Growing Hops in Tucson

Two Cascade Hop Vines Growing on the West Side of My House

Can hops grow well in a place like Tucson? That's what I'm trying to find out this summer, my second attempt at growing hops in this hot, dry, very sunny place.

Last year's attempt didn't fair so well, as I did a very poor job at watering my plants. Most of the hop rhizomes I planted didn't get more than 3 inches tall before they withered away.

This year I decided to be diligent with my watering and try again. I ordered two sets of two rhizomes, Cascades and Chinooks.

This year's attempt has so far been a smashing success. My rhizomes all sprouted and took off with a lot of attention and a lot of water to start. When growing anything in Arizona you have to make some adjustments to what is suggested for plant growth in other places. "Don't keep your rhizomes too wet", is all relative. It's very hard to keep something too wet in this weather, and over watering doesn't exactly exist here. Our soil can soak up a lot of stuff.

Also, hops are supposed to get full sun. In my case, I took a bet on full summer sun not quite being the best choice for any non-native plant to this region. Instead of planting the hops on the south side of my house, I placed two on the east side of the house, and two on the west side.

The Small Chinook Hop Vines, Shaded out by Sunflower Plants

The results? So far, so good. I had to build my hop trellises after about three weeks, and the vines are climbing. The east side hops, which receive less sun, but are also on a less steep trellis, are growing more slowly. These plants are also more crowded by other plants. The plants on the west side are growing fast, and may have already tapped a buried grey water chamber nearby.

I'll post more about these plants as they develop and I learn any helpful things about growing hops in the desert.

Homebrewin' : Extract Belgian IPA

This One Is Mine: Darker but only 6%ABV

Last year everyone went nuts over Black IPAs. This year I started seeing a lot of Belgian IPAs. I love IPAs. I don't particularly enjoy Belgians. But ever since trying the Cali-Belgique from Stone and the Le Freak by Green Flash I've been obsessed with this style of beer. New Belgium's Belgo is also a great beer in this style. It's a really simple formula to making a really unique beer style. Take an American IPA and use Belgian yeast instead of American ale yeast. Done and done.

I wanted to try my hand at making one of these brews, maybe trying to make the beer a tad darker and a tad more herbal in flavor than the super hoppy Le Freak. I just used a base malt of Briess Pale Dry Extract but steeped Crystal 60 and some Belgian Row Two Pale malt to get a darker amber look. Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo, Cascade, and Simcoe hops made for a pretty floral west coast hop bill.

The key here is the yeast. I used White Labs WLP575, which is a Belgian blend yeast that is supposed to be a slightly more spicy and herbal strain. It really did the trick too, working well with the Crystal 60 caramel tones working in contrast with the hops. It creates an herby sweet and bitter combination that is unique and tasty.

So if you haven't tried a Belgian IPA, try one out. Belgo by New Belgium is easy to find and a good example of the style that is very American and not too extremely Belgian or West Coast Bitter IPA. It's a good change of pace for an IPA drinker who can't seem to break out of a rut.


Here's my Recipe! I can't wait to do an all grain version soon.