Growing Hops: Not Only Home Brewers Can Reap Their Benefits

This year, we're finally making the leap to grow our own hops. It may take two-three years to get them ready to use for brewing but they are a beautiful backyard perennial vine that anyone can grow. You don't have to brew beer to grow hops. There are actually a lot of great benefits of the hops plant.

Benefits of Using Hops

1. Insomnia: There is a natural sedative in hops that relaxes you. All jokes aside about just having a few beers instead, this treatment won't leave you groggy in the morning! You can make a tea with them or even just put them under your pillow. I love the smell of hops!
2. Aids Digestion: Hops can help break down foods by stimulating stomach acid. It is said to be helpful in both cases of diarrhea and constipation.
3. Menstrual Pain: Hops contains estrogen which can help the female hormones when they are going crazy! They help relieve the pain as well.
4. Helps Anxiety: This is what many people enjoy about having a beer, 'it takes the edge off'. There is actually truth to that! But, you can enjoy a cup of homemade hops tea instead!
5. They are a natural antioxidant.

There are even more benefits to this great plant if you want to research further. It seems like having it in tea form is most beneficial, however, there's no need to turn your back on an ice cold beer every now and again either!

Growing Hops

Hops can withstand the cold temperatures so you can actually plant them after the last frost when the ground is soft enough to dig. You simply plant the rhizomes and away they go! Okay, so it's not that easy, they do need love and maintenance just like other plants but it's worth it.

Grow Baby Grow!

We built trellises for them to climb for a little added decoration in the backyard but you could simply use a little rope and they will cling to that as well. Hops are a perennial plant so they come back year after year and grow with time as well. Some people find them taking over their garden so plant them in an area that they can spread. Sides of the garage, fences or property lines are great places. Make sure they then can get sunlight and have a good source of water.

Harvesting Hops

When it's time to harvest, pick all the cones. Depending on where you live, this is usually done in August or September. The hops should have a papery feel to them. Simply pick, pick, pick!

Drying Hops

It is best to dry them when preserving because the water that is locked inside of them can cause rot. To dry them, you can use outside with a screen but I chose to use a food dehydrator and it worked great! After doing some research, the screen method can take a few days and it can cause some to dry more than others. The dehydrator seemed like a safer method, plus, I already had one! I dried them on the herb setting, 95º for 7 hours. Some people said it can take up to 8 but I didn't have that many since it was my first year. Hopefully next year will be a different story! Once dried, simply put them in zip-lock freezer bags and make sure to remove as much air as you can. Pull them out when you need them and remember, it's not good to thaw and freeze again.