Hoppin' Around Oshkosh

We’ve reached the mid-season mark for hop growing in Oshkosh. So far, it’s been a great year with most plants well ahead of where they were last year at this time. If you have an established vine it’s probably nearing it’s full height and beginning to display those bright yellow buds that eventually develop into the bitter fruit that makes beer drinkers happy. So let’s take a look at some of the interesting hop plants growing this summer in Oshkosh.

We’ll start off with what is probably the most impressive hop growing set-up in town. This is Nick’s Hop Operation near the corner of Jackson and Murdock. We featured Nick’s hop garden a little over a month ago and his rate of growth since then has been startling. Here’s the earlier post. Compare those pictures to this one and you’ll see what I mean. Nick is growing Zeus, Brewers Gold, Willamette, Cascade and Hallertau.

Nick's Hop Operation

Across town on Adams, Scott has a unique method for growing his hops. His Cascade plant grows horizontally, using an evergreen bush instead of a vertical trellis for support. It’s a huge, sprawling plant loaded with buds. This method may not be practical for most hop growers, but it obviously works.

Scott's Hops

These are mine on Evans Street. I’ve got Cascade and Nugget growing together. They shot over the trellis weeks ago and have grown into a knot, but they seems to like the set-up. I’m anticipating a banner harvest.

My Hops

Finally, this may not be the biggest plant in town, but it’s my favorite. Here’s a bit of guerilla gardening that’s resulted in a dense, healthy bush of hops (Cascade?). These grow on a terrace along New York Ave. For the next few weeks I’m going to find one excuse after another to peddle by and have a look.

Guerrilla Hops