Growing Hops

Yes, I'm a beer brewer and instead of buying hops from the local brew supply house, I want to grow it around my patio.  I've been looking for ways to buy it, but I can't seem to find any seeds, but just a rhizome. I have never tried planting with one of those. Any hints to make sure I'm successful growing it in the south of Denver, CO climate?

Hi Tim!
Rhizome should be easier than seeds. I've seen hops growing in plenty of dump sites for garden waste, and also next to the place where the municipality dumps the snow cleared away from roads. I think this has to be because a small piece of rhizome came with whatever was dumped there, so it seems they are quite resilient. Another advantage of rhizomes is that you're guaranteed a female plant. From what I've heard (no direct experience, haven't been brewing beer) having a male plant close to the female you harvest from might make the beer taste "off". Apparently you want unpollinated cones.

Don't know about your specific climate, but around where I live (Sweden) hops generally seem to thrive on neglect. It's probably wise to not let it dry out too much, at least not in the beginning. Once established, it should be able to survive most things.

Bonus use: the young shoots in spring are very nice boiled and eaten like asparagus, but probably best to wait for a couple of years, so your plant can handle it.

Good luck!

Hop seeds are available but recommended only for hop breeding purposes.  You never want a male plant around if you are growing hops for brewing.  Hops will escape to the wild if given the opportunity and can even become invasive, and once males escape you will ruin your chance to ever grow hops for brewing again.  Hop plants are easy to grow from rhizomes and even cuttings.  Brewer supply houses around here have a late winter/early spring ordering season for hop rhizomes and a person goes and picks them up when they arrive in springtime.

Bear in mind that different hops have been developed for different purposes during brewing so it is likely you will want to grow at least two different hop varieties, chosen based on their function.

I have four hop vines, two are Cascade and the other two the name escapes me at the moment.  My plants are vining up my old barn silo.  Vines reached 35 feet in 2021, just their second year from rhizomes and cuttings I received in a private plant trade.  They are producing far more cones than I could ever use.  Cool plants...

Photo showing a few of my Cascade hops.