A lot of you know that Dan has been brewing his own beer now for a few years. A lot of years, actually. I think I bought him his first beer brewing kit way before we were married.
Anyway, he’s brewed a lot of beers since then, and they’ve all turned out good – some really good. It’s been a fun hobby for him and he’s even gotten the kids involved in the bottling process (fortunately or unfortunately, I don’t know).
I bought Dan a subscription to “Brew Your Own” for Christmas and one of the first issues he received had an article in it about the hops shortage (oh! no!) and growing your own. Apparently, he let the information peculate for a while, and one day showed up at home proudly showing off a rhizome he’d bought at the brew store. It was in a plastic Ziploc baggie and he stuck it in the fridge.
“What are we supposed to do with it?” I asked. “I’m not sure… plant it, I guess,” was his response.
Fortunately, this was just days before Green Thumb Katey and her entourage arrived for a visit. Katey told us to stick it in a big pot, cover it with soil, “water the crap out of it,” and let it grow.
It took a loooooonnnngggg time to grow. We watched it every day and saw nothing. Once, I got excited because I thought I saw a sprout. But it turned out to be a small leave that had just been blown into the pot by the wind.
Finally…. finally one day the rhizome sprouted! We were so excited! I think we may have even done a little dance.
It’s been slow going, but the hops finally got to the point where it was flopping over in it’s container. I figured it was time for the Big Transplant.
I consulted Katey again and did some research on the internet. Then I headed to Home Depot for the supplies I needed (kids in tow). It was an excruciating experience, with all four kids acting as if they’d never been in public before, but somehow I managed to get out of there with everything I needed.
When we got home, I forced the kids to remain in the backyard while I went to work on my project.
Here’s the result. Cool, eh?
Hopefully, the hops will grow up the trellis and flourish. I’ll let you know.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Sarah // Jun 3, 2009 at 8:20 pm
My neighbor grows hops for a friend that brews beer. Her hops are growing over a trellis.
2 Caroline // Jun 3, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Nicely done. Although I feel obligated to point out that more beer might not be the best thing when one is Jillianicizing oneself to death…
3 Jeremy // Jun 4, 2009 at 7:38 am
I feel a bit insulted that I have been reduced to “entourage.” I will forgive you only because it was Dan who introduced me to the wonder that is homebrewing. Just got a new freezer to use as a fermentation chamber!! Woohoo.
4 Maturation // Sep 10, 2009 at 9:33 am
[...] Remember our hops plant? [...]
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