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Make sure you have enough space – put up something almost twice the height that you’ll think you’ll need. These plants grow like nothing else I have seen before! I use a biltong dryer to dry out my hops and it works really well. Put them in the biltong machine for 48 hours – you get an approximate weight loss of 68%. Get your hop trellis to spread and separate the plants else you'll end up with a monstrosity like I have in my photo. Also, wear gloves when harvesting, the bines hurt. My biggest tip is a simple one – to join the Growing Hops in Africa WhatsApp group in order to chat to others that are growing hops in unusual climates. And there you can pick up all sorts of other tips! My only tip so far would be to keep trying!! My five or six tiny little hop flowers that grew in the first year were not really much use except for maybe having a bit of a chew to taste the flavour! Do not plant late. The cooler temperatures of winter allow the plant to establish itself before the heat comes along and dries them out. This helps avoid shocking the plant and potentially killing it before it can get enough roots down to take up water. And don’t let your hops grow in a bush or sprawl along the ground even if they are in their first year. I was not expecting a crop in the first year and only wanted the plants to gather strength so I left them to do their own thing without support. When I later tried to introduce climbing structures for them in the form of poles and ropes I had to untangle the bines that had bound themselves together and then wind them around the structures, which caused breakage and drying out. HOP TIPS Gert runs a successful WhatsApp group for amateur hop growers in Africa, with more than 50 members based in Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Zimbabawe and all across South Africa. We asked a few of the members to share their tips. Kimberley HARM VORSTER Cape Town IAN CALLERY Pretoria KEVIN NEETHLING Lindley, Eastern Free State JOHAN COLYN Cape Town JONTY KING Cape Town LIAM SMIT HARVEST TIME AND BREW DAY Especially with newly planted hops, some early season hops cones can be produced. These make new hop growers very excited, but volumes are normally low as the root system has not fully developed. Hops can be harvested as soon as the cones start feeling “papery” and when some of the outer leaves lose the green colour. If you cut back the bines that produced early, you might have enough time left to get a second harvest. Harvested hops can “sweat” easily so avoid storing them in plastic bags during hot times of the day. For good freshness, semi-dry the cones on wooden screens with mesh/shade cloth to increase ventilation. Don’t over dry; seal in vacuumed bags ASAP and keep in refrigerator. Fresh hops can also be vacuum-sealed and frozen immediately, but then should be kept frozen until use. The best way to use fresh wet hops is to add themto theendof theboil immediately after harvest, or add as dry hopping during fermentation. A rule of thumb is to use five times the amount of fresh that you would normally use with pellets. The leaves of the cones can cause blockages in pumps, so always use a hop basket or bag to protect the pump. If you’re keen to try your hand at hoppiculture, contact Gert on gert.vdwaal@gmail.com. A NAK FOR HOP GROWING Gert grows hops on his family farm, named Nog-a-Klip (Another Stone) or NAK for short. Although not ideal farming territory, his hop crop is a great success and he named the hops he grows – whose parentage is not entirely clear – after the rocky farm. The yellow powder found with a hop's petals is called lupulin and is responsible for the fabulous flavours and aromas hops lend to beer 26 | Autumn 2022 | ontapmag.co.za