Target hops Australia

This summer has been exceedingly harsh and many of my plants did not cope.  One of the few plants that coped this summer was hops (Humulus lupulus).

Hops are commonly used in brewing beer, but they have many other uses.  The young shoots are said to be the world's most expensive vegetable, it is used in pillows to aid deep sleep, and it is used to make a calming tea.  I have read that hops has a heap of other uses such as providing summer shade, is useful as livestock feed, when fed to cattle reduces the amount of ammonia produced, can be planted in a way that reduces soil erosion and stabilises banks, and is meant to hold potential for producing biofuel.

Target hops quickly grew tall

Hops is dioecious which means individual plants are either male or female.  The unfertilised flowers from female plants are used in beer.  Most hops plants for sale are female plants as they are the most useful.

Hops female flower - this will eventually turn into the cone

Male hops plants are incredibly difficult to source in Australia, and I know of nowhere reliable that sells seeds in Australia (I am sure there are plenty of thieves on eBay making money from fake seeds), so backyard hops breeding is out unless I can find a male plant.

Hops leaf - similar to grape leaves

There are a handful of different varieties of hops available in Australia and each tastes different.  I wanted to grow a variety that was fruity and floral as that sounds interesting.  I also wanted to grow something that is a little unusual as that would be more useful to home growers than the more common varieties.  If you are going to grow something, you don't bother growing something that is the same as you can get in the shops when you can grow something better/unique!

The hops variety I have is called 'Target'.  Target hops is said to have been bred at the Hop Research Institute at Wye College in England, and released to the public in 1992.  Not many places sell target hops plants in Australia, and homebrewers who grow target hops tend to rave about it.

I have read on the internet that target hops have "very very complex fruity flavours and aromas with hints of Floral".

Another source says "I get stonefruit, passionfruit, pineapple, kiwi fruit, melon from this. Perfectly complements any type of English ale. Especially English IPAs and Pale Ales".

A place that grows and sells a lot of hops varieties site states that Target hops are "Extremely good for dry hopping to add some fruity aromas. Goes very well mixed with Columbus or Chinook to offer a much more rounded flavour profile. Probably my favourite varieties we grow here. Crops pretty well for a UK variety. The numbers are similar to Columbus however the armoas and flavours are worlds apart as in new and old world! I love the stuff personally cannot get enough of it".

The place I bought my plant from tests their hops regularly and said their Target hops contain 9.5% Alpha acids with 35% Cohumulone.

To me that sounds like target hops is very fruity and floral, and rather different from the kind of thing that is easy to find at shops, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

Target hops also sounds as if it is well suited to home growers.  Not only is it unique and tastes nice, it is also meant to be one of the more vigorous varieties, one of the easier varieties to grow, and one of the heavier croppers that are easy to harvest.  Target hops sound like a winner to me.

Target hops growing in a large pot of soil

Hops can be grown in the ground, or it can be grown in a pot of soil.  I have heard of hops spreading underground and being difficult to contain.  I also wasn't sure where I wanted to plant hops long term, and I want a few other named varieties and don't want to mix them up, so I chose to plant hops in a large pot of soil enriched with aged chicken manure.

Growing in a pot will likely result in a smaller plant with a lower yield than if it was soil grown, but it will be simpler to control and easier to divide over winter.  It will also mean that I won't mix up different varieties in the future.

Hops needs a tall and strong support on which to grow.  I have toyed with the idea of growing it over the chicken run to provide shade and I think that it could be well suited to that use, but for now I am using some long sticks tied together.

I have a photinia hedge that has the occasional plant of privet that pops up each year.  The privet grows rather tall before I notice it sticking out of the top of the hedge.  These long straight sticks make an ideal climbing structure.  Some of the photos have one stick, some have two or three.  I added to them over the growing season and eventually made a teepee out of them tied with string at the top.  This works really well and is easy to replace each year.

Target hops scrambling taller every day

I have taken a few cuttings from my hops, and if the plant is large enough may be able to divide the rhizome over winter.  If I have extra plants I plan to list them on my for sale page along with other perennial vegetables and interesting edible plants.