
I have never thought of growing my own.

We had some growing wild in the garden years ago
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

The message
from Stephen Howard contains these words:

My hop was selected for its colour - but I pretty sure that there are
varieties out there bred for flavour, so your friend might be better
placed to advise you on that score.

I favour Fuggles and Goldings as beer varieties. I can't advise on lager
varieties.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from Stephen Howard contains these words:

My hop was selected for its colour - but I pretty sure that there are
varieties out there bred for flavour, so your friend might be better
placed to advise you on that score.

I favour Fuggles and Goldings as beer varieties. I can't advise on lager
varieties.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from Stephen Howard contains these words:

My hop was selected for its colour - but I pretty sure that there are
varieties out there bred for flavour, so your friend might be better
placed to advise you on that score.

I favour Fuggles and Goldings as beer varieties. I can't advise on lager
varieties.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message n6Z0c.2523$zu.1929@newsfe1-win
from "Andy Hunt" contains these words:

Might be OK - I've been looking for something to climb up the back of my
house, it's not the best looking back of a house you've ever seen. Could be
just the job! And if it's fast-growing . . . all the better!

Fast growing? I'll say. You can also eat the young shoots - they are
said to be very tasty, treated like asparagus.

Best of luck with the beer. Oh, a word of warning: if you are going to
use any sugar in the brew, check on one of the proprietory beer kits how
much they recommend. ON NO ACCOUNT exceed this as a ratio to the malt
they use, as too great a proportion of sugar in a malt brew will lead to
severe headaches and can kill you.

Blimey . . . I had no idea. Right, I shall watch out for that one!

We've got a really good real ale pub here in Bury . . . I was in there last
night, and had a pint of Ramsbottom Brewery "Windfarmer" - even beer is
going renewable these days. 'Twas a lot better than a brew they had in their
called "Old Disreputable", in any case!

Is it best to grow the hops from seed, or buy a vine from somewhere?

Which Bury? If it's St Edmunds, you could go and dig a seedling out of
the car park behind Diss Woolies....

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/