Humulus lupulus (gaddus)This little lady (for it is a female of the species, as evidenced by a couple of very small, immature hop cones) forced her way through a narrow gap between the concrete foundations of our building and the concrete slab of the car park. I'd be delighted to afford her long term shelter but, I suspect, this isn't an ideal site for a hop to prosper (unless I dig up some of the concrete, which is a distinct possibility).
Chelsea Clive and I are going to take cuttings and, through a process of mist propagation, we hope to have healthy plants in suitable ground (our allotment) by next summer. A couple of years after that and who knows, we may be drinking Ramsgate Pale Ale indigenously hopped.
I love being a brewer in Kent.
4 comments:
Ahh, mystery hops. Or do you know what it is?
I gathered hops that were growing wild in my area and used them for flavouring and aroma in a pale ale I made. Not bad! But probably not as nice as what you'd have springing up in Kent :)
With the Continental persecution of the male hop I'm very surprised to hear you find wild ones growing near you Barry - how far are you from a growing region?
Hmm, pretty far I reckon! I'm not overly familiar with the smaller hop growing regions here, and the closest big one I can think of is the Hallertau, about 450km away. But there's wild hops all over the place here. Actually, we're at 52°N, only about 3/4 of a degree further North than Kent :D I'll have to do some research!
It's always nice to know that nature always finds a way to survive.
I look forward to the Ramsgate ale in a few years time!
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