Hops - Fast Growth and Early Signs of Cones

Lesson: Hops grow awfully fast. Back in early June, I planted two Golding Hops plants, and posted a picture (Hops in the Garden). That was about seven weeks ago. Those little plants now look like this:

As you can see, I attached heavy garden twine to the downspout on the eaves trough so the hops could grow upwards. It's been fun to watch the hops bines wrap themselves around the twine as they grow. I have also been watching carefully for any signs of the beginnings of cones. Today, I took a close look and discovered many clusters of little 'burrs' on one of the plants. These burrs, I understand, grow into the cones that we harvest. So, this is exciting. Given all the little clusters on this one plant, I think there should be enough hops for batch of home brew.

Cluster of Pre-Cone Burrs on a Hops Plant 

Mead - Final Product One Year Later

Way back in October 2016, I was frustrated with stuck fermentation on a batch of mead. Adding yeast nutrient/energizer, fermentation seemed to do the trick. Three months later, in January, I measured the specific gravity (0.996) and decided to rack it. Some residual haziness remained, so I let this mead sit for 7 months in the dark, in a sealed carboy, hoping that this little bit of cloudiness would settle out. Last week, I decided to rack again, and maybe bottle it.

During the racking, I took pains to avoid bumping the walls of the carboy with the auto-siphon, as fine particles had settled there. I also left avoided siphoning off the bottom inch (or so) of liquid, thus avoiding most of the fine sediment. The racked mead seemed to not have any visible particulates, although there was still a fine haze. I decided that it probably wasn't going to get much better by letting it sit for another half a year, so I went ahead and bottled. And, frankly, the minor haziness is something I can live with.

Minor haziness is most visible in full sunlight.

The final specific gravity was 0.994, slightly lower (but within experimental error) than the s.g. in January. Total yield was 14 bottles, plus another 300 mL or so that I put in the fridge for immediate consumption.

So, is it any good? Well, yes. This mead is far better than the my first attempt, which was made using some generic honey from Costco. This one has more interesting, complex honey flavours, and it tastes 'clean'. It is also very dry and it's delicious when chilled - a perfect summer treat.