Hop Rhizomes: Planting

My main order of hop rhizomes came in last weekend. In the rush to complete our move last spring, we left behind many plants that we had hoped to remove, pot, and bring with us to the new place... Sadly, my hops from last year were among those left behind. I had three varieties (Hallertauer, Tettnanger, and Cascade) which actually survived, and the Cascade were quite robust and productive.

I ordered several varieties again this year: Cascade, Chinook, Fuggle, Horizon... The first year I grew hops, I was not ready to put them in the ground, so I started them in containers (7-gallon nursery pots); they grew fine, had a decent yield, and I replanted them in the ground the following spring. The garden area at my new home is nowhere near complete, so I am starting hops in containers again this year.

I used the same 7-gallon nursery containers to plant them this time around. I remembered to print up weatherproof labels for each hop varietal - this ought to save me a bit of headache later! I partially blocked the four drain holes at the bottoms of the pots, then filled them with a mix of potting soil and enriched organic manure. After digging a 1-2" trench in the soil, I dropped the rhizomes in, mounding soil over the top.

It is spring in the Pacific Northwest, so keeping the soil moist will not be a problem. In fact, I think that part of why I lost some of my original hops was because they were too wet before the bines sprouted out of the soil. My gut tells me that finding a balance between a soil that will hold some moisture and a soil that drains well is the key, especially at the earliest stages.

I have the containers placed on the far side of my raised garden beds. This part of my yard will get around 16 hours of sun during the summer. Even now, they have sun from about 8 AM until 7 PM. I am going to rig a primitive trellis from re-bar and twine attached to the wall of my raised beds. This should be sufficient for the first year. Next year, my intention is to get them permanently planted in the ground somewhere in our garden enclosure with a better trellis system.

New Beer Annex: The Acme, Tacoma

I look forward to drill weekends... Not because I love donning the uniform, not because I love the Army, but because I love the guys I work with. I truly look forward to seeing them every month. One of the highlights is our Beer Club (this is a totally lackluster and uncreative name)... We get together and drink beer well into the night. It often becomes a prideful contest to see who can last the longest, but it is mostly about drinking and talking about good beer.

At the Holidays, my homebrew baskets for the unit fundraiser raffle have become legendary. People start asking if I will be providing baskets about three months in advance! I also usually provide kegs for barbecues, picnics, and special events after drill. I have rallied quite a bit of interest in good beer and homebrewing through such beer diplomacy... Over the past year, our gatherings have grown and grown, often attracting upwards of 20 folks; likewise the number of homebrewers in our midst continues to rise.

However, our unit moved from a location we had occupied for the past five years. We had established drinking routines: either drinking in-house with a variety of offerings brought in by revelers or a walk to the local dive bar just off post. Faced with a new location, one which we share with many other units (visibility is the enemy of discretion), all eyes were on me for a plan.

Google is my friend, even if many of the sites I wanted to visit were blocked by government internet filters! Using Google Maps, I was able to locate several local haunts within 15 minutes walking distance. The walking distance part is non-negotiable for me, because I don't want anybody driving after we've been out drinking. Several of the potential establishments were also music venues, so they were going to require a cover and be fairly crowded. We decided on a place, which from all appearances looked to be a good dive replacement, that was only 4 blocks away!

The Acme Tavern in Tacoma was two blocks north and two blocks east of our armory - can't beat convenience! And it was not a dive at all! They strive for the dive feel - shunning any trendy embellishments. Tables, chairs, bar games, a jukbox, pounders of Rainier and PBR, taps of American Macro-swill... And 4 local micro/craft taps! The bar tender was a super guy, and the local bar flies were friendly and welcoming.

We filled the jukebox full of quarters and waxed indecisive about what we wanted in the music queue... We drank four pitchers of Odin Brewing Co.'s Odin's Gift, and were sold on our new beer annex! If you haven't had a chance to try any of their brews, their tasting room is open most Friday afternoons... They are located in Seattle, near the Museum of Flight (9130 15th Pl. S. Suite F, Seattle, WA, 98108).

Odin's Gift is a ruby-colored dark ale. I don't know how they classify it, if at all, but it is definitely a pecialty beer. I detected juniper berries (I think) and rich dark-fruit malty overtones providing the sweetness to carry the alcohol (I'm guessing 7-8%), balanced by a just enough hop bitterness to keep it from being cloying... This beer had a lot of potential to be a one-pinter, given the fruity nose (from the dark malts and the juniper berries), but it was well-attenuated and finished much drier than I expected. This beer was like a juniper-cautious Alaskan Winter on steroids!